tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67175416006189343322024-02-19T00:53:14.750-08:00Cold DirtJoe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.comBlogger41125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-66894246038009349172014-12-21T13:03:00.000-08:002014-12-21T13:19:03.850-08:00Mud Hunting 2.0<div class="MsoNormal">
We’re on weather hold at McMurdo, waiting for some snow to
clear, which is the perfect time to write a quick post.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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What’s the Cold Dirt team up to this year? We’re here in the
McMurdo Dry Valleys again trying to learn more about shallow groundwater.
Because it’s so cold in Antarctic (-18˚C is the average temperature in this
part of the world), most of the ground is frozen all the time. This frozen
ground is called permafrost. But in the summer, temperatures climb up to
freezing, or even a little bit above. When that happens, the warm surface of
the soil starts to thaw. The ground thaws and ice in it melts down to a depth
of 30-60 cm (about 1-2 feet). This is called the “active layer” among
permafrost geologists because it is where freeze-thaw activity occurs. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When the active layer forms, the near-surface hydrological
system starts to spin up. Water melted from ground ice, snow banks, and even
sucked into the soil from <a href="http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2012/feb/study-finds-salty-soil-can-suck-water-out-atmosphere-could-it-happen-mars" target="_blank">thirsty salts</a> starts to flow downhill. The water fills up the space between the ground surface
and the frozen soil down below (called the ice table), making streaks of wet,
muddy soil we call “water tracks.” Water tracks are like underground streams
that connect the tops of the valleys to the ponds and lakes at the bottom of
the valleys. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHOxovuGajnewMjHbijiASOK1vHHGvGXexH2YihjYGI4dCBjdNkhBv3ZmZmW0K_dbgcQYzbOTfg-ZXDxrmWysIvY3QD2L9JGUPZZE0or6M-qKKKeXFvsDEQnPeJEFi5gkrByfgQqze2si/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHOxovuGajnewMjHbijiASOK1vHHGvGXexH2YihjYGI4dCBjdNkhBv3ZmZmW0K_dbgcQYzbOTfg-ZXDxrmWysIvY3QD2L9JGUPZZE0or6M-qKKKeXFvsDEQnPeJEFi5gkrByfgQqze2si/s1600/photo.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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Water tracks in lower Taylor Valley. Snow melts and water flows downhill. Even in Antarctica.</div>
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This mud isn’t just fun for making mud pies, it’s actually
very important for understanding how the ecosystem here functions and how it
fits in to the bigger global climate system. Water tracks carry water and
nutrients (like carbon and nitrogen) to microbes, algal mats, and invertebrates
in the soils. These organisms may be far from streams and lakes and would be
cut off from food and water without the underground plumbing system provided by
water tracks. As a result, there’s actually quite a bit of soil carbon (living
and dead microorganisms and nematode worms) that builds up in water tracks.
Water tracks provide an organizing principle to the soil biological community
here in the Dry Valleys, marking of places that are wet enough,
food-rich-enough, <a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9204921&fileId=S095410201300045X" target="_blank">but not too salty</a> to live in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Water tracks also give us an idea of what Antarctica might
have been like 15-30 million years ago, when large parts of it were <a href="http://www.nature.com/ngeo/journal/v7/n5/full/ngeo2119.html" target="_blank">not coveredin ice sheets</a>. If Antarctica was cold, but not quite so cold as today, large ice-free areas
may have been crisscrossed by networks of water tracks. This shallow groundwater
system might have been enough to support large communities of plants, microbes,
and some organisms like insects and small invertebrates. If so, Antarctica may
have looked much like the high Arctic today. Carbon preserved from this
comparably warm portion of Antarctic history may be stored beneath the ice
sheets today. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-84782035954828467012014-12-13T20:38:00.005-08:002014-12-13T20:38:44.564-08:00A decade of Antarctic science<div class="MsoNormal">
The 2014-2015 field season is about to begin for the Cold
Dirt team—we’re sitting in Sydney at the moment, waiting for our flight to
Christchurch, New Zealand, and then down to McMurdo Station on Tuesday. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Before I get into the science next post, though, I wanted to
mention that this is a special field season for me. I first was sent to
Antarctica as a graduate student in 2004 to work as a field assistant for Dr.
<a href="http://people.bu.edu/marchant/" target="_blank">David Marchan</a>t at Boston University.
I was bit by the Antarctic science bug that year, and have been back every year
(but one) since then. Ten years is a long time to be working in one place, but
the natural laboratory of Antarctica really is a place like no other. It’s a
place where we can learn about the <a href="http://www.ncl.ac.uk/press.office/press.release/item/what-lies-beneath-scientists-discover-giant-trench-under-antarctic-ice" target="_blank">ancient past</a> or the <a href="http://www.unavco.org/science/snapshots/cryosphere/2013/levy.html" target="_blank">rapidly-changing</a> present.
It’s a landscape that transports us to other <a href="http://www.dailygalaxy.com/my_weblog/2014/11/climate-on-early-mars-may-have-been-very-similar-to-antarctica.html" target="_blank">planets</a> and distant <a href="http://www.space.com/14552-antarctica-lake-vostok-europa-life-jupiter.html" target="_blank">moons</a>.
But most importantly, even though it is often out of sight and out of mind,
Antarctica is a <a href="http://www.nap.edu/catalog/12168/antarctica-a-keystone-in-a-changing-world" target="_blank">keystone</a> in Earth’s climate system, its oceans, and its geology. Research in this far
away place gives us a chance to take the Earth’s pulse and to understand our
place in it better. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "MS 明朝"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-fareast;">So stay tuned! This year will feature more
science, more mud, and more peeks into the scientific enterprise in Antarctica!</span><!--EndFragment-->
Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-83470303749291331702014-10-21T18:24:00.003-07:002014-10-21T18:24:58.029-07:00Painting Antarctica<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWl-3jfy4PkcB1M5nXiHCIAbnQU-kEnuOA2U3nrv5tU48c6mPm9Ojp3-myCUs6I2_AS7oXKwziopbQ-u-FZMbKPzx9tKUZHkpAzEXDELmNLc8mVFBtbap6hlRbeSVw4PVOuE6VMjOI30pk/s1600/lily-simonson-on-ice-20.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWl-3jfy4PkcB1M5nXiHCIAbnQU-kEnuOA2U3nrv5tU48c6mPm9Ojp3-myCUs6I2_AS7oXKwziopbQ-u-FZMbKPzx9tKUZHkpAzEXDELmNLc8mVFBtbap6hlRbeSVw4PVOuE6VMjOI30pk/s1600/lily-simonson-on-ice-20.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />Look familiar? NSF Office of Polar Programs Artist and Writer Program laureate, Lily Simonson, has just concluded a gallery show in Los Angeles featuring paintings of Garwood and Taylor Valley. </div>
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Check out our science + art talk, "Exploring Antarctica: New Frontiers of Art and Science" <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xTuAWsWuvGc" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-8868254205527869902014-02-17T07:43:00.002-08:002014-02-17T07:43:30.436-08:00Climate Change in Two Graphs (and a lot of Facebook posts)<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">I've been having an interesting discussion of climate change and climate education on a friend's Facebook page, and thought it might make more sense to move the conversation over here. The blog format is a little more conducive to long-format discussions than other social media.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">The chat began with a question about why Bill Nye would engage in </span><a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/xx_factor/2014/02/05/bill_nye_vs_ken_ham_it_s_not_about_science_versus_faith_it_s_about_public.html" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;">public debates with creationists</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"> or would </span><a href="http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2014/02/16/bill_nye_debates_climate_change_john_kerry_calls_climate_change_weapon_of.html?wpisrc=burger_bar" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;">debate climate change on the Sunday magazine shows</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">. It definitely gives the non-scientific camp a chance to present their views as legitimate, which is a serious concern given the snake oil they are peddling. But my hope for the debates (and maybe Bill Nye's, too) is that these public "debates" will reach viewers who might ascribe to a creationist viewpoint or a climate change denial opinion just because they live in a family or a community that has denied them access to accurate information. I think we take for granted the free an </span><a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;">unfettered access to accurate science reporting</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">, </span><a href="http://www.cochrane.org/about-us/evidence-based-health-care" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;">updates on medical studies</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">, and</span><a href="http://www.facebook.com/" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;">free venues for the exchange of ideas</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">. It might be that folks who have been sequestered from that kind of information will tune in to see "their" side talk, but will have the candle of critical thought lit by "the other side." Any scientist will tell you, a little bit of doubt is a wonderful thing.