Published during the austral summer at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, for the United States Antarctic Program December 29, 2002 SPRESO serves up seismic holes By Kristan Hutchison Sun staff “SPRESO camp” may sound like a road- side java stand but the specialty at this scatter- ing of mountain tents and Weatherhavens is drilling holes for seismic instruments. SPRESO is short for South Pole Remote Earth Science Observatory, a new seismic monitoring facility five miles (8 km) from Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. Despite the project acronym, the drillers don’t have much time to stop for more than a cup of regular coffee, tea or cocoa, as they drill three of the deepest cored holes ever punched at the South Pole. An espresso maker Photo by Kristan Hutchison/The Antarctic Sun tucked in a corner under the table is saved for Bella Bergeron, a driller with the Ice Core Drilling Services, guides the drill out of one of three holes special occasions. they are drilling for the South Pole Remote Earth Science Observatory. Two of the holes are com- plete and the seismic instruments are expected to be operating in January. See Spreso on page 7 Looking for pebbles from the heavens By Mark Sabbatini season’s Antarctic Search for Meteorites Sun staff “There may be (ANSMET) program. An eight-person This year’s search for rocks from space team will return to Beardmore South may help efforts to travel there. pieces of Venus or Camp to search the second half of a site A longtime meteorite-gathering project where more than 400 meteorites were in Antarctica will explore a new icefield Mercury out there.” recovered during the 1999-2000 season. this season, deploying a team that includes — Dante Lauretta, More meteorites have been recovered U.S. space program officials. Among this member of meteorite team from Antarctica than all other places on season’s goals is studying the efficiency of works with the Johnson Space Center in Earth combined. About 12,000 meteorites working in extreme environments, in the Houston. He said knowing how much time ranging from pea-sized to more than 1,000 hope the results can help plan future space is consumed by everyday living tasks such pounds have been recovered and catego- missions such as work on the International as cooking and cleaning is important when rized since 1976 by the National Science Space Station and manned flights to Mars. making space plans because “we don’t Foundation-funded ANSMET project. “How many hours in a given day do we want to oversell the program.” Another 20,000 have been recovered by actually get to do science?” said Dean Eppler is part of a four-person team that Japanese teams working separately, but Eppler, senior scientist for Science will explore the western end of the Applications International Corp., which Transantarctic Mountains as part of this See Meteorites on page 11 INSIDE Quote of the Week Balloon-borne The closest astrophysics thing to Mars on “Where did we put baby Jesus?” Earth — Comment made while searching for Page 4 Page 9 Nativity figurine during midnight Mass at the Chapel of the Snows, McMurdo www.polar.org/antsun 2 • The Antarctic Sun December 29, 2002

Ross Island Chronicles By Chico

We’re going to bring in Dad, what are the New Year with we doing for fireworks. New Year’s Eve? Cold, hard facts Antarctica vs. Mars Length of a day in Antarctica: 24 hours Length of a day on Mars: 24 hours and 37 minutes Surface pressure at the South Pole: Wow, that’s great. For a It sure would be great if we could get The equivalent of 10,600 ft (3,231 m) while there I thought our hands on something that would help [actual elevation: 9,300 ft] we were in for an other us set off a big fireworks display. Surface pressure on Mars: lame New Year’s Eve. The equivalent of 100,000 ft (30,480 m) altitude on Earth Temperature ranges in Antarctica: 59F (15C) high, Vanda Station 1/74 -128F (-89C) low Vostok Station 5/83 Ground temperature recorded on Mars by the Pathfinder: 65F (18C) high during daylight I think we’re in for a -130F (-90C) low at night spectacular New Year’s Eve. Highest point in Antarctica: Vinson Massif, 16,067 ft (4.9 km) Highest point on Mars: Olympus Mons, 78,740 ft (24 km) Deepest point in Antarctica: Bentley Subglacial Trench -8,333 ft (-2.5 km) Deepest point on Mars: Hellas Planitia, an impact crater in the southern hemisphere -25,590 ft (-7.8 km) Sources: NSF, Steve Hoffman of SAIC, NASA

Katabatic Krosswords: Out of this world The Antarctic Sun is funded by the National Science Foundation as part of the United Across States Antarctic Program. Its 1. Total or partial blocking of one celestial body by another 4. A cloud of dust and gas in space 1 1 2 primary audience is U.S. 6. Particles with charges opposite that of ordinary matter 3 3 3

Antarctic Program participants, 9. The passage of a celestial body across a meridian 3 4 5 5 their families, and their friends. 12. A measure of the total amount of material in a body 4 6 NSF reviews and approves 13. A particle of light composed of a minute quantity of electromagnetic energy 6 7 8 material before publication, but opinions and 14. The Antarctic Meteorological Research Center (abbrv.) 6 conclusions expressed in the Sun are not 15. Balloon researching cosmic elements (acryn.) 9 10 necessarily those of the Foundation. 17. Telescope project at South Pole Use: Reproduction and distribution are 18. Where dust and gas accumulated into larger bodies 11 19. The amount of light emitted by a star encouraged with acknowledgment of source 12 Down 13 and author. 2. A gigantic ball of ice and rock in a highly eccentric orbit Senior Editor: Kristan Hutchison 3. A star that flares up to several times, before returning to its Editors: Melanie Conner original state. 12 5. Electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths shorter than the Mark Sabbatini 14 15 16 violet end of visible light Copy Editor: Liz Connell, Wendy Kober 7. A region of charged particles in a planet's upper atmosphere 15 Publisher: Valerie Carroll, 8. A small planetary body in orbit around the Sun, larger than a 15 17 Communications manager, RPSC meteoroid but smaller than a planet 10. Proposed neutrino telescope at South Pole Contributions are welcome. Contact the 16 17 18 11. Matter in the universe that cannot be seen, but can be Sun at [email protected]. In McMurdo, visit detected by its gravitational effects on other bodies 18 our office in Building 155 or dial 2407. 16. Telescope project at South Pole 19 1 Web address: www.polar.org/antsun Solution on page 12

Squares too small? No pencil to erase your mistakes? Try our interactive online puzzle at www.polar.org/antsun December 29, 2002 The Antarctic Sun • 3

