Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 01/05/2009 - 10:26
Forums
Oden Antarctic Expedition 08

Hey Jeff It's Mandy Again,

 What is the Snow like? In NY and most places we have lake effect and regular and you have the fluffy snow that you can't do anything with and then there is the snow that is great from making snowmen and having a good old fashioned snowball fight.

 What if any are the differences with the snow that is on top of all the ice? Also is there a difference in layers of the snow as you move it out of the way to be able to take your core samples??

 

Mandy

Tue, 01/06/2009 - 10:13

Jeff Peneston

Mandy,
These are great questions.  For folks like you and I who have lots of experience with snow, it is clear that the texture of the snow tells a story about how it was formed and the weather.  I can say that over the last 4 weeks it has snowed lightly on several occasions and the total amount has been less than 3 inches.  The flakes have not been the big, fluffy lake-effect ones we see in the Syracuse area.  The snow on the ice is generally very dry and granular.  The surface is wind-packed and in some places you can take a shovel and cut blocks of it and stack them up.  In other places the surface has a hard crust that you can barely walk on and under that is a dry granular snow that feels like you are sinking/walking on a pile of tiny, round pebbles.   In some places, the snow on top of the ice is heavy enough that it pushes the ice down and the top of the ice is flooded with seawater that turns the bottom layer of snow to slush.  This is why I always wear tall rubber boots when I am on the ice.  
At this moment, the Oden has entered McMurdo Sound where it is so dry and windy that there is very little snow on the ice.
 Thanks for the questions,
Jeff