the sciences

Sunday at 2pm there is a tour of Crary Lab. This facility is home to the grantees and scientists who come down through the National Science Foundation. There are offices and labs throughout the building and it is probably the most technologically advanced place on the station.

There are 127 projects going on this year in Antarctica through the National Science Foundation and 80-some of them will come through McMurdo at some point, or another. During the tour, a few of these projects were highlighted.

The ANDRILL Project Iceberg is one of the bigger ventures currently going on down here. It is an international effort with Germany, New Zealand, and Italy to sample the earth beneath the Ross Sea Ice. Last year, they drilled through the permanent ice shelf, through the water below and into the ground to pull up core samples. This year, they set up their drill shop on the temporary ice shelf and into the layers of ground below the sea. As part of our tour today we were allowed in the "Curator's Only" room where the analyzation of the layers occurs. The cores brought up are sliced in half and laid out by metric depth on tables to be looked over by various scientists before the next day's samples are brought in. I was fascinated by the "normal" appearance of the rock they pulled up (so far about 75 meters down).

A number of penguin, seal, climate, astrophysic and other projects also take place from this building. The Long Duration Balloon Project will be attempting the launch of three balloons this year which are able to circle the continent before the payload is cut loose and the data retrieved. If I remember correctly, one mission was a success last year.

The most interesting part of this building for me was to take a little tour of the aquarium. The sea creatures in this room are all plucked from the Ross Sea right out our door steps. I continue to be amazed by the variety and number of living organisms that can survive in the salty 28.5F temperatures below the ice surface. There are continuing studies about the "antifreeze" that the fish have in their bodies to keep themselves from freezing in the harsh ocean conditions.

There is also a touch tank in Crary Lab where a select few of the friendly sea creatures are chosen to be poked and prodded by curious visitors like myself. I felt nearly all the little critters in the tank (although the water was chilly enough to make your hand go numb. And, I had a little scare then the shrimp I petted decided to jump straight up when I felt his back. It was quite funny actually!

I have learned quite a lot from Nick, a diver and engineer with the SCINI ROV (Remotely operated vehicle). He is excited about his work here and realizes the immense privilege it is for him to be a part of the program. SCINI is a skinny robot that requires only a 6 inch hole to be drilled through the ice (rather than the larger 13-15 inch hole that is less practical to bore). Divers have depth restrictions in the cold water here and this robot is a useful tool to reach deeper waters.

This project is important for recovering old scientific projects, finding out how organisms react to human impact on their environment, and observing the behavior of various life forms under the ice and on the sea floor.