Dr Andrew Smith blogs from Greenland: Week 4

Following on from his blogs from Antarctica last year and earlier in 1997 and 2005, ANSTO Research Scientist Dr Andrew Smith is continuing his work studying isotopes produced by cosmic rays, this time from the summit of Greenland where he and a team of researchers will face some of the coldest temperatures on Earth.

Highlights from week 4:

The team has experienced a pleasant change in weather giving them a chance to take a small break from ice core drilling. Dr Smith seized the opportunity to borrow Vas's cross country skis to do a few circuits around the camp.

More importantly, talk has now turned from ice core drilling to the pull out strategy as the deadline looms for researchers to return to home. The team is a disparate bunch, originating from two research centres in the United States (University of Rochester and Oregon State University), as well as Australia (ANSTO).

As the pull out date nears, which will be June 6 when C130s resume landing, the team is nearing 80 metres below the surface and still able to pull firn air samples, despite problems with the generators.

Week 4 blogs:

Useful links:

Photos from Greenland
Blog from Rochester Laboratory: http://rochestericelab.wordpress.com/
Real time webcam from Summit Camp in Greenland
Visit our special micro site for more information on the expedition
Read the week 1 blog
Read the week 2 blog
Read the week 3 blog

Thursday 23 May: Another day in paradise

I woke up late at 08:45 to another glorious day in paradise! The weather is finally being kind to us. I spent most of the morning making a ‘down hole camera’ which we intend to drop down the hole. It is a plastic Nalgene bottle fitted with a GoPro camera and a LED headlamp. Tests in a piece of PVC pipe look promising. We won’t be doing this until we have completely finished with the firn air and ice core sampling, probably at about 85 m depth.

I’ve had quite an alpine experience today. This afternoon I borrowed Vas’s cross country skis, poles and boots and did a few circuits around the camp while the weather was good and the sastrugi well covered in snow drift. Then Christo treated us to cheese fondue for dinner. All up an excellent day.

Dr Andrew Smith having fun in Greenland doing a circuit around the camp

Dr Andrew Smith using Vas's cross country skis near the research camp in Greenland

Friday 24 May: Time to plan our pull out strategy

Last night was windless and this morning too, with the Sun beaming down and the snow squeaking it is going to be a great day!

Today should also see the end of the firn air sampling. Once completed, a series of blanks will be taken through the FASD and that will mark the end of the ‘air work’. Core #1 will be continued to ~ 90 m for Jon and Christo, the down hole camera will be dropped, then all that remains is core #2. The first 40 m of this will be drilled quickly, roughly logged and bagged.

We do not have enough ice core boxes to store this core, so it will probably be left in the ice cave in case anyone should want to collect it in the future. I will take the core from 40 m to 85 m which will fill the remaining 4 ½ of my 12 ice core boxes. Vas will take from 85 m to 120 m for CO studies.

We are starting to discuss the pull-out strategy as we are approaching the end of our time here. The C130 flights start again in June and we are scheduled to leave on the third flight on Thursday 6th June. It may be that the ice cores will depart to the freezer at Kangerlussuaq on one of the earlier flights. We are scheduled to fly from Kangerlussuaq on Saturday 8th June to the Air National Guards (ANG) base at Scotia, New York State; I depart for Australia the next day, via San Francisco.

The ice cores will be transported from Kangerlussuaq to a freezer at the ANG base on a ‘cold deck’ C130 flight on Thursday July 18; this means the heaters are not used in the cargo hold. Arrangements are yet to be made to transport the ice core boxes from Scotia to Curtin University, Perth, their ultimate destination.

This morning’s drilling effort brought us to the 80 m level. We are still able to pull air from the firn/ice so we will try for another level below this as well. The 80 m level is the last for the large 35 L Essex flasks for the 14C in situ study. It was a slow day. The generators gave us problems early on but the very slow flow rate form this level meant we didn’t pull the bladder back u until 18:00.

That’s it for today: we will all have dinner together for a change at 18:30 and discuss plans for the remainder of our stay.

Tomorrow we will all go to Summit Station and on Sunday we will drill to the 82 m level and see if we can still pull air from beneath the bladder.

(From L to R) Jon Edwards from Oregon State University and Benjamin Hmiel from the University of Rochester

Saturday 25 May: Return to Summit Station

We’re back! All 9 of us made it into station in various ways. Ironically, at first it looked like the trip would be cancelled because the winds were too light. Summit Station is a clean air sampling station and when the winds are blowing between 342° N 072° or are less than 2 knots the use of vehicles is prohibited as it could affect the air sampling.

However at 10:30 we got the all clear over the VHS radio; by this stage Lou had already skied in. Next to set off on skis was Tanner, followed by Lindsay and Mike on a skidoo.

Then the Tucker arrived with Don at the controls and we hitched up the broken 4 stroke skidoo and Jon, Christo and I climbed aboard for the trip back.