Perspectives Perspectives It’s like fishing, but for meteorites by Andy Caldwell he first week of December, as part of stars) that existed before our sun and solar for cooking, but also for heating our tents. the Antarctic Search for Meteorites, system formed. Some meteorites contain We don’t run them at night while we are we left our comfortable quarters and complex carbon compounds that may be sleeping, so the temperature inside the tent amazing meals at McMurdo station related to the origin of life on Earth. It’s can easily approach 0F. It’s really necessary T thought that most meteorites come from that they work to keep us alive. Now every- for a field camp about 300 miles from the South Pole. I sat in the cockpit as the LC-130, the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, thing is working fine and we actually have a a ski-equipped cargo plane, took off and I however, on very rare occasions, mete- power surplus. think I had the best seat in Antarctica. The orites from the moon or Mars are discov- We get our water from melting the flight lasted a little over two hours and ered. Mars and the moon have a lower same blue ice on which we’re looking for dropped us off at an abandoned field camp, gravity than Earth, so if a large impactor meteorites. The blue ice is really beautiful about 60 miles from our destination. I thought hits them, some of their material can be and looks like a frozen ocean. There are I would feel abandoned when the plane left, ejected into space. When we recover areas where it is forced up on a mountain- but I actually felt excited to get this expedition these meteorites, it’s like a present from side and the wind cuts grooves into it. underway. space without even having to go there to Snow piles on these grooves and, from a The next morning we left for our first get these samples. Meteorites are really distance, it looks like a giant swell on the traverse to our field camp at Goodwin packages of information about our solar ocean complete with whitecaps. Blue ice Nunatak. A week and a half later we left system that come to us, literally dropping is really compacted and recrystallized for the MacAlpine Hills, about 40 miles from the sky. All it takes is a little effort to snow that can be over 100,000 years old. north of Goodwin. We are in the recover them. I’m sure there is someone who would love Beardmore Glacier region of Antarctica, Not only are we recovering meteorites, to bottle this as pure glacial water, but to which is where the Antarctic ice sheet runs but we are also doing a lot of other sci- us it’s just for basic needs. into the Transantarctic Mountains. ence. One project involves testing a set of There is never a time in camp where This location is ideal for meteorites “sensor pods” for NASA. They are about there isn’t something to do, whether it’s because the ice from the Antarctic plateau a dozen temperature and humidity sensors tinkering with a snowmobile, filling camp runs up against the mountains. This forces that communicate with each other and stoves, chipping ice, or figuring out how the ice upward where strong, pressure-dri- work in unison to gather data. We also are to make your computer work on minimal ven winds called katabatics ablate the ice. planning to set out a number of rocks out- battery power at temperatures hovering Meteorites are literally stranded on the fitted with temperature and humidity around freezing. With burning stoves in surface. Unfortunately, so are a number of probes to gain a better understanding of our tents, we always have to be on guard other rocks that we have to sift through to the weathering that occurs in meteorites against fire and fumes. Yet, we are really find the meteorites. One member of our after they land on the ice. NASA is also struck by the awesome beauty of this team brought a metal detector that has interested in our reconnaissance team, place. As the sun goes around counter- helped, but not all meteorites contain iron. which we call the Rekki team, to see how clockwise, the mountains look different So it just takes careful observation to pick a small group of people reacts to extreme and the ice brings out its full color. out the meteorites from the rest of the situations and doing sample recovery as We have had great success meteorite rocks. Dr. Daniel Glavin of the Max Plank an analog for a mission to Mars. The hunting, and that makes this all worth- Institute of Mainz, Germany, compared Rekki team has two NASA employees; while. Our guide, Jamie Pierce, measures this to an Easter egg hunt. I think it’s more Dr. Cady Coleman is an astronaut who has success by whether we all make it back like fishing where for a while it seems been on two shuttle missions, and Dr. from the field safely. Between the two they’re biting — and then nothing for Dean Eppler who tests space suits. They teams, we have already found hundreds of hours. It’s also rewarding like fishing. will certainly have some valuable obser- meteorites, but we would gladly trade Some days you get a large quantity of vations after this field season is over. quantity for a unique variety or a Martian meteorites that are all the same, and other Another member of the Rekki team, Dr. or lunar meteorite. days you get one rare variety. I will always Diane DiMassa has our team testing out a You can follow our progress on my trade quantity for quality. new design for a wind turbine. website: Meteorites are very important, scientif- Field camp life can be difficult. Two http://tea.rice.edu/tea_caldwellfrontpage.html ically, because they are the best source of days after we arrived, 20-knot winds and Hopefully we have many more mete- sub-zero temperatures hit us. We calculated information as to where our solar system orites to recover, or just one unique one. came from and how it formed. Dr. Scott one morning that the wind chill was -45F. Messenger of the Beardmore team actual- To add to our frustration, our solar panels ly studies “pre-solar grains” which are could not operate in the wind to give us Andy Caldwell is part of the Teachers dust sized particles found in meteorites power and our wind turbine was going out. Experiencing Antarctica program. He that come from supernovae (exploding On top of this, our camp stoves kept mal- teaches high school astronomy, geology, functioning. We not only rely on the stoves and physical science in Castle Rock, Colo. 4 • The Antarctic Sun December 29, 2002 A dozen days to collect cosmic rays By John P. Wefel he Advanced Thin Ionization so a balloon launched in mid-December to rounding mantle of the old star. This Calorimeter (ATIC), one of two mid-January travels with these winds, cir- results in a collapsed core – a neutron star astrophysics payloads the Long cumnavigating the continent in 12-15 or a black hole – and shells of matter mov- TDuration Balloon program will carry days, and arriving back in the vicinity of ing at high speed away from the center out this season, is attempting to understand the William’s Field. In contrast, balloons into the surrounding space, the interstellar ‘cosmic accelerator’ – the process by which launched in most U.S. flight locations tend medium. Since most, if not all, stars have bits of matter can be accelerated to speeds far to have maximum flight times of only a magnetic fields, these moving shells are above those available in Earth-based acceler- few days. magnetized. As the shock wave moves ators. These particles are the nuclei of atoms ATIC must collect as many ultra-high out, it sweeps up interstellar matter in a of all of the elements. They are called galac- energy particles as possible to determine snowplow effect, and it is at this shock tic cosmic rays since they bombard the if there are differences between the boundary that theory predicts particle Earth continually, from all directions, energy spectra of different ele- acceleration to occur. Charged particles and originate outside our solar sys- ments and measure the change are trapped in the region of the shock by tem, i.e. elsewhere in the galaxy. in relative composition. the magnetic field and bounce back and Galactic cosmic rays are the speaking Theory predicts that such forth across the shock boundary, gaining only complete sample of changes should be energy from the shock wave on each matter from beyond our solar of observed at these high crossing. science... energies where the cosmic However, just as a snowplow can be system available for direct study, but they are traveling at stopped when it has pushed nearly the speed of light. up too much snow, so the When one of these high energy supernova shock wave even- particles enters the Earth’s atmosphere, tually comes to equilibrium it encounters an air atom, usually nitrogen when it has swept up enough or oxygen, and undergoes a nuclear inter- interstellar matter. At this action that produces a copious spray of point the acceleration turns secondary particles. Many of these sec- off, and this determines the ondary particles also interact to form an maximum energy to which a ‘air shower,’ some of which reach the sur- particle can be accelerated. face - mostly electrons and mesons. These The theory predicts a latter secondary particles form the cosmic charge dependent maximum ray background seen in the laboratory. energy. Above 100 TeV However, to study the primary galactic (terra electron volts) the cosmic rays, it is necessary to get above hydrogen should decline Antarctic Sun File Photo first, followed by helium, most of our protective atmosphere into the Preparing for the 1999 launch of the long duration balloon. near-space environment. This is the job of then carbon, and lastly iron. the large, thin, polyethylene, helium-filled accelerator has reached its maximum ener- This is the characteristic signature of the balloons that will be launched at Williams gy. This widely accepted theory identifies supernova remnants acceleration that ATIC Field. Filled with about 0.8 million cubic the cosmic accelerator with young super- is designed to detect, if it can record suffi- meters of helium, these balloons carry nova remnants. cient numbers of events in the vicinity of payloads of about two metric tons to alti- All stars evolve, with the more massive 100 TeV or higher. Hopefully, the data will tudes around 37 km, above 99 percent of stars burning their hydrogen to helium, and confirm (or refute) the supernova remnants the Earth’s atmosphere. helium to heavier elements. The higher the acceleration theory, and, if a refutation, the The ATIC experiment is attempting to internal temperatures, the faster this results may point to another type of ‘cosmic push the high-energy frontier, measuring process occurs. Compared to our sun, accelerator’. galactic cosmic rays at the highest energy which will continue to evolve for 4 or more Technically, ATIC combines three sep- possible from balloons. The galactic cos- billion years, a very massive star can com- arate high-energy particle detection sub- mic rays follow a power law in energy plete its life cycle in 10s of millions of systems, enclosed in a pressurized shell with the integral intensity (particles per years, very rapidly on the cosmic time 2.3 meters in diameter and weighing 3,400 unit area per unit time) decreasing as ener- scale. For a star, say 20 or more times as pounds. We attempt to duplicate what hap- gy to the 1.7 power. For every increase by massive as our sun, the end of that evolu- pens in the Earth’s atmosphere to make the ten in energy, the intensity decreases by tion is a large explosion, called a superno- measurement. just over a factor of 50. So, to collect a sig- va. For months a supernova can be brighter From the possible 6,000 channels of nificant number of the highest energy par- than most other stars in the sky, depending data, those that are triggered are pulse ticles we need to fly as big an experiment upon its distance from us. Supernova have height analyzed and written to an on-board as possible for as long as possible. The been observed, historically, by all cultures 70 Gbyte disk archive. At the termination size of the payload is limited by the weight and were often called “guest stars.” of the flight, the data disk is recovered and the balloon can lift, and the flight time is Supernova represent some of the most returned to the ATIC institutions for determined by the high altitude winds. powerful events, occurring in the galaxy detailed analysis. In Antarctica, during the austral sum- about once every 10 to 50 years, we mer, the upper altitude winds form into a believe. The core of the evolved star John P. Wefel, a researcher from vortex centered on the pole. The air moves becomes gravitationally unstable, collaps- Louisiana State University, is the princi- in approximately a circle around the pole, ing in upon itself, heating the matter to pal investigator for the Advanced Thin form the explosion that throws off the sur- Ionization Calorimeter project. December 29, 2002 The Antarctic Sun • 5 around the continent