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">This led to a discussion of climate change and how we know what we know. Differences of opinion were raised. Some folks had heard different things from different people. Others felt that whatever the facts of climate change are, that stewardship of the planet was most important. In order to help share information with the first group and to help empower the the positive sentiment of the second group, I thought I'd post what I think are the two most important graphs for explaining what is known and what isn't known about climate change. You could save them to your phone so you have them on hand to share whenever (J. Tuzo Wilson, the father of plate tectonics, is claimed to have carried around a little plate model with him in his wallet to show anyone who'd give him the time--he must have been a hit at dinner parties).</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">The first graph is the data plot:</span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUic6wOhf5svoPezD7Q7xKuI_JS0PsJq4lRT_HAafjK9Lqj5LnHOZWxZ-hDTiWPSwgX74of8K3w_98Hff8KfsPcxcnVajMbPwRw0UIOVHm_k1n0QnYTJl4S6p6f50vBHEDaI1NyE-6qqUx/s1600/marcott1.tif" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUic6wOhf5svoPezD7Q7xKuI_JS0PsJq4lRT_HAafjK9Lqj5LnHOZWxZ-hDTiWPSwgX74of8K3w_98Hff8KfsPcxcnVajMbPwRw0UIOVHm_k1n0QnYTJl4S6p6f50vBHEDaI1NyE-6qqUx/s1600/marcott1.tif" height="634" width="640" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">This is from </span><a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/339/6124/1198.abstract" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;">Shaun Marcott's 2013 Science paper</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">. The graph shows temperature anomaly (with error bars that show the statistical range of potential uncertainty around the measurements) during the Holocene (the last 11,300 or so years) in the blue, black, and orange lines. Temperature anomaly is how much warmer or colder a year's temperature is from a specified long-term average. You read this graph from left (ancient) to right (modern). See that big spike at the end? That's climate change. What's cool about the graph is that it's derived from 73 different kinds of measurements of past climate, and breaks down warming by latitude and region (that's what they mean by "stack"--it's a lot of data stacked together). Something serious is happening to our planet!</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">Now, no one who lived 11,300 years ago (in a cave) is still around to tell us how things were, so we rely on temperature records encoded in tree rings, corals, cave stalactites, etc. to measure the temperature in the past. These slow-growing, temperature-dependent natural phenomena are called "proxies." Folks shouldn't distrust proxies just because they are complicated or involve chemistry and math. Anyone who's ever had a strep throat test come back positive might still be alive thanks to proxies. We can't see strep cells with our own eyes, but doctors have devised chemical tests that can detect the presence of strep antigens and then change color (something we can detect) if they're there. The same level of care goes into devising climate proxies. We can't see temperature in the chemical zonation of a stalactite with our bare eyes, but we can measure the ratio of oxygen isotopes in it with sensitive tools to detect the changes different air temperatures caused to the composition of the rock over time. By measuring lots of these temperature-dependent phenomena over time, it's possible to reconstruct the history of past climate around the world. It's like sifting through thousands of newspaper weather reports from ancient history. Each proxy says "on this date, right here, it was this temperature."</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">The second image is the model that helps explain what forces are driving the data. The term "model" can be confusing sometimes. For most people a model means "a small version of something that doesn't do everything the big one does." A model airplane looks like a plane, but doesn't fly you to London. J. Tuzo Wilson's plate tectonics model was cardboard and couldn't possibly capture everything that's going on in the Earth's crust.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">A climate model is different. A climate model is a collection of equations (mostly drawn from thermodynamics--the scientific laws of how heat moves through the universe) that describe the physics of the climate system. It's like the engineering model of the computer or phone you're probably reading this post on. Engineers combined the known behavior of semiconductor chips, resistors, LEDs, etc. into a system so that they could predict how electricity and binary code would move through the complex parts of the computer to display the desired information. Now, your phone doesn't know what you're going to say next (in the same way the output of a climate model isn't prescribed), but the components of the phone are capable of capturing your voice, digitizing it, and transmitting it in a coherent way. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">The climate models have components that describe how heat and water and sunlight combine to make our planet tick. A computer solves these calculations step-wise so that physical laws (conservation of mass, conservation of energy, etc.) are obeyed. What comes out is a dynamic view of how our climate responds to forcings. Forcings are things like changes in solar intensity, or injection of volcanic ash into the atmosphere, etc. that cause changes to the climate. By analogy, heat from the stove burner is a forcing in the stove-teakettle system. Turn up the heat (change the forcing) and the system responds: the teakettle heats up.</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1UVQV6SQKmJP0PV5jv0EkieMBcVLl6gP_D3xrqvXXUnExivFIGs9y39ezrfvmmz7pKc69q0nh5fkqtW7eHhPv3F7xVbPlKMNZ7FYrGdZ2qPCNbeirOyr6lzdPdpxg4AABKAfIln9XvvY/s1600/figure-2-5-l.png" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="548" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji1UVQV6SQKmJP0PV5jv0EkieMBcVLl6gP_D3xrqvXXUnExivFIGs9y39ezrfvmmz7pKc69q0nh5fkqtW7eHhPv3F7xVbPlKMNZ7FYrGdZ2qPCNbeirOyr6lzdPdpxg4AABKAfIln9XvvY/s1600/figure-2-5-l.png" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">So what's in this </span><a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/ar4/syr/en/figure-2-5.html" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; text-decoration: none;">amazing figure from the IPCC</a><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">? The map shows for each continent and the global ocean the observed temperature anomaly (black line), the climate model output for the same time period with only natural forcings (blue bars--it's the range of a lot of models), and the climate models that include anthropogenic CO2 and other emissions (methane, soot, etc.). </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">What's amazing about this picture is that it shows that scientists around the world cannot explain changes to our climate if they only consider natural forcings. </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">To explain what our planet is doing, you have to include human activity. </b><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">That's what scientists mean when they say things like "More than half of the observed increase in average surface temperature from 1951 to 2010 is very likely [90-100% probability] due to the observed anthropogenic increase in [greenhouse gas] concentrations." </span><b style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">It's not that we want global warming to happen, it's not that we feel guilty and want to pin the blame on humanity. It's that the only explanation for the observed facts that fits is that humans are playing a huge role in changing our planet. </b></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">
<span style="background-color: white;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white;"><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">So there you have it--what's going on, and why it appears to be going on in two graphs. It's scary, awesome data. What people do with the results is up to them. My advice: learn to adapt. The world is changing around us whether we like it or not. Better to learn to be happy and wealthy and productive in a changing world. But if folks want to ignore the observations and the best explanations for why change is occurring, that's fine too. Like their Holocene ancestors, folks are allowed to live in a cave. I'd just suggest living in a cave well above sea level. </span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /><span style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;">PS--here's the 2013 update of that amazing figure:</span><br style="font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRXqq3FHWSLj3anrkwEJcDxMEstrMM4YatCikK-baoyMJY3UPBLvWfVr7CdSrgqeuKoAUKS5ZGyJIEmQTvJxo2QpGDsCcUK2pIIMypmRDzcPEt5w2NYbUTh4jORxlF-93aid1yyE5pvF_k/s1600/ipcc2013.tif" imageanchor="1" style="background-color: white; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRXqq3FHWSLj3anrkwEJcDxMEstrMM4YatCikK-baoyMJY3UPBLvWfVr7CdSrgqeuKoAUKS5ZGyJIEmQTvJxo2QpGDsCcUK2pIIMypmRDzcPEt5w2NYbUTh4jORxlF-93aid1yyE5pvF_k/s1600/ipcc2013.tif" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid transparent; box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="598" /></span></a></div>
Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-47083450572016896212013-08-23T08:25:00.000-07:002013-08-23T08:25:25.606-07:00Think it through. Look it up. Test it out.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">There’s
been quite a bit of discussion of this <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/22/opinion/welcome-to-the-age-of-denial.html?emc=eta1&_r=0" target="_blank">Op-Ed piece</a> </span><span style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">that appeared in the New York Times this week.