Vas and Ben were giving the firn air bladder some needed attention and once they were finished Ben came by skidoo and Vas skied. Now we are all clean and up to date with our washing and discussions have been held regarding our imminent pull-out.

It is currently 17:15, -24°C, good visibility with 5 knot winds from the SSE. Soon it will be dinner! After that we will all make the trip back to camp, ready for the final firn air sampling level tomorrow.

(from L to R) Dr Vasilii Petrenko from the University of Rochester and Tanner Kuhl from the Ice Drilling and Development Organisation (IDDO) Drillers

Sunday 26 May: The pink pig and some invited guests

Strange goings on last night! Lou returned to camp early on a skidoo, with Mike and Tanner returning on the second skidoo later; the four stroke is under repair.

Don & Jamie gave Vas, Jon, Ben, Lindsay, Christo and me a lift back in the Tucker and they stayed for a cup of tea before heading back. Later, Mike retired to his tent and as he did so Lou reached for her camera. We all wondered what was going on, and rushed outside to find Mike confronted by a very large pink pig that completely filled the inside of his tent, making it impossible for him to enter! Someone had been up to no good while we were away from camp. It was actually a large water container that was no longer used, painted pink and resembling a fat pig and it must have been brought out from Summit Station earlier in the day for this practical joke. It had a ‘happy birthday’ sign on it that mystified Mike even more as it wasn’t his birthday.

Very odd. It is Sunday, which is a rest day at Summit Station. Yesterday we extended an invitation for those who had an interest to pay us a visit to see what we have been up to over the last three weeks. At 10:30 this morning a group of 8 visitors arrived by Tucker and was shown around. The timing was good as we had just finished looking for air at the 82 m level, without finding any porous layers, so the lab wasn’t busy. While they were here the drilling continued to 85 m and as they were leaving the FASD went down the hole again. It was also a day for the flying of flags. I borrowed an American flag from Summit Station yesterday and flew it along with the Australian and ANSTO flags at the drilling site. It was a shame we didn’t have a Greenland flag, a Canadian flag for Jon or a Dutch flag for Christo as well.

After all the wind we have had there was barely enough for them to fly today. At a depth of 85 m at 14:40 Vas declared the firn air sampling complete. The last firn air sampling level that yielded air was 81 m, but this was indistinguishable from the air taken just above at 80 m, in terms of its CH4 and CO2 concentration. This means that we have definitely penetrated below the lock-in zone and we are now drilling in firn that has been completely transformed into ice. Hole #1 will be continued to 90 m for Christo & Jon’s core sampling, the down hole camera will make its trip into the depths and then it’s on to core #2 tomorrow. Vas & Ben will begin to pack up the Science Lab now that the work has been completed. The next wave of visitors from Summit Station arrived about 15:00, some skiing in, some arriving by Tucker.

It has been an enjoyable day showing the Station folk around. My turn to cook tonight: green chicken curry, rice and vegetables. Better get to it!

Mike standing outside his tent next to the large water container designed like a pink pig

Mike standing outside his tent and next to an old water container that had been painted pink and resembled a pig

Monday 27 May: Strange bumps in the night

It happened again last night. While I was reading in my sleeping bag, I heard a bird, and then saw its shadow against the tent as it flew into the tent wall several times. I looked outside but it was gone. The same thing happened about five days ago and a few days before that I saw a small bird in the sky. Others have seen them as well, both here and at Summit Station.

One theory is that they were blown off course during the strong winds we had earlier, another is that they are on a migration route. Whatever it is, they are a long way from the coast and from food. Today the drillers and I got underway at 07:30. The first tasks were to dig a slot in the new location for core #2 and a new logging pit for me. Shovelling a few cubic metres of snow first thing on a cold in the morning is a great way to wake up!

By 08:30 we were drilling and we kept at it all day, reaching some 28 m depth by 15:00. Then there was a brief hiatus while the collet was changed for core dogs on the drill head. In the meantime, everyone else was busy packing up camp and several skidoo runs with loaded Nansen sleds were made to Station. We intend to take back as much stuff as possible over the next few days. Packing up the Science Lab is well underway.

One added bonus today: the Station visitors returned with 12 stubbies of home brewed beer from Station! It didn’t go too far but was most welcome. We reached 37 m at about 18:30 which was quite enough for one day; all of this ice core will be stored in the ice cave until next season as we don’t have enough ice core boxes to transport it back to the USA. Although it was sunny with light northerly winds it was cold again at about -25 °C, cold enough for hoar frost to form everywhere, including on moustaches!

Tonight Ben cooked up garlic prawns, pasta and snap peas which I wolfed down. After entering the drilling data, writing this log and dealing with photos I’m off to bed for another early start tomorrow. I will be boxing the rest of core #2 to the 80 m level to take back to Australia; this will fill my 12 ice core boxes.

Ready to roll - the team commence packing the camp site in Greenland

The team begins packing the camp site in Greenland ready for the return home

Tuesday 28 May: Will we hit 120m?