sail on a Navy vessel from Rhode Island with the outside world, it is easy to grasp SHIPS in 1956. They were headed to Antarctica the scientists’ frustration. There is also a OAE onboard to participate in an expedition marking the gruesome account of a senseless incident By Chris Kenry International Geophysical Year (IGY) of with two Emperor penguins that will make NBP correspondent 1957; a worldwide program of geophysi- even the most hardened reader squirm. You never know whom you’ll meet on cal research that was conducted by 70 Behrendt may give a talk and show board a United States Antarctic Program countries and about 30,000 scientists. some slides while at McMurdo in early vessel. Oh, there are the same recogniz- In his talk and his book Behrendt gives January. He had also intended to sell able faces of crew members and the a lively account of the sea voyage from copies of his book, but those eager to pur- Raytheon staff, but when the rotating cast Rhode Island to the Weddell Sea, but his chase one will have to wait. He sold all of of grantees arrives it’s a bit like the begin- story really picks up when he tells about the copies he brought with him to people ning of The Love Boat, minus the sexual his party’s 81-day oversnow traverse of on the ship. high jinks and fancy cocktails, of course. the crevasse-riddled Filchner Ice Shelf. On this trip from They traveled in snow cats that had been Lyttelton to McMurdo SOUTH POLE there is a stately older man with a vague resem- Comms milestone blance to Buddy Epsen. By Nick Powell His name is John South Pole IT project engineer Behrendt and, as I dis- Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, covered from talking to one of Earth’s most isolated places, made him, he is retired from a giant technology leap forward last week. the U.S. Geological The South Pole MARISAT GOES Survey and is a profes- Terminal (SPMGT) achieved its design sor of geophysics at the objectives for improved off-continent University of Colorado. communications. MARISAT F2, TDRSS He is also a modest man F1 and GOES-3 combined now give who has to be coaxed South Pole 11.5 hours of high-speed satel- into revealing his many lite communications a day. achievements: He has South Pole depended on high-frequen- been to Antarctica 12 cy (HF) radio for voice and low-speed times and has a range of teletype communications to McMurdo for many years after station opening in 1957. mountains named after Photo by Nick Powell/Special to The Antarctic Sun him; he’s published over South Pole’s 9m full motion tracking antennas next to the 3m However, HF radio is slow, subject to 300 academic papers; backup antenna. The inset graph shows the first signal plot of interference and suffers from solar flare- and he won the 1999 connections over GOES. From left to right, the signal peaks rep- induced blackouts, sometimes lasting for resent South Pole outbound and inbound high speed links, the days. ATS-3 and LES-9 initially demon- Colorado Book Award low speed link from Onset-D field camp and the GOES beacon. for non-fiction. strated South Pole satellite communica- On this, his 13th trip tions potential. However, increasing sci- to Antarctica, he is sailing on the specially equipped with mine-sweeper- ence and operational data transmission Nathaniel B. Palmer to assist scientists like “crevasse detectors” which, Berendt demands, the Internet and e-mail showed Steve Cande and Joanne Stock in their says, “didn’t really work.” A fact that is the need for even faster service. TDRSS study of the Ross Sea floor. Behrendt underscored by several nail-biting pho- was the first high-speed data communica- recently took time out of his shipboard tographs of the back half of the cat slip- tion satellite used by South Pole. schedule to give a slide show and tell sto- ping into a crevasse. MARISAT and GOES followed adding ries about his 40-plus years doing science The most dramatic part of the story, capability which will support the station’s in Antarctica, some of which he has turned however, is when Behrendt relates the intra- and intercontinental communica- into a book: Innocents on the Ice: A clash between the science party and their tions needs well into the next decade. Memoir of Antarctic Exploration. naval commander who insisted on doing SPMGT upgraded the MARISAT and The book, a combination of journal things “the Navy way.” When you read GOES data rates to T-1 (1.544 Mbps) entries and pictures from the 1950s mixed about Capt. Finn Ronne, a man who once slightly faster than the 1.024 Mbps avail- with present day commentary, begins left the science party out in the field for six able over TDRSS. The new weeks without any way of communicating when he and several other researchers set See Pole on page 6 the week in weather

McMurdo Station Palmer Station South Pole Station High: 31F/-0.4C Low: 21F/-6C High: 44F/7C Low:32F/0C High: -10F/-23C Low:-24F/-31C Wind: 39 mph/63 kph Wind: 20mph/31kph Wind: 20mph/32kph Windchill: -6F/-21C Melted precipitation: 8mm Snowfall: Trace 6 • The Antarctic Sun December 29, 2002