Although I usually use this blog for sharing research results and funny stories
from the field, I thought it might also be a good venue for thinking a little
bit more about science in society.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Truth be
told, I was kind of whelmed by the article. It mostly rehashed a lot of
discussion about scientific literacy in the US (it lacks) and what to do about
it (do more outreach!). </span><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Both
those ideas ring true, but they're not enough. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">We all
know that the way to achieve literacy is to read a lot. Read books, read
magazines, read blogs (if you must)—and your language skills and knowledge will
improve. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">If
that’s true, then maybe the way to achieve science literacy is to think like a
scientist a lot. All of my friends who are geologists and biologists and
physicists are very comfortable thinking like scientists because we've had
years of practice. But I think that many people, when presented with a problem
that a scientific approach could answer, tend to shut down part way through (the
same way an illiterate person presented with a book might flip through, close
it, and be done). It takes practice to be comfortable attacking thorny problems
every day. The process has to be learned and practiced: thinking things
through, testing ideas out, and (since asking genuinely new questions is really
hard) looking things up in reliable references. To my mind, that's all there is
to approaching the world scientifically: think it through, test it out, or look
it up. A person that can do those things is a person that will not be easily
fooled. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But
most science outreach, including this blog, is mostly focused on the “wow
factor” of science. I work in a kind of cool spot (Antarctica) and have lots of
exciting pictures of geologists jumping out of helicopters and funny stories
about frozen poop. But that “wow factor” isn’t going to help improve a person’s
science literacy any more than exposing them to the “wow factor” of literature
is going to improve their traditional literacy. Seeing how giant a tome Moby
Dick is or watching the glitzy new “Great Gatsby” is going to give a person a
superficial bump in literacy at best. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To
practice what I preach, I’m going to try to use this blog more to explain what
the team is thinking about in the field, and why we’re thinking it, and how we
use the evidence we collect to test our hypotheses about how the Earth (and
Mars sometimes!) is working. That’s the goal for this coming field season (stay
tuned).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">For
now, though, the fact is that you don’t have to be a professional scientist to
use scientific thinking to help solve your problems and answer your questions.
Most people work through problems like scientists every day. When you lose your
keys, most people don’t resort to supernatural explanations or invoke
supernatural solutions (I have one friend who does, but I think she’s an
exception). When you lose your keys, you start to thinking the problem through:
“Where did I see my keys last? On the night stand, of course!” Then you test
your hunch, your hypothesis, by looking on the nightstand. And, of course, your
keys aren’t there. But that’s okay. That’s not the end of science or the end of
your search. You’ve just disproved your first hypothesis. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">That’s
one thing about science and scientific thinking, you have to get used to being
wrong. It happens a lot. The universe is big, and complex, and rather
more wonderful than we tend to assume it is at first. So when we brainstorm
ideas about how it works (or where our keys are), we tend to be limited by our
own experience and the limits of our own imagination. I think this is the point that many people stop looking for answers from science. I've been tempted lots of times to give up an investigation when my prize hunch turns out to be off the mark.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The
good news about disproving a hypothesis is that you can rule it out. Even being
wrong tells you something that you didn’t know before: “I thought my keys were
on the nightstand, but they’re not.” So now, armed with more information, you
can make a better informed guess—you can form a new hypothesis. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What is
on the nightstand is cat fur. And the cat was jumping around on the nightstand
last night, which she loves doing. So maybe she’s part of the puzzle—maybe she
bumped into the keys. And here’s where science is great—you already know
something about how this process could work. Science builds on well-established
knowledge to make more discoveries. You know that if the cat bumped your keys
off the nightstand that you should probably check the floor under the
nightstand first, rather than the bookshelf above the nightstand. That’s
because you know that gravity tends to pull objects down towards the earth’s
center, not up away from it. So you put it to the test, and there they are!
Problem solved!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">This
might seem like a silly example, but at its core, this is how scientists work
every day. They think things though, they test their ideas out, and they build
on tested knowledge that already exists. Where your keys are is a completely
different problem from something a biologist might want to know (like <a href="http://www.npr.org/2013/08/22/214136140/where-the-whale-sharks-go" target="_blank">wherewhale sharks disappear to every year</a></span><span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">), but the structure of
how the scientists went about solving the problem is fundamentally the same. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white;">
<span style="color: #222222; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">So if we
want to improve our nation’s science literacy, maybe the first place to start
is encouraging everyone to think like a scientist whenever they can. The
scientific method is slow, and it’s fully of blind alleys (the keys are not on
the table). It’s frustrating to be wrong so often (they keys aren’t on the
table, or under the table, or even on the bookshelf above the table—I checked
because maybe my wife picked them up off the floor!). But as you work through
all the options, you learn more at each step. You learn about things you
couldn’t even imagine at first. You’re always learning, even when your
hypothesis turns out to be incorrect. And if you stick with it, you can find
answers to even your hardest questions. In the end, there’s no better, more
systematic way of learning about the universe around us (or, other important
things, like where you put your keys). <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-5137385280098502782013-06-20T07:53:00.001-07:002013-06-20T07:55:38.907-07:00At the edge of the oceanSummer is a good time for going through old field photos!<br />
<br />
This is perhaps one of the strangest things I've ever seen in Antarctica. It's the mouth of the Garwood River, where it flows into the Ross Sea. Now, lots of rivers flow into the ocean, but not many rivers flow into an ocean that has a perennial ice shelf floating on it. The ice is thick, so it floats high in the water (like an iceberg, about 10% of the ice sticks up above the water line). The Garwood River flows out to the sea and meets the ice. It has melted a hole through the ice shelf, and plunges down into the sea with a mighty roar. And then it's gone.<br />
