ice pressure

Today I wandered out on the soft sea ice and found my way through the pressure ridges by Scott Base. The temporary sea ice and the permanent Ross Ice Shelf collide in this area, creating some unbelievable ice sculptures in the sky. Yesterday was the last day for these tours as the melt pools are getting deeper beneath these formations and ice conditions are getting dangerous.

The temporary sea ice has been known to "blow out" up to the permanent ice shelf before. The wind helps aids the warmer summer temperatures down here to push out the ice. When this happens, a boat could pull up in front of Scott Base. This hasn't happened in a number of years, but we all hope the open water comes this far in. Until the temporary ice leaves the area, the pressure will continue to mount between the two frozen bodies and create intricate designs in the sky.

The permanent Ross Ice Shelf forms from glacial ice flowing off the continent. Our island is half surrounded by the edge of this massive ice flow. The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest floating glacier in the world and our sea ice sheet is roughly the area of California. Beneath our feet at our Williams Field Skiway, or Pegasus White Ice Runway there is 600-800 feet of ice. This is the "shallow" end of the glacier which actually floats on the water.

The day was a bit cooler than our just-over-freezing temperatures which made for a little more solid footing. A few seals lined the ridges (nothing like the hundreds that will populate our area in a month). We actually heard their sublime calls echoing through the icy structures. They have their grunts and groans, but they also have beautiful pings and whistles like a whale or submarine.

Back on station, I reflected on the awesome power that was reflected in the energy of the sea on itself in the Coffee House while I downloaded my pictures. In the bigger picture, these little ridges are such a small part of a much grander creation. They are but a reflection of the 12-14 thousand foot mountains across the sea; and those mountains are but a fraction of a reflection of what my God is.