Pole From page 5 MARISAT/GOES service ing the delightful dinner of a leopard seal, lengthens the daily satellite they are using them as slides. And as window providing more much as everyone on station would like to telephone call, e-mail, Web jump aboard a berg and play with the pen- browsing and instant mes- guins, there are precautions to be taken so senger opportunities, while as not to put personnel, equipment and higher data rates speed Web wildlife in danger. access and file transfer, as Icebergs have a tendency to split, calve well as improve telephone or even turtle, a term used to explain the audio quality. Satellite phenomenon of icebergs flipping over. ground stations in Miami, Though up to 90 percent of an iceberg can Clarksburg, Md., and White be underwater, it can become top heavy Sands, N.M., support links and flip at will. Sometimes a slight rise in through MARISAT, GOES the waves will cause a berg to turtle or and TDRSS, respectively. calve without warning. Thus, we do not go Circuits through Raytheon within 300 feet of the glacier face or with- Polar Service (RPSC) HQ in three times the height of an iceberg in Denver provide tele- while on board a zodiac. If an iceberg phone and Internet network Photo by Jeff Kietzman/Special to The Antarctic Sun comes to within three times its height connectivity. An iceberg reflects in the still waters near Palmer Station. from shore we all keep our eyes, ears and Originally installed during the 2000- camera shutters wide open. 2001 austral summer, SPMGT required PALMER It has been almost 10 years since considerable attention the first year and Palmer Station has seen this much iceberg data throughput did not meet expectations. Ice movement activity, and it is certainly enjoyable for The following summer brought greater By Jeff Kietzmann the whole crew. Unfortunately, this understanding of operating a 30-foot Palmer correspondent increase may indicate bad tidings for the diameter, full-motion satellite tracking At Palmer Station you can go to sleep ice shelves and glaciers in the Antarctic. antenna in the harsh South Pole environ- at midnight to a crystal-clear harbor and Climate change could be responsible ment. wake only hours later to a brash ice-filled for the 10 meter per year retreat of the Though improvements increased inlet punctuated with a group of massive Marr Ice Piedmont glacier located just MARISAT performance, GOES integra- icebergs. The ice here moves fast regard- behind Palmer Station, as well as the tion was another season away. System less of size or type, and this year the bergs recent breakup of the Larson-B Ice Shelf. performance showed the antenna feed have been prolific in both abundance and Giant icebergs calving from the Ross Ice which collects and transmits radio signals majesty. Shelf seem a more random. required replacement. Over the austral Icebergs are formed when glaciers or Arguably, it is possible that our winter, RPSC, NSF and subcontract engi- ice shelves calve into floating blocks of increase in local icebergs is a matter of neering staff developed a repair and mod- ice. Icebergs are considered blocks of ice natural fluctuation in regional climate. ification strategy so SPMGT would meet larger than five meters above sea level. More research is definitely necessary to design goals. Flat-topped icebergs (tabular bergs) are get to the bottom of this trend. Many orga- Repair and modifications began in late normally created by an ice shelf, whereas nizations are actively investigating the November with feed replacement the cen- more sculpted and irregular shaped ice- questions surrounding the changes in tral activity. The task required a crane bergs are formed from glaciers. At any Antarctic ice. because of feed size, weight, position in given time, a selection of icebergs may be In the meantime, we here at Palmer the antenna and sensitive interior electron- present just offshore from Palmer Station. Station will continue to enjoy the splendor ics. Delicate, precise crane work permit- Photography of icebergs is a favorite that icebergs bring to our small community. ted task completion by FEMC and IT per- pastime for station personnel. Everyone sonnel within an hour. Integration and wants to capture the mag- testing brought SPMGT up to its full nificent blues and greens potential within weeks. Now, complete of the perfect berg. automatic control of SPMGT allows unat- Icebergs are tinted blue tended system operation to minimize due to light scattering 4,000 foot walks from the main station for within ice that has com- service calls, a welcome system feature! pressed out all of its air SPMGT represents the first large, com- bubbles and gases. The plex satellite communications ground sta- green seen on icebergs can tion of its type installed in an Antarctic inte- be from metallic com- rior environment. Engineering, installation, pounds or the result of operations and support personnel drew algae growing. from a limited body of knowledge when Aside from being pic- designing, installing and operating turesque, the icebergs pro- SPMGT. Their efforts made SPMGT a real- vide a playground and ity and brought South Pole a new commu- additional safe havens for nication system designed for the 21st centu- the local penguin colonies. ry. If they are not using the Photo by Jeff Kietzman/Special to The Antarctic Sun icebergs to avoid becom- Icebergs float in the distance beyond Palmer Station. December 29, 2002 The Antarctic Sun • 7

Spreso From page 1 may change again in the next few thou- sand years, so a north-pointing magnet “It’s more symbolic,” said Terry would aim south instead. Gacke, lead driller with Ice Core Drilling “We speculate it’s not like a switch flip. Services of the University of Wisconsin at It’s a more gradual thing,” Anderson said. Madison. The five Global Seismographic SPRESO is a quiet place. From SPRE- Network stations in Antarctica - at the SO the South Pole station can be seen but South Pole, Palmer Station, Scott Base, not heard. About a 25-minute snowmobile the Dry Valleys and Casey Station - are ride away, the new, elevated station and also important because of their location on old silver dome flicker on the horizon like the Earth’s most sparsely populated conti- a mirage in the desert. The rest of the view nent. The South Pole Station is unique in from SPRESO is flat, white and very still. that it is on the axis of rotation of the SPRESO is the first experiment in the earth. newly formed “Quiet Sector,” an area set Large seismic events of magnitude 8 or aside for experiments that need a location higher can set the Earth into an oscillation, free from the ground vibrations caused by like the vibrations of a bell after it’s been activities at and around the South Pole struck very hard. These oscillations can Station. continue for several days. “The problem is the station at the South “Just by listening to the bell, you can Pole is getting noisy to the point where the figure out something about its shape,” data is less and less useful, so we had to Anderson said. “The problem is, the bell move to where we could actually hear (Earth) is also spinning.” earthquakes again,” said Kent Anderson, a Because of the spinning, it’s difficult to seismologist with the U.S. Geological sense the pure oscillation. Survey. “There’s only two places you can hear The South Pole seismometers are part the bell ringing clearly without the effects of a Global Seismographic Network of of the spinning globe, and those are the 126 stations. Each station on the network axes of rotation,” Anderson said. contains multiple sensors with the capabil- The northern axis, at the North Pole, is ity of measuring the motion of the ground a floating ice pack, making it difficult to from very long period changes, such as the put a seismic station there. That leaves the deformation of the Earth caused by the Photo by Kristan Hutchison/The Antarctic Sun South Pole as the best place to listen to the orbit of the moon, up to high frequency Denise Braun works the drill controls as Earth vibrating. motion, like a recent quake in the older Bella Bergeron helps guide it down. Below, a rope disappears into the 270 meter deep “That’s what makes this station impor- snow at SPRESO. hole. tant,” Anderson said. “We can kind of lis- By having sensors on every continent ten to the Earth ringing without the spin- and in every ocean, the network can ning corrupting the signal.” record smaller earthquakes and more pre- “That’s what makes But recently interference from activity cisely determine their location, size and at South Pole station has been disrupting learn more about the path seismic energy this station important. the Earth’s signal. travels between an earthquake and the We can kind of listen When the first seismometers began receivers. The waves from the quakes run recording data at the South Pole in 1957, it through the Earth, giving researchers a to the Earth ringing was a quiet place. The first station had just way to understand the Earth’s interior in been built and only 18 men spent the win- the same way a CAT scan shows doctors without the spinning ter. Since that initial installation, there the inside of the brain. have been three other upgrades, moving “We can start piecing together a three- corrupting the signal.” the seismic equipment from the old pole dimensional image of what the inside of station closer to the newer dome, upgrad- the Earth looks like,” Anderson said. — Kent Anderson, ing equipment and then changing to a After 40 years collecting data with the seismologist safer vault at the current V1 location about same network of stations, seismologists 980 feet (300 meters) from the dome. are beginning to notice some changes SPRESO will be the fifth generation of inside the Earth. The seismic waves from seismic stations at the pole. earthquakes recurring in the same spots as “The current station at V1 was an they did decades ago are following differ- appropriate distance when the station was ent paths, indicating the Earth’s inner core not as busy,” Anderson said, “but now may not be spherical, Anderson said. we’ve found it’s more of a cultural sensor Instead, it may be a faceted, crystalline than a seismic sensor. We can see every structure that is rotating separately from tractor moving around.” the spinning of the Earth’s crust. This Now bulldozers, tractors and other could help explain why the wandering heavy equipment rumble around the sta- magnetic poles sometimes wander to the tion 24 hours a day, pushing snow, moving other side. The polarity of the Earth’s supplies, and helping build the new ele- magnetic field has changed about 170 times in the past 100 million years and See Spreso on page 8 Photo by Kristan Hutchison/The Antarctic Sun 8 • The Antarctic Sun December 29, 2002