<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxzRqRny7PPYKQcyTclvZXGvoQV3-0sFxkReMR7U0JAXqOxdX1k3BLv0d2zpAGFyeH7VP9_Ng27IZXcJS9GLA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-76762450828008577502013-01-24T14:34:00.002-08:002013-01-24T14:34:44.255-08:00The End of the SeasonIt's packing time here at McMurdo. Everyone is in from the field, and all our gear has been cleaned, and repacked, and put away for the long Antarctic winter. The team has spent hours preparing our water and soil samples to ship north--lots of weighing and drying means hours in the lab.<br />
<br />
But the payoff is worth it. We're already getting geochemical data back from our colleagues here from the start of the season in Garwood Valley, and have found some incredibly dense brines in the ponds at the mouth of the valley. What this all means for the evolution of water tracks and buried ice is something we're still mulling over, but the initial results are very exciting.<br />
<br />
In the mean time, Jay Dickson sent along this little animation. It shows the Garwood Valley gang in front of the ice cliff. I think it's a good example of the lengths you sometimes have to go to to get the right sample here to answer your questions. The key to success: don't look down.<br />
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Going up....</div>
<br />Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-41431410821169099892013-01-14T20:02:00.000-08:002013-01-14T20:02:14.574-08:00So much snowSnow in McMurdo, coupled with some icing conditions that make it to dangerous for the helicopters to fly, have kept the team grounded again today. Still, a flightless day can be profitably spent. Yesterday, the team dodged snowflakes and raced back to New Harbor to move some of Chris Thomas' CO2-sniffing equipment. Alex and Chris stayed overnight in our old camp so they could finish fine-tuning the station, while Brendan and I flew back to Lake Hoare with samples and lab equipment that we had left behind during our last camp move. Chris and Alex are hiking back up the valley even as I type this. It's a rather long walk, but the scenery is spectacular!<br />
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I spent the day doing much less entertaining chores than hiking home. We've been so successful sampling Taylor Valley's groundwater that a backlog of raw samples had piled up in the lab fridge. My chore today was to filter all of the muddy water we collected over the last few days so that it could be analyzed (the chemical analysis tools used by <a href="http://bprc.osu.edu/EnvironmentalGeochemistry/people.php#kathy" target="_blank">Kathy Welch</a> and <a href="http://earthsciences.osu.edu/faculty_bios.php?id=33" target="_blank">Berry Lyons</a>--our collaborators at the <a href="http://www.osu.edu/" target="_blank">other</a> <a href="http://www.oregonstate.edu/" target="_blank">OSU</a>) don't handle mud very well, so we have to filter out the clay and silts that hang out in the water tracks.<br />
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The water has to be filtered by hand, using syringes to push water through very fine filters (imagine a strainer with holes in it that are half the width of a human hair). We have to hand filter because one of the things we measure about the water (its isotopic composition) needs to be kept free of contamination. If we used a re-usable, automatic filtering system (like a vacuum pump), we'd have to wash it out every time we used it...and then all of our samples would look like the wash-water, and not like Antarctic groundwater!<br />
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My day's work is now neatly stacked in the fridge, awaiting analysis. Satisfying, but I'd rather be out on a mission gathering more samples in a neighboring valley.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AK79Ywvh3HNccw-MXt601LRc3N1KNpmlfHgJ-dJJ0_JPGLGpMfTV3giOKZNmQ4NnU1MsRb4DDQPL6f2p1HZ_6kRJrYClYaM5-vBRnOSEXRU17vsmXW8Sh762uJgbc6a0SLVTazf5eN9u/s1600/photo+(4).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4AK79Ywvh3HNccw-MXt601LRc3N1KNpmlfHgJ-dJJ0_JPGLGpMfTV3giOKZNmQ4NnU1MsRb4DDQPL6f2p1HZ_6kRJrYClYaM5-vBRnOSEXRU17vsmXW8Sh762uJgbc6a0SLVTazf5eN9u/s320/photo+(4).JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It might not look like much, but there's a lot of water tracks represented in those bottles. You can tell it's a lab fridge because there's no old pizza in it.</div>
<br />Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-53202752030684758472013-01-12T21:40:00.000-08:002013-01-12T21:57:52.641-08:00Taylor Valley Variety Show<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The helicopters don't fly on Sunday, so since our work in the Lake Hoare basin is done (at last!), today has been a day for rest and relaxation...and backing up data, and filtering samples, and cleaning gear (so, actually, it's been a kind of busy day).</div>
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I thought that it might be fun to post a few photos that help capture what the team has been up to here. In no particular order, here's a few snapshots of life in Taylor Valley.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqUDKVQEOgRZt2r105t5y-ecZwDJ4SIX_vRE0sZ-6LNWucRVsLIbrhJ-giH0oHU5nYW9i4PGPXch32TR98G1jZU_WQAvLgc4qt1AfuaItcmBUxTFUA4gGRsQqerVz0_MvltcquEl3Fvlc/s1600/camp_DSC_0688.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOqUDKVQEOgRZt2r105t5y-ecZwDJ4SIX_vRE0sZ-6LNWucRVsLIbrhJ-giH0oHU5nYW9i4PGPXch32TR98G1jZU_WQAvLgc4qt1AfuaItcmBUxTFUA4gGRsQqerVz0_MvltcquEl3Fvlc/s400/camp_DSC_0688.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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The Canada Glacier and Lake Hoare (covered in ice). You can see the camp to the left. The blue dots are buildings and the yellow triangles are Scott tents.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-qyj7-HEhAgEEIDFe9ZZpFOqrAyTvsimfMZgU1atLY6_T6RwIZibdkBflsOdDnMsEiRsXz7t00QGYiV5csM6sB0Sj_wtV-skz9BruPyyJE2AsiitAg8sVmsmG7ry99pJKxkF6xLt_kM1/s1600/lounge_DSC_0731.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb-qyj7-HEhAgEEIDFe9ZZpFOqrAyTvsimfMZgU1atLY6_T6RwIZibdkBflsOdDnMsEiRsXz7t00QGYiV5csM6sB0Sj_wtV-skz9BruPyyJE2AsiitAg8sVmsmG7ry99pJKxkF6xLt_kM1/s640/lounge_DSC_0731.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Chris Thomas relaxing after a long climb up from the lake shore. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7uiwscR4RKmz5ug_1QIMp8sWne66hmlLaDkCEkHJvBo_cp7n9ivr8v0cqF30w9cD-dX3NUmH42H-zPZqvl18t4t3whTk0bRFbHOntileFl8Bbs8dR_LXrQBYqhvpwLjrHEodeK4zZZ7Lk/s1600/snow_DSC_0713.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7uiwscR4RKmz5ug_1QIMp8sWne66hmlLaDkCEkHJvBo_cp7n9ivr8v0cqF30w9cD-dX3NUmH42H-zPZqvl18t4t3whTk0bRFbHOntileFl8Bbs8dR_LXrQBYqhvpwLjrHEodeK4zZZ7Lk/s640/snow_DSC_0713.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Sampling snow and ice that feed the water tracks. </div>
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Those piezometers I talked about in the last post? This is what they look like. All the polkadots are holes that will let groundwater ooze in once the piezometer is hammered in. This process is surprisingly satisfying. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkId_WwIDuHdVj337RXATpr74LUmMZ846ugUtJs1HT-bDKsRfN9v_kR3IWomH6xFEQ0poND-EU0ZnVP2VPps7S3ZlcrIDfb3MdxqoMOgiFvfeAt8fxrBfXfYtg9v2pEOZVOly_WKbcwID/s1600/suess_DSC_0833.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilkId_WwIDuHdVj337RXATpr74LUmMZ846ugUtJs1HT-bDKsRfN9v_kR3IWomH6xFEQ0poND-EU0ZnVP2VPps7S3ZlcrIDfb3MdxqoMOgiFvfeAt8fxrBfXfYtg9v2pEOZVOly_WKbcwID/s640/suess_DSC_0833.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Alex Rytel and I sampling some soil on a water track. The Suess Glacier is in the background, with Lake Chad and Lake Hoare next to it. It's a rather scenic spot to do fieldwork in. </div>
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All these photos come from <a href="http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/users/hermalyn/" target="_blank">Brendan Hermalyn</a>, who was on photo-documentation duty (that's why there's no shots with him in them). </div>
<br />Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-37669872075812495452013-01-10T01:25:00.002-08:002013-01-10T01:25:11.774-08:00Brine time!
