Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 01/04/2009 - 14:26
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Oden Antarctic Expedition 08

Hi, Jeff,

I awoke this morning to 2-degree (F) temperatures, with wonderful hoarfrost and steam rising off the Oneida River. I can only imagine the sounds you describe of the ice in the Antarctic, because when the ice collides with itself on the river it is anything but quiet! I'm sure this is just a minute fraction of what you experience, but it's as close as I get.

I have been really surprised that the temperatures you are experiencing now in summer are not so different from what we are seeing here. Amazing! There are days when you are warmer than we are, but in general we are still a bit warmer. Can you believe we already have over 70 inches of snow measured here at Syracuse airport for the season? It sounds as though, even though you speak of digging through a meter or so of snow to get to your ice cores, it really doesn't snow that much. Imagine CNY winters in Antarctica... it's kind of like thinking about infinity...

I spent New Year's morning catching up on your postings since school let out for winter break. It has been such great fun. This month's National Geographic magazine must have been timed for those of us following you, as there are articles called "North Pole Sagas," with the first among them about Fridtjof Nansen and his attempt to find the North Pole, and then articles following that detail others' attempts to retrace his steps. If you want, I'll purchase extra copies you can send to you Scandanavian friends once you get beck, since I guess Dr. Nansen was a man of whom Sandanavian bedtime stories were told. 

What am I thinking? You can probably access the articles from the NatGeo website while you're still on the other side of the earth (where S-waves would not reach you from here.. see, I study a bit of earth science!)! In your copious free time, of course...

I love the videos you are doing, and it is obvious that you are a teacher in your ability to explain, describe, and be amazed at what you are filming. I am so very proud to know you and count you among my colleagues. I feel like I'm part of your amazing adventure, too!

All the best to you and the crew,

Ann Daignault. 

 

Tue, 01/06/2009 - 10:12

Jeff Peneston

Ann,First, thank you for your kind words.  I am so honored to be the eyes, ears and storyteller for everyone.  You will be the first to know that at this moment we are in the most beautiful and overwhelming place I have ever been in my life.  The Oden is cutting through the unbroken ice of McMurdo Sound.  The TransAntarctic Mountains are 25 miles to our right and Ross Island with Mt. Erebus looms over us on the left, only 6 miles away.  At 12,000 feet the summit is more than twice as high as the highest peak in NY.  AND it is an active volcano with steam bellowing out of the top!!  The surface of the Sound is frozen and we see Adelie penguins all over the place.  We also see 800 pound Weddell seals sleeping on the ice and Orcas hunting penguins in the few sections of open water.  AND, the weather is perfectly clear, no wind and the temperature is 32?F with a sun so hot that you don’t need a coat to stand outside.   The only way this could be better is if I could share it with my family and friends.Anyway, you are right, as you and I are comfortable with Syracuse winters, the summer here is very easy to deal with.  Some days are windy but I have not seen the air temp go below 20?F.  Most of the places I have been receive far less snow each year than Syracuse.  The ice on the Sound is up to 3 meters thick but the snow is less than a foot.  It is dry and wind packed.  One interesting aspect is that we are here to see the sea ice melt and break up but it does so very differently than lake ice.  Sea water freezes at -1.8?C and freshwater freezes at 0?C.  The air has rarely been above 0? but the ocean water is between -0.2 to -1.5?C.  This means that the snow on top of the ice is dry and wind packed but the sea ice is rotting from below.   The sea ice is also filled with brine channels that run up and down through the ice.  This makes the sea ice spongy and flexible.  At times you can see the bow wave from the Oden roll ahead of the ship through the rolling sea ice.   The view ahead of the ship reminds me of a large frozen lake back home and the only thing that seems missing is the ice fishermen!
I wish you were here!
Take care,
Jeff