From page 7 vated station building. The ice-shaking vehicle traffic shows up in the seismic record, drowning out smaller earthquakes. Anderson can tell when lunch and dinner breaks are, just by looking at the seismic record. The USGS started planning to move the seismic equipment in 1994, in collab- oration with the National Science Foundation and the Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology. First the USGS did a survey, setting instruments every mile away from the station, up to 25 miles (40 km) out, Anderson said. The instruments stopped picking up the station activity at mile 10 (16 km), but that was too far to bring power from the station. Further analysis with the assistance of the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Lab determined that burying the seismometers 800 to 1,000 feet (240- 300 meters) under the ice would be the Photo by Kristan Hutchison/The Antarctic Sun same as going out 10 miles, Anderson said. AT SPRESO camp, 8 km from Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, the drillers live in moun- Burying seismometers isn’t unusual, tain and Scott tents in temperatures always below freezing. but placing them in ice is. never see them again,” Anderson said. Alaska, designed a reamer to scrape the “We put them deep in rock all over the A small building will be buried in the sides of the borehole and catch the chips in world, but these instruments are made to ice nearby to hold the computers and data its barrel. Every 3 to 6 feet (1 to 2 meters), run at room temperature,” Anderson said. recorders. the drill barrel has to be pulled to the sur- “We’ll have to heat it.” Just drilling the 885 feet (270 meter) face and emptied. The 6-inch (15 cm) instruments will be holes is a bit of an engineering feat. The “This reamer system is an experimental in a 10-inch (25 cm) casing, filled with holes must be at least 12 inches (30 cm) in engineering project in progress,” said perlite insulation and heat tape. diameter and need to have flat bottoms for Gacke, lead driller for ICDS. The new seismometers have been run- the instruments to sit on. The coring drill He and five other drillers - Lou & Mark ning for a year at the V1 site near South creates a 6-inch (15 cm) diameter hole. Albershardt, Denise Braun, “Bella” Pole station to test them. By mid-January, The solution was to drill 6-inch holes, Bergeron and Matthew Pender - are work- Anderson expects to move them to the then shave away the sides. The difficulty ing on the project, all with many years of new holes at SPRESO. has been keeping the ice chips from filling experience in the Antarctic, Arctic and “We’ll put our instruments down at the the hole as they are shaved off. Mark Greenland. bottom, fill in with sand, and hopefully Wumkes of Glacier Data in Fairbanks, “All these people are competent and talented drillers,” Gacke said. “It takes a unique individual to come out here and deal not only with cold weather camping issues, like sleeping in unheated tents at -40, melting snow for our water supply, and cooking our own food, but (also) all the mechanical problems that come using this kind of experimental equipment at these temperatures.” The first two holes were drilled quick- ly, going down about 100 feet (30 meters) a day, because the cores weren’t being saved. The third hole will be drilled more slowly and carefully, about 33 feet (10 meters) a day, so the drillers can save the core for the International TransAntarctic Scientific Expedition (ITASE). At more than 980 feet (300 meters), it will be the deepest ice core ever taken at the South Pole, dating to about 3,000 to 4,000 years old, Gacke said. Cores from the first two holes were melted down as drinking water last sum-

Photo by Kristan Hutchison/The Antarctic Sun mer. And once or twice, the SPRESO The drillers clean ice out of the shaft while reaming the hole to fit seismic instruments. Bella water did end up in a celebratory espresso Bergeron, far left, pushes the shaft through and Terry Gacke helps from the other end as or mixed with the camper’s beverage of Denise Braun and Matthew Pender watch. choice. December 29, 2002 The Antarctic Sun • 9

By Kristan Hutchison most obvious differences are Sun staff air and gravity. Mars air is a Dry streambeds, wind- thin, unbreathable combina- carved rocks, red pebbles laid tion of mostly carbon dioxide flat like paving stone — a and little nitrogen, with a sur- landscape so alien it can be face pressure the equivalent of only Mars, or Antarctica. 100,000 feet altitude on Earth. Over and over writers and The South Pole’s surface pressure researchers compare Antarctica to fluctuates between the equivalent Mars, or Europa, or the International of about 10,000 to 11,000 feet alti- Space Station. When Kim Stanley tude. Gravity on Mars is 0.38 of Robinson was researching his Mars trilo- Earth’s, so 100 pounds would feel like 38 gy, he read about Antarctica to understand pounds. But the mass of things is the what the red planet was like in its early same. years. He later came to Antarctica as a “Newton’s laws still apply. If you’re National Science Foundation grantee. going a certain direction at a certain “I thought parts of the Dry Valleys speed, you’re going to want to stay going looked very much like photos of Mars. Applications International Corp., who a certain way at a certain speed,” Hoffman The field stations and even McMurdo studied the weather patterns in the Valleys said. reminded me of what I thought early Mars in 1983 and 1984 in order to better under- Mars is also much colder and drier than stations might be like,” Robinson wrote in stand Mars. The Dry Valleys look almost Antarctica, according to Berry Lyons, lead an e-mail. identical to photos the Viking lander sent of the Long-Term Ecological Research Subtle signs around the Antarctic sta- back from Mars “right down to the rocks Project in the Dry Valleys. The LTER is tions show the inhabitants’ thoughts also that are there,” Eppler said. one of 24 LTER sites funded by the drift spaceward. A map of Mars hangs in Three billion years ago, Mars was National Science Foundation around the the computer room at the South Pole. In probably even more like the Dry Valleys world. Taylor Valley gets about 3 cm of the nearby lounge, a flag that went on the are today. Back then Mars was warmer precipitation a year; Mars maybe 1 cm. space shuttle Columbia is on display. A and had water, and therefore maybe life, While the temperature in the Taylor Valley similar one hangs in Crary Lab at Eppler said. averages almost –4F(-20c), the tempera- McMurdo Station. “There’s a period of time when we’re ture at the equator of Mars averages almost certain Mars was warm and wet,” around –55F. Mars also has a more Discount space program Eppler said. extreme variation temperature, even with- It’s not just sci-fi. Even the National The signs of water remain in what in a few feet. The Pathfinder found that Aeronautics and Space Administration appear to be dry lakebeds, Allen said. when the sun shone on Mars the ground (NASA) comes to Antarctica to find out Now most of Mars’ water is trapped in its could get to 65F degrees, while five feet about space. More meteorites have been polar regions. The Mars ice caps are part up it was 15F degrees. At night the same collected from the Ice than anywhere else, water and part dry ice, layered with dust spot would drop to –130F at ground level on Earth or off. Technology and people like the face of a glacier. Rather than and –105F at five feet up. are tested in the harsh environment and falling as snow, the ice crystals build up “This brackets what you experience for NASA looks to the Antarctic to under- like frost, similar to the pattern on the temperatures,” Hoffman said. stand what life might be like on Mars or coldest parts of the Antarctic plateau, said Still, each time biologists working in Europa. Stephen Hoffman, a research engineer the Dry Valleys find life – frozen into the “Antarctica is more like Mars than any with Science Applications International lake ice, hiding in the sandstone – they place else on Earth, and if you want to Corp., working in the exploration offices turn toward Mars. If it’s here, they say, it understand Mars, you start in Antarctica,” at the Johnson Space Center. must be there. said Carl Allen, astromaterial curator at “The water shifts from the summer A decade ago microbiologist E. Imre the Johnson Space Center in Houston, pole to the winter pole,” Allen said. “It’s Friedmann found lichen and cyanobacte- Texas. sort of like the sea ice here.” ria growing in tiny spaces between sand- Like Antarctica, Mars is a polar desert. The comparison between Mars and stone rock crystals, a few millimeters Without water eroding the surface, any Antarctica shouldn’t be taken too far. The below the surface of the rock. The cryp- weathering is from wind or sun, just like toendolithic organisms get just enough the Dry Valleys, said Dean Eppler, a Above, one of Mars’ polar ice caps looks sunlight and water through the porous NASA consultant with Science deceptively like the Antarctic in a photo taken by the Hubble Space Telescope. See Mars on page 10 10 • The Antarctic Sun December 29, 2002