Lou, Mike, Tanner and I were up early and we were drilling by 08:45. The wind has picked up again today, not enough for snow to start drifting but enough to make the -22 °C feel much colder.

Both Mike and I suffered from cold feet and hands. The others were up not long afterwards and continued the job of packing up the camp and ferrying as much gear as possible back to Station. During the morning Mike spotted another bird near the drilling site; I doubt whether these birds survive. The drilling progressed smoothly until we hit 59 m at about 16:30 and it proved difficult to bring the core back to the surface. This is about the start of the transition zone where the physical properties of the firn begins to change.

We decided to stop for dinner at 17:30 which Vas cooked tonight and the started again afterwards. I am sitting in what is left of the Science Lab writing this, awaiting the call from the drillers that core is coming up again. I have a vested interest in continuing; another 20 m of core will see my boxes full and my job done.

Tonight Vas raised the prospect of six of us leaving for Kangerlussuaq on the first flight scheduled for the 31st May, then catching the ‘rotator’ flight scheduled for the 3rd of June from Kangerlussuaq to Scotia, NY; I had been expecting to fly to Scotia on the 8th June, five days later.

Should this happen, Lou, Mike and Ben will stay behind to complete core #2 from 80 m to 120 m and they would fly out on either the 4th or the 6th of June. OK, it’s now 20:00. At 19:00 I was summoned to find a monster 2 m core waiting for me…. the jinx was broken. We kept on until 21:30 when we reached 67 m. Tomorrow we should knock over the next 13 m with ease and I will train Ben in the noble art of ice core logging. Looks like I’m out of here!

The BID - a 10 inch ice core

Wednesday 29 May: The final supper with colleagues

I woke to the sound of birds… actually to the sound of a bird. As I got out of my tent I caught a glimpse of it and others also heard it while they were in their tents. I left some bread out but the bird didn’t spot it. It came quite close later while we were drilling and Mike said it was a plover. Apparently there was a flock of them at Station the other day. I am still mystified as to why they are here at all.

It is now 21:30 after a long and tedious day. So much for ease!! The drilling started late at ~ 09:30 and went badly all day. By 19:15 we finally reached 80 m, a total of some 16 m all day or about 1 ½ m per hour and the core quality was generally poor. I finally filled the last of my boxes and now my work is done. In one hour I have a satellite phone link up with St Patricks High School, Sutherland and then I will gratefully climb into my sleeping bag for my last night at camp.

Tomorrow morning I will take down my tent and make a run with a sled full of gear into Summit Station and hopefully change my flights and hotel bookings; it has been confirmed that six of us will fly to Kangerlussuaq on Friday 31st and then on to Scotia, NY on Monday 3rd June. Most of the camp has been packed up and transported; only the bare minimum will be left behind for Lou, Mike and Ben to complete the last 40 m to a final 120 m depth.

They will fly out on the 4th June at this stage to Kanga and then on to Scotia on the 8th, as was originally planned for all of us. We had our last meal together this evening, delicious fish with all the trimmings and Lou opened a bottle of white wine she had somehow managed to save all this time. We toasted one another for a very successful expedition, with all our goals accomplished (bar the last 40 m of ice core) with good company and comradeship throughout.

We were a very effective team and accomplished a lot during our month in camp. Of course, the serious work is yet to begin once the samples arrive back at the various laboratories. It is likely to take years to complete. There is meant to be a sumptuous farewell repast at Station tomorrow night, and then it will be homeward bound.

Thursday 30 May: Home time!

I awoke at 07:30 to a still, slightly foggy day and a mild temperature of -20 °C; last night it got below -30 °C again. After breakfast, the first order of the day was to gather together all my gear from around camp and pack it on the skidoo.

Next, the six who were departing started dismantling their tents. Luckily, an enthusiastic team dug them out of the snow yesterday while I was drilling, so it wasn’t too difficult. With tents and personal gear loaded aboard three Nansen sleds we set off in two skidoos for Station, me driving one with Christo as passenger and Tanner driving the other with Jon, arriving just in time for lunch. The heavy load of tents and wooden flooring was a little too much for one of the sleds, but it made it.

This afternoon I have been organising photos and finishing this dispatch, the last I will be sending. I have also been arranging to bring my return to Australia forward by five days.

This evening there is a special ‘fancy goodbye dinner’ at 19:00 at Station. Lindsay was planning to walk and Tanner went back by skidoo to fetch Vas; I think Lou, Mike and Ben will be picked up by Tucker. Following dinner, most of us will return to camp to retrieve the ice cores boxes from the ice cave and transport them to Station, ready for the C130 flight tomorrow.

We have heard the aircraft has made it to Kangerlussuaq, so providing the weather is good we are out of here tomorrow, with the flight from Kanger expected on the 3rd. Farewell from Greenland and see you in Sydney soon!

Published: 27/05/2013

Media enquiry form

If you have a media enquiry please call
Phil McCall: +61 438 619 987

Send »