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<br />
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It’s been a busy few weeks here in Antarctica, which is why
there have been so few posts lately! I’ve been working with my team—up to 9
other outstanding scientists—which has kept me running around all day getting
the junior team members trained up so they can work on the water tracks and
buried ice projects, and helping the senior team members implement their own
field experiments. With so many big and small projects going on up and down the
whole length of Taylor Valley, it’s been hard to find a minute to post!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, what have we been up to? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br />
The team has been trying to figure out how much water and how much salt is
moving though the ground here in Taylor Valley. Groundwater is a big part of
the total water budget in the valley, but nobody knows for sure how much there
is—that’s what we’re here to figure out. The organisms living in the soil in
the Taylor Valley ecosystem, from the smallest microbe to the biggest nematode
(okay, nematodes aren’t that big, really), rely on groundwater to survive.
These organisms also rely on the groundwater to bring them food—in the form of
nutrients—but are also at risk of being pickled if too much salt gets into the
groundwater. The soil here is VERY salty—so much so that crusts of salt show up
on the ground, looking like frost on the ground on a winter’s day at home.
Because salt dissolves in water, we’ve been trying to follow the water and
follow the salt. When groundwater and soil salts combine, you get a salty
liquid, sometimes called a brine (if you’ve brined your Thanksgiving turkey by
soaking it in salt water, you’ve experienced a piece of what it’s like to work
here). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhorreOLhXyhlomeUAmKLTgp-4Kw_DOSlO6oqo_2l8Ynvq7tyGTXRZ_qcoipH0Cv2YHrNHUb2wUvjXytBW401ooSSFELhmq4w-BaxjMSUvi3JPekes6EundP6482yfJCyqo2Ph6JJJQYHEz/s1600/tv_map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhorreOLhXyhlomeUAmKLTgp-4Kw_DOSlO6oqo_2l8Ynvq7tyGTXRZ_qcoipH0Cv2YHrNHUb2wUvjXytBW401ooSSFELhmq4w-BaxjMSUvi3JPekes6EundP6482yfJCyqo2Ph6JJJQYHEz/s640/tv_map.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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All the brown you see in these satellite images is the cold dirt of Taylor Valley. Green dots are where our camps are. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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We’ve been moving through Taylor Valley over the last few
weeks, bouncing from camp to camp every few days. It feels like we’re bunch of
roadies following a band on tour, except we’re following the brine (“The Brine”
would actually be a pretty good name for a band). So far, we’ve visited New
Harbor (a beautiful camp on the frozen coast of the Ross Sea), Lake Hoare (my
old home away from home next to the Canada Glacier), and Lake Bonney (the
furthest field camp from the sea). <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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At each camp, we’ve been trying to tap into the salty brines
that flow through the ground. We track them by following the salt crusts they
leave at the surface and by looking for lines of wet soil that point downhill.
Water flows downhill, even when it flows through the soil, so dark lines of
dirt mean water movement below! These groundwater flow lines are called “water
tracks.” <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF82toMf7MXqzP04f2UvmblyqyYz56NgxPx5NvxXWf4uqi5syVT0JY54Do2jaw6zwZuI7jKOC5oBKUYe43oa8wJRRcx4i7sEavPL0N5VYp2LOG4xdpvPsc_joELpt-XF-kO8NfTBZ_jBi4/s1600/03+Katie+digging+a+soil+pit+at+seep+patch+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF82toMf7MXqzP04f2UvmblyqyYz56NgxPx5NvxXWf4uqi5syVT0JY54Do2jaw6zwZuI7jKOC5oBKUYe43oa8wJRRcx4i7sEavPL0N5VYp2LOG4xdpvPsc_joELpt-XF-kO8NfTBZ_jBi4/s320/03+Katie+digging+a+soil+pit+at+seep+patch+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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A water track--can you dig it? The water flowing downhill wicks up and darkens the soil. Stolen shamelessly from Becky Ball's <a href="http://polarsoils.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Polar Soils</a> blog. </div>
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<o:p><br /></o:p></div>
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To tap the brine, we’ve been hammering in pipes into the
dirt that have lots of holes in them—like a kitchen strainer. These pipes are
called piezometers. Groundwater flows into the piezometers and we can stick in
a tube to suck it up into our sampling bottles. It’s like sticking a straw into
the Earth. The water we get out can be analyzed by the members of our team to
find out what kinds of salts are in the water (this tells us where they water
came from), how long the water has been in the ground, and how much biological
activity has occurred in the water). <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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We’ve also been trying to monitor what the water tracks have
been doing using a bunch of different technologies. Chris Thomas, a team member
from Oregon State University, and Becky Ball, a team member from Arizona State
University, have been measuring how carbon dioxide (CO2) moves into and out of
the water track, as the creates living in the ground breath. Brendan Hermalyn,
a team member from the University of Hawaii has been using infrared cameras
(that measure the temperature of the whole landscape) to determine how the
water tracks heat up and cool down. Because the water tracks are dark in color,
they absorb a lot of sunlight—but because they’re wet, they cool by evaporation
(the same way sweating cools you off). We’re trying to figure out how these
processes interact to make water tracks suitable for the critters that live in
them. Jay Dickson has been working on recording flow in the water tracks using
time lapse photography—a process similar to the one I used last year to look
for water tracks on Mars! And Alex Rytel, a recent grad from Ohio State
University, has been helping me measure the electrical conductivity of the
landscape. Wet, salty soils are very good conductors, whereas dry soils are
electrical insulators. By looking for the physical fingerprint of water tracks,
we can see how they move brines through the soil. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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As you can tell, we’ve been very busy! Tomorrow, it’s off to
our next camp at Lake Hoare. Time to get packing! <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-88282917464861954872012-12-18T19:48:00.005-08:002012-12-18T19:48:45.579-08:00Garwood InteruptedI'm back in McMurdo after a week out in the Garwood Valley. Kelly, Jay, and Lily are still out in camp, finishing up the last of our work there, but I needed to come into station to meet the rest of the Cold Dirt team, who are scheduled to arrive in McMurdo tomorrow.<br />
<br />
The field season has been going great, despite some unseasonably cold and wet weather. We battled snow several days last week--trying to keep the tents dry (no easy thing when you've got a cook stove burning in the tent) and trying to keep the snow out of our samples.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz__GMMIcU81XBMSmO4gY6ULzsKFH8d73T_hCKnKu1_50PnXruV9eIbE5BxK3f_WaOeZPfmh3zrMRj1Wq-E8Q' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Since we've no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let is snow...</div>
<br />
Snow is a problem for ice and water sampling because it has a very particular chemical and isotopic composition. One of our goals this season was to learn whether there is ancient Garwood River ice hidden in the ground ice deposits in the valley. Finding river ice (sometimes called aufeis) hidden with all this glacier ice would be a big find, since the river ice chemical and isotopic composition could tell us something about what temperature and relative humidity were like in the Dry Valleys during the last ice age (finding paleo-climate records in this part of the world can be surprisingly tricky, so this would be a neat discovery!). Of course, if snow gets into our samples, then we'd learn that ancient river ice in the Garwood looks just like modern snow...which would mean we'd have to throw away our contaminated samples. Still, it sure is pretty!<br />
<br />
When the weather cooperated, though, we raced about collecting ice and soil samples, and refurbishing the time lapse video stations that Jay Dickson has been operating. The cameras have been working great, and are producing video that I'll post here soon. Of course, the camera systems require electricity to run, so we've been hauling big car batteries around the valley. The batteries are charged by solar panels. Here's a video of Kelly hauling a battery across the Garwood River. I promise, I put down the camera to help her once she got ashore!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxZSAkIeHOyBL0tdiyc5e1x5mPZ6LBPB85q9_CnRwQJlKVq2SgyvtsP505Qk-SXjJ_LXDDUiH1Ac5Leh8YwOA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Wanted: 1 pack mule. Must like the cold. </div>
<br />
That same snow is keeping the rest of the Cold Dirt team stuck in Christchurch, but I'll introduce them as soon as they're on the ice!Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-88017961092625691662012-12-10T18:02:00.002-08:002012-12-10T18:02:33.749-08:00How to Pack for AntarcticaIf the weather holds, we should be on our way to Garwood Valley tomorrow! Of course, before any big trip, you've got to pack the car. Or, in this case, pack the helicopter (a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_212" target="_blank">Bell 212</a>, for those aviation nuts out there).<br />
<br />