Photo by Kristan Hutchison/The Antarctic Sun Photo by Viking Lander and Mary Dale-Bannister/Courtesy of NASA A dry riverbed in the Taylor Valley, at left, blends into the equally barren landscape the Viking Lander found on Mars. Below, an image of the Mars south polar region, an area covered with ice and dry ice.

Mars From page 9 rock to survive. going to Antarctica,” meteorite field teams in “That got the Mars people very excit- Eppler said. “It’s Antarctica are made up of multi- ed,” Allen said. remote, it’s inaccessi- talented people with diverse Now microbiologists are looking at the ble, and it’s a hostile skills, so the geologist may also Antarctic ice itself and theorizing organ- environment.…We be a mechanic, the chemist an isms may live in a web of briny veins have to pay attention to accomplished cook. throughout it. that or we’ll at the least “That’s the way the Mars mis- “This gets us into thinking about Mars get hurt and at the worst sion will be. People who go to Mars and Europa, the ice moons of Jupiter,” die, and dead people don’t do will not be world-renowned scientists,” Allen said. science real good.” Eppler said. Europa is thought to be much more like Usually Eppler tests space suits, but NASA has also looked at historical Lake Vostok or Lake Vida, with liquid he’s in Antarctica this season with the expeditions to the Antarctic, including a water under a thick shell of ice. Dry meteorite team to study how much time station set up in Queen Maud Land by the Valleys’ researcher Peter Doran has a they spend on logistics versus science. British, Norwegians and Swedes, which grant to try a new technology, called The space program could apply that lasted two years unsupported. Gopher, to draw a sample out of Lake knowledge to the existing space station, as “There are things that have been done in Vida in three years without contaminating well as a Mars mission, he said. the Antarctic that are very similar to what it. The Gopher will vibrate its way through “We would prefer to design into it real- we think the first Mars mission would be the ice cover, pulling out ice cores. When ism from the start,” Eppler said. “Things like in terms of duration, in terms of sup- it nears the water it will stick in a straw to like this give you a chance to see, in a sim- port you get, in terms of number of crew,” sample the briny water. If it works, it ilar environment, how much time can you Hoffman said. “Some of the bigger tempo- could eventually be used on Europa. do science and how much do you spend rary stations like Siple Dome, the infra- “It’s really the first step,” Doran said. beating on snowmobiles.” structure and the capabilities and the level Identifying the life first in Antarctica The amount of time spent just living of support are also comparable.” will help NASA learn to recognize it on and maintaining the station versus doing Even the National Science other planets. science has become an issue at the Foundation’s shopping list for the “We are becoming much smarter and International Space Station, Eppler said. Antarctic program is a valuable resource much more humble about what microor- The station was built for six astronauts, for the space program. Antarctica’s depen- ganisms can survive,” Allen said. “When with the thought that three would be dence on supplies delivered from else- we eventually do go to Mars with people, focusing on science. But only three astro- where makes it similar to space stations, we’re already going to know a huge nauts are on board, doing all the science Eppler said. amount about what to expect.” and keeping it flying. “It’s the only place on Earth you can’t While NASA wants to be realistic in live unless the logistics are here. If the Planning for Mars mission planning how much can be accomplished (supply) ship sinks you can’t stay,” Eppler The logistics of working in the by a mission crew, it also wants to give the said. “From the standpoint of Mars and the Antarctic are also similar to working in astronauts enough to keep them busy, moon, it’s the same thing.” space, and NASA studies the Antarctic Eppler said. He’s making note of how much sup- program to help plan a possible manned “You run into problems not because plies are needed for the field party. mission to Mars. people didn’t like each other, but because “Just data on fuel and heads of lettuce is “Going to Mars is going to be a lot like they got bored,” Eppler said. priceless data nobody else has,” Eppler said. Like the crew on a Mars mission, the See Mars on page 11 December 29, 2002 The Antarctic Sun • 11

Meteorites From page 1 many of the specimens remain unexam- Previous scouting trips were part of the ined. normal field season or consisted of one Meteorites are evenly scattered across long trek where participants and their sup- the globe, but Antarctica is an ideal col- plies were dropped off by a larger plane, lection site since its vast uninhabited ice said John Schutt, lead mountaineer and sheets make them easy to find. science leader for the reconnaissance “We know fairly well what’s fallen on party. He said there are eight to 10 poten- this planet through this program,” said tial collection sites this year, but on-call Carl Allen, a meteorite hunter who is the access to the Twin Otter gives them flexi- astromaterials curator at the Johnson bility to make adjustments. Space Center. Also, he said samples col- “If we get into an area that’s really pro- lected from Antarctica tend to be cleaner ductive, we might want to stay an extra than those from other parts of the three or four days,” he said. world,and consequently “they’re really the The area’s potential was noticed a gold standard of meteorite samples.” decade ago when satellite data indicated a One of the big reasons ANSMET keeps large surface area of “blue ice,” a hard sur- returning to the Ice, despite its vast collec- face favored by researchers, because tion from so many years, is only five of meteorites are less likely to disappear the meteorites are from Mars and about a from view. Schutt said he flew over the half dozen are from Earth’s moon. area at the time to confirm the firmness of Searchers keep hoping to find more, along the surface and found three meteorites with other rarities from space. during a half-hour landing. “Imagine geologists trying to under- Individual sites in the area are within stand the history of Earth from 12 rocks,” 100 miles of each other, Schutt said. said Scott Messenger, a first-year mete- NASA funding will also allow for an addi- orite hunter from St. Louis Washington tional two years of reconnaissance search- University. es in other areas. Locations with large or unusual meteorite collections will be Scouting for space marked as potential sites for full-scale This year’s hunt got a boost from the field searches in future years. National Aeronautics and Space The reconnaissance team is ideal in Administration (NASA), which provided many aspects for the work efficiency enough supplemental funding to allow study and how it might apply to space searches by a smaller reconnaissance flight, Eppler said. He said teams of about team. A small Twin Otter airplane sta- three to four people are likely for the future space missions, and each person tioned at the South Pole will drop the team Photo by Linda Martel/ANSMET at various locations, where they will trav- will need the versatility of those exploring the Ice this year. Last year’s meteorite search team approach- el relatively fast and light as they search es a meteorite, taking precautions not to for meteorites. See Meteorites on page 12 contaminate it.

