Photo Gallery
Here are three panoramic photographs that clearly show the vastness of the Antarctic landscape. Panorama #1 is of Mount Erebus located in Antarctica and is the southernmost active volcano on Earth. 3,795 metres (12,451 ft) high, it is located on Ross Island, which is also home to three inactive volcanoes, notably Mt. Terror. Mount Erebus is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which includes over 160 active volcanoes. Panorama #2 is of the Royal Society Range which is a majestic mountain range rising to 4,025 metres along the western shore of McMurdo Sound between the Koettlitz, Skelton and Ferrar glaciers. The range was probably first seen by Captain Ross in 1841. The range was explored by the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901-04) under R.F. Scott, who named the range after the Royal Society and applied names of its members to many of its peaks. The Royal Society provided financial support to the expedition and its members had assisted on the committee which organized the expedition. Panorama #3 shows several researchers enjoying an outing into the field near McMurdo station.
Posted on January 10, 2008
Curious about what happens to all those ice cores that are collected from the WAIS Divide field camp?
Well, after a long journey back from Antarctica to the United States the cores are processed at the National Ice Core Laboratory in Denver, Colorado. The U.S. National Ice Core Laboratory (NICL) is a facility for storing, curating, and studying ice cores recovered from the polar regions of the world. It provides scientists with the capability to conduct examinations and measurements on ice cores, and it preserves the integrity of these ice cores in a long-term repository for current and future investigations.
After the netting is removed from ice cores, the core is sectioned into the sample sizes required by each science laboratory involved in the project depending on the type of analysis they will be performing. The core room is cooled below -20oC to preserve the core in its original condition during the processing. After each individual laboratory across the country analyzes their samples the data will be shared amongst the groups.
Take a look at how this happens at the "lab in the freezer".
Posted on June 30, 2008
Overview of the overall process of getting to and from the WAIS Divide field camp. Travelers start in the US, make their way to New Zealand, transition to McMurdo station on the continent of Antarctica, and eventually end up at WAIS Divide. The journey can take several weeks depending on the weather. Once the season is over the entire travel process repeats itself--in reverse.
Posted on May 29, 2008
Images of McMurdo and WAIS Divide taken by Reb.
Posted on August 21, 2008
Images of WAIS Divide camp and the ice coring process taken by Jay Johnson of ICDS.
Posted on May 1, 2008
Images of McMurdo Station and the surrounding area.
Posted on February 20, 2008
Lots of images of the WAIS Divide project taken by John.
Posted on January 19, 2008
Various images of the WAIS Divide project taken by Gabby.
Posted on January 19, 2008
A grab bag of images of the WAIS Divide field camp taken by Dave.
Posted on January 18, 2008
Meet some of the WAIS Divide team members who are joining Zach in Antarctica.
Posted on March 6, 2008
Take a look at the Castle Rock loop trail and Captain Scott's Hut--a building located on the north shore of Cape Evans on Ross Island in Antarctica. It was erected in 1911 by the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910-1913 (also known as the Terra Nova Expedition) led by Robert Falcon Scott. From here Scott and four companions set out on the ultimately fatal trek to the South Pole. Although abandoned in 1913, the hut and its contents are remarkably well preserved today due to the constant freezing conditions.
The first set of photos from WAIS Divide. All of these images were taken en route to McMurdo station and demonstrate just what a long and involved process it is to get to Antarctica. Zach and his colleagues are shown transporting gear through various airports (imagine getting through security!), finding their way around New Zealand, and finally being outfitted for the extreme weather conditions in Antarctica at the Clothing Distribution Center (CDC). From there it's yet another plane ride to McMurdo and then finally on to the WAIS DIvide field station!
Posted on December 11, 2007