So, what goes into a ~2-3 week camping trip to the Dry Valleys? We've got tents for living and working in, stoves to cook food and keep warm, sleeping bags, tools, a generator to run our computers and to charge our radios, a satellite phone for safety, and lots of food (243 pounds of dried/canned food and 97 pounds of frozen food). What's on the menu? Stir-fry, curry, chili, steak night (halibut and beef), and "Thanksgiving" for dinners; PB&J for lunch (along with beef jerky and trail mix), and lots of oatmeal, coffee, and cocoa for breakfast. It all adds up to almost 2,000 pounds of gear.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvRi82-uIh8LQQLS8uuRigVuC3HCdWlAoX-4rrVny65JoobQA2_hLwZdQ8A_FqwvVI5fMiHoypy2Qhh5wOR21QrqJiyQsiRQ8ZE682nIt9MGKRfheLyGHziHD33gNtkcgDfHvSAZ63oXg9/s1600/Wave_1_Gear_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvRi82-uIh8LQQLS8uuRigVuC3HCdWlAoX-4rrVny65JoobQA2_hLwZdQ8A_FqwvVI5fMiHoypy2Qhh5wOR21QrqJiyQsiRQ8ZE682nIt9MGKRfheLyGHziHD33gNtkcgDfHvSAZ63oXg9/s640/Wave_1_Gear_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Pack your bags! From left to right: Kelly, Lily, Jay, Joe.</div>
<br />
Here's a sampling of the manifest:<br />
<br />
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Backpack, Womens<o:p></o:p></div>
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Battery, AAA<o:p></o:p></div>
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Bungee Cord<o:p></o:p></div>
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</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 12;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Coffee Maker, Espresso, stove top<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 13;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Crowbar, 12"<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 14;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Cutting Board, Sm, 8"x8", for kitchen box<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 15;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Dustpan<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 16;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Ensolite Pad, 1/2"x28"x84"<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 17;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Extension Cord, 50 ft<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 18;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Fire Blanket<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 19;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Fire Extinguisher, 2.5 LB<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 20;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
First aid kit, Individual/Personal<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 21;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
First aid kit, Mountain Medic<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 22;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Food Cooler, 10-15 gal.<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
3<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 23;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Funnel, Female, Urinary<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 24;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Funnel, Screw-in type for 55 gal. Drum - greyh20/pee<br />
grey water and general use<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 25;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Garbage Bag, 32gal., clear, 125/bx<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 26;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
GPS, Garmin, 76<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 27;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Grater, cheese<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 28;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Hammer, Geologist, Rock<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 29;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Hammer, Sledge, 2-3 LB<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 30;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Hammer, Sledge, 6-10 LB w/ long handle<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 31;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Hand warmer<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 32;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Helmet<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 33;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Human waste bucket, 5gallon w/ gamma lid<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
3<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 34;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Jerry can of MOGAS, 5 gal<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 35;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Jerry can of PREMIX, 5 gal<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 36;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Kitchen Box Supplement, one extra person<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 37;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Kitchen Box, 4-Person<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 38;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Ladder, 6'<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 39;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Matches, Strike-On-Box, 250/bx<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 40;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Mirror, for kitchen box<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 41;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
MOUNTAIN DOME TENT<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 42;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Paper Towel, per package<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 43;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Paracord, aka P-cord, standard<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
100<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 44;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Pick, Rock<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 45;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Pile Liner<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 46;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Pillow, Camp<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 47;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Pot, 24 QT, Stockpot<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 48;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Power Strip<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 49;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Propane, 40 LB tank<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 50;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Purrell, waterless soap<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 51;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Rock Bag, Large ~ 14"x18"<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
100<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 52;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Rock Bag, Medium ~ 10"x17"<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
100<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 53;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Rock Bag, Small ~ 6"x11"<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
50<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 54;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Rock Box<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
10<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 55;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Seat, Toilet, Screws into Human Waste Bucket<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 56;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Shovel, Short Round<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 57;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Signal Mirror<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 58;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
SIPRE Kit<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 59;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
SLEEPING BAG, UNDER 6' TALL<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 60;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Spout, Flex<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 61;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Stove, Coleman, Propane w/ regulator (NEEDS HOSE)<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 62;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Survey Tape, Fiberglass, 100M / 300'<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 63;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Survival Bag, Local, 2 person<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 64;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Table, Allulite - short fat - 29"x48"<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 65;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Tape, Duct<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
6<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
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<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 66;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Tape, Electrical<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 67;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Tarp, Nylon, large, approx. 8'x12'<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 68;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Tent, Endurance, 8'x21'<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 69;">
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<div class="CellBody">
Thermarest<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 70;">
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<div class="CellBody">
Thermos, 1 QT Nissan (includes camo)<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 71;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Toilet Paper, per roll<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 72;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Tool Kit (standard)<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 73;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Trowel, Garden (soil sampling)<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