Mars From page 10 from Antarctica, since they both share the time,” Walker said. “It’s sort of the Astronaut training ground? many commonalities,” Martin wrote in an jumping off place to space. It’s the place NASA sent an astronaut to Antarctica e-mail. “Both activities are associated on Earth that’s the most like space itself.” this year, too, as a form of job training. with a sense of adventure and with the That also makes it an excellent place to “It’s really great training to be here in chance to do cutting-edge science right at develop instruments and technology for Antarctica, trying to do things in some the limit of what is possible with modern use in space. AST/RO uses prototypes of harsh conditions and with gloves,” said technology from the very best sites on or instruments NASA expects to send into Cady Coleman, who has flown on two off the Earth.” space with a new telescope in a few years. shuttle missions, “and maybe building He’s not the first Antarctic scientist to “It’s kind of like a dress rehearsal for some character.” try. As a boy, Chris Walker watched the space instruments,” said Walker, who also Some Antarctic participants hope to go Mercury and Gemini flights, leading to an uses Antarctica as a testing site for other the other way, from Antarctica to space. interest in astronomy and electrical engi- instruments he is developing and hopes to This winter Chris Martin, a scientist with neering, and eventually to the South Pole send into space someday, including a the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for where he also works on AST/RO. Walker high-frequency receiver. Astrophysics, plans to send his application has applied to the space program twice, “A lot of people who want to be an to NASA while he’s wintering over at the and keeps trying. He comes to the South astronaut end up in Antarctica,” said Ted South Pole with the Antarctic Sub-mil- Pole instead, because the conditions are Scambos, who first came to Antarctica as limeter Telescope/Remote Observatory similar to space – high altitude, dry cli- a glaciology student because he was inter- project. mate and dark half the year. ested in space. Scambos applied to the “My interest in space is certainly con- “In many ways it mimics space, where space program while he was getting his you have no atmosphere and it’s dark all nected with my interest in doing science See Mars on page 12 12 • The Antarctic Sun December 29, 2002

Meteorites From page 11 “We all have interesting cross-training and that would also be something you would have on Mars,” said Eppler, who in addition to his space program experience is a geologist and worked in the McMurdo Dry Valleys about 20 years ago. People are often able to put in nearly a full day’s work, both on the Ice and in space, once they’re accustomed to the tasks and extreme conditions. But every- day living tasks remain a consistent chal- lenge, with conditions frequently primi- tive and cramped. “I have a sense the normal everyday things of life take twice as long” at remote Antarctic field camps, said Nancy Chabot, lead field scientist for the larger meteorite- gathering team this season. “As far as col- lecting the meteorites, it would take a bit longer only because you have to be a bit more careful because of the weather.” Astronauts on the Apollo moon mis- Photo by Linda Martel/ANSMET sions put in about six hours of work a day Twin Otter airplanes carry the meteorite search teams and their equipment to field camp at first, but were able to increase that to sites. This year a Twin Otter has been dedicated to recoinnaissance team, allowing them to eight hours with experience, Eppler said. survey more territory. One difference, he noted, is the weather on recent years, but only about half of the among the rocks found on the surface, Earth can lead to longer delays than might blue ice in the area was searched. Chabot said. A telltale sign is a burned occur in space. Six of the eight gatherers are participat- outer crust, caused when the specimen “I’ve heard horror stories where ing in their first ANSMET hunt, Chabot plunges through the atmosphere. they’ve spent 10 days at a time sitting in a said. She said the project typically brings Participants photograph the meteorite, tent going stir-crazy,” he said. in mostly new people who are involved in take a global position satellite recording of meteorite research so they can get hands- its coordinates, make any relevant notes The bigger hunt on experience. and collect it using tongs. Chabot said Most of this year’s ANSMET partici- “What we do is not so hard in one teams can travel 10 to 20 kilometers a day, pants will arrive at Beardmore South sense,” she said, adding “I think the new with the wide variety in the number and Camp and make an all-day snowmobile people don’t realize how much they bring size of meteorites collected significantly trip to the Goodwin Nunataks icefield and to the team.” affecting progress. MacAlpine Hills. More than 500 mete- It typically takes about two to three orites were removed from those sites in days to learn how to identify meteorites See Meteorites on page 13

From page 11 Mars Answer to p.2 crossword PhD, but didn’t make it on his first try. An eye Antarctic Ice Sheet, in an area covered with injury later on kept him from trying again. megadunes that could be like the Mars icecap, Instead of going to space, he’s continued he said. researching in Antarctica. “They’re pretty, but I think the processes “Here you’re able to go out and visit a there, with wind and cold and vapor deposi- place so different from the place you know, tion being the main players, are similar to it’s almost like another planet,” Scambos said. what’s going on in the Martian caps,” The closest he’s been to Mars was a sci- Scambos said. ence fiction movie script he wrote in 1997 and Though Scambos stays on the ground, his a visit to the Dry Valleys. research sometimes takes off. He’s used satel- “A day in the Dry Valleys - that was one of lite images and aerial photos to compare the the most thrilling experiences of my life,” ice sheet in West Antarctica with Mars and Scambos said. “especially seeing the lichen Europa. there in the lee of the glaciers. These plants “Ted will always be on Mars,” joked his wait all year for those few weeks when snow co-researcher, Mark Fahnestock. blows off the hills and melts on them – that’s While Antarctica draws people who have the rainy season. That whole pattern of hun- an interest in space, the envy goes both ways. kering down, and then taking another growth Even for people who have been to space, step in a short burst of good conditions, that’s Antarctica holds allure of its own. a lot like how you’d envision Martian life to “I’ve had astronauts that have said, ‘Wow, work.” I’d love to go to Antarctica. That is so cool,’” This season Scambos worked on the East Eppler said. December 29, 2002 The Antarctic Sun • 13 Meteorites From page 12 Photo and writing contest winners Lab researchers usually request meteorite samples from scien- Below are the winners of most categories of the Antarctic tific catalogs that detail their properties, so the hands-on work is Photo and Writing Contest. The writing and photos will be an invaluable opportunity, Messenger said. published in a subsequent issue. We are still waiting for the “Most people in our field basically just get samples handed to results from the judge of the nonfiction writing category. them,” he said. “This allows me to get a whole other level of the Congratulations to all the winners and all who entered. The process with handling the materials.” entries were impressive and difficult to choose among. Many hunters also take time for small individual projects. “I’ve brought a metal detector with me to try some of the exposed areas,” said Dante Lauretta, an assistant professor in the Photo 2nd - Swirling Snow, by planetary sciences department at the University of Arizona in Other category: Zenobia Evans Tuscon. He said he’s done similar work in Arizona and “the prob- 1st - Self-portrait from a 3rd - Moon over Royal lem with the metal detector is you don’t find the most interesting kite, by Eric Muhs Society Range, by William types.” 2nd - Flags on the Castle Servais Nearly all meteorites come from the asteroid belt between Rock Trail, by Robbie Mars and Jupiter. Most of those are classified as chondrites. Liben Writing Perhaps 5 to 10 percent show evidence of vulcanism – a possible 3rd - Bar Ice, by Cara Fiction sign of planetary origins – and are classified as achondrites. Allen Sucher 1st - "Revolt," by Rebecca said maybe one rock in 1,000 or 2,000 definitely comes from Glover another planet, apparently caused by the rare event of a meteorite Wildlife: 2nd - "Etruscan Urn," by impact knocking a piece of the planet’s surface loose. 1st - Hot Day on Torgy, by Karen Joyce Cara Sucher 3rd - "Ice Cloud," by Joe “There may be pieces of Venus or Mercury out there,” he said. Mastroianni One of the meteorites from Mars was found within 10 kilome- 2nd - Reverie, by Joe Pettit ters of the site, Chabot said. 3rd - Penguins porpoising, by Laura Hamilton Poetry The meteorites are initially classified at the Smithsonian 1st -"The white of morn- Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, where a basic People: ing," by Stefan Pashov chemical analysis is also performed, said Linda Welzenbach, the 2nd - "I refuse to go jog- museum’s meteorite collection manager. Specialists at the 1st Halloween Sunlight, by Zac Willette ging with penguins," by Smithsonian and Johnson Space Center provide final classifica- Karen Joyce tion of the meteorites before sending them to researchers for 2nd - Launching XBT’s from the LM Gould, by 3rd - "Ob Hill," by Ron detailed studies. Smith One notable member of the ANSMET team is missing this Graham Tilbury 3rd - Trash Truck 2002 or year, with lead investigator Ralph Harvey skipping the hunt for 1962?, by Mark Furnish Haiku the first time in 11 seasons due to the birth of his second son. Hon. mention - untitled, by 1st - "Bunny Boot Haiku," Harvey, a geologist at Case Western Reserve University, will get Geoffrey Gilbert by Zac Willette future opportunities to return to the Ice since the project is fund- Hon. mention - Retiring Old 2nd - "Spring sun," by ed through 2006. Glory, by Douglas Ruuska James Battaglia This season’s team is scheduled to complete its work by mid- 3rd - "Wind strums January. Weather and other factors permitting, it will allow them Scenic: McMurdo," by Karen Joyce to mark off one more small area on a map loaded with potential 1st - Tom and Skua silhou- locations for learning more about Earth’s geological visitors from ette with Mt. Williams, by Nonfiction space. Laura Hamilton The results are not back yet. “One of the basic principles of the ANSMET program for 25 years is we pick up everything,” Allen said.

“‘Where is my mind’ “‘Comfortably “That Stevie Wonder by the Pixies, because Numb’ by Pink song that starts ‘There’s we’ve all lost it a bit if Floyd.” no New Year’s Day to we’re down here...but Phil Broughton, celebrate...no April isn’t it fun? Happy South Pole rains’.” What would be a good 2003!.” cryotech from Zellard Lemon with jaguar Antarctic anthem? Erin Diamond, Felton, Calif. mascot from Woodlawn Palmer carpenter’s helper Elementary school from Oakland, Calif. McMurdo boiler tech from Corpus Christi, Texas 14 • The Antarctic Sun December 29, 2002 Profile True Lobe: Seven years as Pole operator “We lived very basic that summer,” she “The whole station celebrated with us,” By Melanie Conner/Sun Staff said. she said. To Lobe, celebrating 25 years of They worked as guides and pilots for marriage was a notable notch in the pass- Liza Lobe talks about her days of land- the tourist company, flying tourists in and ing of time. “I didn’t have problems turn- ing float planes on Alaskan lakes as she out of lakes, touring the state, cooking ing 30, 40 or 50, but celebrating 25 years listens to radio transmissions inside a each night and tending to their guests’ of marriage… that was devastating.” communications building at the South needs, knowing that money was coming While spending a week at McMurdo Pole. in. Station for rest and relaxation, before Lobe’s adventuresome spirit and love For 10 years, Lobe flew tourists around returning to the South Pole, they were of flying became her path to Antarctica, south central Alaska and provided a local allowed to go aboard the U.S. Coast Guard where she is a communications technician courier service to Native villages, by icebreaker. at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. delivering mail, chickens, dogs, and chil- “We joke to this day, because he bought “I’ve been flying for about as long as dren among other things. Then she grew me a cup of coffee and reminded me that I’ve been driving,” said Lobe, who started restless and traded flying in Alaska for we had always promised us a cruise on our flying lessons in Ely, Minn. when she was communicating with planes in Antarctica. 25th,” she said. “Well I got it, the big 16. As a communications technician, Lobe spender. But I still haven’t gotten my To help pay for her lessons, Lobe talks to the pilots, who are flying to and warm cruise.” worked odd jobs at the flight school, any- from the South Pole, about local weather, In December 1999, Lobe said what she thing from typing and washing windows clearances, store hours and sometimes thought would be a final goodbye to to refueling airplanes. But upon complet- even the dinner menu for evening arrivers. Antarctica. But the following October ing the course, Lobe got more than work experience and a recreational pilot’s license. There, she also met her husband, Ken Lobe, a flight instructor whom she married after finishing junior college. Together, they expanded their flying careers. Ken continued to teach and Lobe continued her lessons to include a com- mercial, instrument and float plane license. But being married to the instructor added its own challenges to learning. “My husband was my instructor for my float license,” said Lobe. “Don’t ever have your spouse try to teach you something like that. I used to get so ticked off at him when he would tell me I wasn’t doing something right. I would take it personal and he would say he was teaching like he would any other student. It definitely was challenging.” Despite frustrations, she learned to land airplanes on the lakes of Canada and began working as a fishing guide and pilot, taking fishermen in and out of lakes. Photo by Melanie Conner/The Antarctic Sun Years later, after having two children Liza Lobe takes a note in the communications room at the South Pole, where she talks and moving to Wisconsin, she and her to pilots and other people around the continent. husband accepted an invitation from a for- “I figured if I couldn’t fly the planes, I when other people were preparing to mer flight instructor to help guide a fish- wanted to at least talk to them,” she said. return to Antarctica, Lobe felt the South ing trip with his start-up tourist company Lobe not only talks to planes, but the Pole pulling on her heartstrings. in Alaska. entire continent. When communications “She has many friends here at the Pole, Over the winter, the company booked people at McMurdo can’t reach a field along with field camps across the conti- enough trips to support the couple’s camp, they can give a message to Lobe at nent” said Tracy Sheeley, communications employment and in March 1986, Ken and the South Pole, who then relays the mes- technician and co-worker. Liza loaded up their son, daughter, dog sage to the camp. Lobe returned to her friends under the and cat into their truck and Chevy “It’s listening. (The South Pole) is so Dome at the South Pole one year later, Cavalier and headed to Alaska. high in elevation, that it is a nice vantage while her Ken, who had started a full-time “We looked like gypsies,” she said. point for communications.” job, remained in Cordova. “We arrived in Cordova at midnight in the Listening was exactly what her hus- Hoping to someday stay for another pouring rain with no place to stay and only band did when she told him about the winter, Lobe has returned every summer $247 to our name.” South Pole. The following season, she and and has now logged 36 months on the Ice, For one month, before being able to Ken went to Antarctica together, where including two austral winters since 1995. find an affordable three-bedroom apart- they spent 16 months in three consecutive “I love it here,” she said. “I was lucky I ment, all four lived in a motel with a roll- seasons on the Ice and celebrated their got the job I wanted, but I would have a-way and two twin beds. 25th wedding anniversary. taken a job doing dishes to come down.”