2<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 74;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Urine bottle, 32 oz.<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
8<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 75;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Urine container, 5 gal<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 76;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Water Bottle Warmer<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 77;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Water Bottle, 1 QT, Nalgene<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 78;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Water Cooler, 5 gal<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 79;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Water Filter, Katadyn System<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 80;">
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<div class="CellBody">
Wet Wipes, tubs<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
4<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 81;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Wrench Set, Combo, Metric<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 82; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-top: none; border: solid windowtext 1.0pt; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .5pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 203.25pt;" valign="bottom" width="203">
<div class="CellBody">
Wrench Set, Combo, Standard<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; mso-border-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-left-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; mso-border-top-alt: solid windowtext .75pt; padding: 0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; width: 76.5pt;" valign="bottom" width="77">
<div class="CellBody">
1<o:p></o:p></div>
</td>
</tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<!--EndFragment--><br />
As you can imagine, it's quite a bit different than Robert Falcon Scott's packing list when he led the Terra Nova expedition to the pole. You can see his packing list <a href="http://docs.lib.noaa.gov/rescue/IPY/IPY_019_pdf/Q115B841919v13.pdf" target="_blank">here</a>. We're bringing fewer Siberian ponies. Actually, no ponies of any kind. Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-76361020714799816972012-12-08T11:47:00.001-08:002012-12-08T16:39:28.500-08:00Where's Antarctica?!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
It's Sunday morning, here at McMurdo--a day for sleeping in a little, checking and re-checking gear, and maybe going for a stroll around Ob' Hill before station wakes up for a mid-day brunch. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Imagine my surprise, when I awoke this morning and headed towards the Crary Laboratory: McMurdo Sound is socked in with thick fog.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbq4RVxHee2A8hZX27aLV90DmuvOOaYcC3tfz719_YArtqHuHAVHEY0shDLu-Kk7liKp7RZi1wrRDHjvO-33phK8TehG44nzjIW2NyGWZKPc9yMTk9owkinTPg5VHoDtw1uXax25ZehcCl/s1600/fog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbq4RVxHee2A8hZX27aLV90DmuvOOaYcC3tfz719_YArtqHuHAVHEY0shDLu-Kk7liKp7RZi1wrRDHjvO-33phK8TehG44nzjIW2NyGWZKPc9yMTk9owkinTPg5VHoDtw1uXax25ZehcCl/s640/fog.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Dude, where's my continent?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Normally, I should be able to look out my lab window and see the Dry Valleys and the Royal Society Range soaring up from above the Ross Sea. This morning, it's just thick, billowy white out there. Part of the Crary Laboratory building is in the foreground. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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My guess is that the warm weather we've been having here at McMurdo (high temperature today: +4˚C or 39˚F) has led really humid air developing during the day (lots of snow and ice to melt). When temperatures drop at "night" (when the sun is low in the sky--but still above the horizon) to temperatures below freezing, all this moisture condenses out and forms the thick fog banks that can cut McMurdo off from the rest of the Ross Sea region. </div>
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It's lovely, if a little mysterious, on a Sunday morning. But fog like this on a working day means no helo flights and no planes coming or going from Christchurch. I hope it clears up before Wednesday: we're hoping to fly across the sound on 12/12/12, and don't want to land at <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brigadoon" target="_blank">Camp Brigadoon</a>.<br />
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UPDATE: 13:30<br />
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That's better. Mount Discovery is back, peeking out above the fog, along with the Kukri Hills (the low hills to the right).</div>
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Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-74522838445013893622012-12-06T22:39:00.000-08:002012-12-06T22:39:02.556-08:00Sweet home McMurdo -- And Happy Campers<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">The weather in Christchurch, New Zealand, has been beautiful all week. The problem is, it's been snowing in McMurdo, which means our plane could not safely land. New Zealand is a nice place to be stranded, but after three days of waiting for the weather to clear, the advance team was ready to go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">And here we are! After a loud, bumpy, long flight south in an old-fashioned C130 cargo plane, we arrived last night. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/mcmwebcam.cfm" target="_blank">Here's what the scene looks like at McMurdo.</a> (The McMurdo webcam is also a pretty good way to check out the weather on station--we kept a close eye on the camera from New Zealand to see when the weather would clear. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Right now we need to prepare to get into the field and to make up for those lost days in New Zealand. Our new Antarcticans (Lily and Kelly) are off at Happy Camper school, the nickname we give to Antarctic Survival training. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Happy Campers walk down a flag-line trail on the Ross Ice Shelf. Photo courtesy Ludovic Bruker<span style="line-height: 18px;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Antarctica can be a dangerous place, so snow school teaches new Antarcticans how to prepare themselves for extreme cold weather. The two-day course is taught mostly outside. </span></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.whoi.edu/cms/images/graphics-pd3-1-cl_20071127_antarctica07_happycamper_200_157395.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.whoi.edu/cms/images/graphics-pd3-1-cl_20071127_antarctica07_happycamper_200_157395.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Happy Campers take shelter behind a wall made out of snow blocks (quarry your own!) and listen to a field safety instructor. A yellow, pyramid-shaped Scott Tent is in the background, next to a pyramid-shaped snow cave. Cozy. Image courtesy Chris Linder, WHOI.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Campers learn how to make the most of their extreme cold weather clothes; how to assemble the various tents they might be living in; how to prepare emergency snow shelters; and how to use the radios that are the main way we communicate with McMurdo station when we're in the field. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">It isn't much, but a snow trench makes for a good spot to sleep out of the wind in the event of emergency. Photo courtesy Eli Duke. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Campers also learn how to use emergency stoves to cook survival rations (yummy), and how to diagnose and treat cold injuries like frostbite. Most of the time, people who get frostbite don't even notice it, which is why it's important for our team to keep an eye on each other (particularly, each others' noses, which can freeze in a strong wind). </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">The most memorable moment for many people is during the whiteout drill. When the snow blows in to McMurdo (like it did the last few days, keeping us from flying in), a whiteout can make it impossible to see more than a few inches in front of your face. The bucket-head drill simulates a whiteout. Campers have to search for a friend who's gone missing in the snow. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Can you see him? I can't even see my luxurious moustache! Image from Kenneth Sims, UWY</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Meanwhile, Jay and I (safely without buckets on our heads) are packing up camp gear and getting logistics ready for our move to the field. More about what you pack for lunch (and breakfast and dinner) in Antarctica in an upcoming post. </span></span></div>
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Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-14847119455878815582012-11-30T17:25:00.002-08:002012-12-02T00:49:10.185-08:00Southbound Express<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Next stop, Antarctica! I’m starting the trek down
to the McMurdo Dry Valleys today. If everything goes well, I should be arriving
in Christchurch, New Zealand on December 2 (everyone should enjoy December 1<sup>st</sup>
for me—I’m going to lose it entirely when I cross the international date
line!), and will head to McMurdo Station on December 4.</div>
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We're heading here. Soon. Image courtesy NASA Goddard.</div>
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The Cold Dirt field team has doubled in size again, which
means I’ve got an outstanding roster of scientists and students (and even an
artist) converging on the Antarctic Dry Valleys from all over the country.
We’re focused on two big projects this year: 1) sampling the buried ice sheet
that was trapped in Garwood Valley during the last ice age so we can determine
where the ice came from, and 2) exploring the hidden groundwater system that
sustains life in Taylor Valley soils. Whenever internet access is available,
I’ll keep photos, videos, and reports from team members up-to-date so you can
follow the adventure online. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The first half of the team will meet in Los Angeles this afternoon
to fly to New Zealand. The advance team members include:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Kelly Hughes, a graduate student at <a href="http://geology.pdx.edu/" target="_blank">Portland StateUniversity</a>. Kelly works with Andrew Fountain (who will be joining us later in
the season) and is working on a thesis related to ice, groundwater, and geochemistry. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Jay Dickson, a veteran of <a href="http://www.browndailyherald.com/geology-team-brr-ings-back-rocks-from-antarctica-1.2141430" target="_blank">many Antarctic field seasons</a>
(including last year’s season in Garwood Valley--and seriously, follow that link, I love the headline). Jay is a researcher at Brown
University and is leading the time-lapse camera experiment that is recording
dramatic erosion in Garwood (more about that later!).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Lily Simonson, the expedition artist. Lily is a painter whose
recent projects have included renderings and interpretations of sea life
collected during research cruises (also sponsored by the NSF). Lily is at the
forefront of sharing the complexity and beauty of the natural world through
art. You can see some of her ocean creature work <a href="http://www.cb1gallery.com/exhibitions/lily-simonson-wet-wild.html" target="_blank">here</a>. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s just about time to catch the first flight. Stay tuned,
though—we’ve got a live video chat from Antarctica scheduled for a week from
today with students at Christa McAuliffe middle school in Florida. Keep those
questions and comments coming!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-53929849104144518032012-07-03T14:12:00.001-07:002012-07-03T14:12:11.262-07:00Antarctic Soil: It's a Sign of ScienceTwo stories about Antarctic water tracks and wet patches have been featured on Hear the Answer--a feature of PBS, NSF, and Finger Lakes Productions International.<br />
<br />
You can hear them at:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.heartheanswer.com/index.php?action=feature&qid=1782" target="_blank">What type of soil will suck water right out of the air?</a><br />
<br />
and<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.heartheanswer.com/index.php?action=feature&qid=1783" target="_blank">Why do martian researchers study Antarctica?</a><br />
<br />
Not a bad 90-second summary of these two neat finds.Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-58288609326937664892012-01-17T01:21:00.000-08:002012-01-17T01:21:37.501-08:00(Almost) Live and (somewhat) life-like from Garwood Valley!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After eight great days in the Garwood, the team and I have moved to Taylor Valley (where I was based last year) for a change of pace, some new soils and rocks to samples, and of course, to get access to the internet, so I can upload images to this blog. We had a tremendous week of fieldwork, and are looking forward to looping back through at the end of the month to finish this year's research.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here's a few 3D images of what we've been up to. You'll need red-blue 3D glasses to see the view in stereo, but without them, you'll get some idea of the scenery. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMCtcp9Oj5I4oYLjIffHOhzofA40VYsSVLXlJ__WB_IMXny8PBnxo-aB_3pCJ270OfN4CtZH45YxVjD0sc7sCYq_HjQtngFF65ZZWf8xMygS6Hu5dUAPj5GBCOxGvZ1kl1EYUbX0BOfzH/s1600/DSCF0236_dub_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEMCtcp9Oj5I4oYLjIffHOhzofA40VYsSVLXlJ__WB_IMXny8PBnxo-aB_3pCJ270OfN4CtZH45YxVjD0sc7sCYq_HjQtngFF65ZZWf8xMygS6Hu5dUAPj5GBCOxGvZ1kl1EYUbX0BOfzH/s640/DSCF0236_dub_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Here's a view of almost every part of the valley we've been working on. Up front close is the buried glacier (called the "ice-cored drift") that fills Garwood Valley. Beyond it is the floodplain of the Garwood River, which cuts through the ice-age deltas we've studied to learn more about when the valley filled with ice. Behind the three deltas is more "ice cored drift," and beyond that, the modern Garwood Glacier. </div></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKta2TFhbVfMk3UZu60BG-av2ejV7Gt72gAOwau1yOLmPIOVeEQ2eOOLHoT7jrptl7udwVDNKu-035JcTypSjicGfb7DKHQfJL8noS_t-m7LsFWiYARSKcKLi7l7gExI_HDhKu84te85Iq/s1600/DSCF0168_dub_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKta2TFhbVfMk3UZu60BG-av2ejV7Gt72gAOwau1yOLmPIOVeEQ2eOOLHoT7jrptl7udwVDNKu-035JcTypSjicGfb7DKHQfJL8noS_t-m7LsFWiYARSKcKLi7l7gExI_HDhKu84te85Iq/s640/DSCF0168_dub_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Here's home-sweet-home in the Garwood, our camp. We're on the Garwood River plain, in front of the buried ice (that helps keep the wind down). The big tent near the camera is an 8 by 21 foot "Endurance" tent, where we cook, eat, and repair our science gear (it's also our lab, in a pinch). The big antenna next to it is an HF radio for calling back to McMurdo. Behind the Endurance are our bedrooms--each team member gets his own little tent to sleep in. The sand is the valley is pretty soft, making for a cozy night's sleep in a sleeping bag.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-gw47pIjZen5wSLDfzZjfNxBzOl-UzwZddBLD2z9fz9en398SAf_425iI86kfUa2OLZCNWBrYAqSmVJQhc9s9xB1nYjvptMOpNgcQy4HeabdTIlUZ0vgVAToZr0o8OeARm7oirmVaQroQ/s1600/DSCF0210_dub_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-gw47pIjZen5wSLDfzZjfNxBzOl-UzwZddBLD2z9fz9en398SAf_425iI86kfUa2OLZCNWBrYAqSmVJQhc9s9xB1nYjvptMOpNgcQy4HeabdTIlUZ0vgVAToZr0o8OeARm7oirmVaQroQ/s640/DSCF0210_dub_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">This shot shows two team members, Dr. Andrew Fountain (on the right) and James "Jerome" Bethune on the left. James just finished college and is here working with Andrew and I as a field hand, and on some research projects related to how different geological surfaces become better or worse homes for algae. They're standing next to the track of a seal (to the left) that crawled its way inland from the sea (nobody knows for sure why they do this some times). The "ice cored drift" is behind them, and beyond that, the Ross Sea (covered in ice) and the Brown Peninsula.</div><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg530VjttO_LgFn0e90lalBReiDJ-FX5vu07Z6doNg26h-WVHXIbqkbVFxG9eA5Q9JNZ_KHC1-2-wm3dfhiYsPkQluDpk2TrbLuSb_p8m6JnPB-QZht0r9JbM14GAnIjfmREgNqbunyKmkL/s1600/DSCF0185_dub_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg530VjttO_LgFn0e90lalBReiDJ-FX5vu07Z6doNg26h-WVHXIbqkbVFxG9eA5Q9JNZ_KHC1-2-wm3dfhiYsPkQluDpk2TrbLuSb_p8m6JnPB-QZht0r9JbM14GAnIjfmREgNqbunyKmkL/s640/DSCF0185_dub_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">Here's Berry Lyons and his student Julie sampling a "thermokarst pond" in the buried ice. When the ice melts, it can leave behind a hole that fills up with the meltwater. There's ice exposed behind them, that's feeding the pond. We're trying to learn how these ponds form, and why different kinds of algae chose to live in one pond and not another (some of the algae has wild colors--tye-dye reds, greens, and yellows).</div><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZy1W90WWkHp6yg7IGOzy-ec1wzkiKcCGyEs7NIhG7o6TkUda_4GSCblHnkMpx_0Hf4DMtipcTzlsrS27cFBkeR6BxjDDV_Eb7sU7J5wkeqRUat6Gq7ry3PjVKrNdpyzwz4jCcfeJ5zrzj/s1600/DSCF0159_dub_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="476" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZy1W90WWkHp6yg7IGOzy-ec1wzkiKcCGyEs7NIhG7o6TkUda_4GSCblHnkMpx_0Hf4DMtipcTzlsrS27cFBkeR6BxjDDV_Eb7sU7J5wkeqRUat6Gq7ry3PjVKrNdpyzwz4jCcfeJ5zrzj/s640/DSCF0159_dub_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">This picture shows Dr. Rickard Pettersson and Jerome working with the ground-penetrating radar. Rickard is carrying a very precise GPS so we know exactly where he's scanned. The radar bounces radio waves off the different layers in the ground (soil on top, buried ice, the bedrock below) so we can measure how much ice is in the valley, and how many different layers are in the deltas. It's a heavy pack to haul all over the Garwood, but Rickard (who's joined the team from Sweden) doesn't mind working hard, or thinking through hard scientific problems. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>The only team members I haven't shown you are Jay Dickson (who is making some amazing time-lapse movies of the "ice cliff" melting) and Thomas Nylen (who is managing the weather station in front of the buried ice). I'll post pictures of them in action, and some of the data they've gathered in the next post.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0k4jjZ3A8FM14rlCl7SiJkoUp8UuhrsadCBl05tSnPNt4ml9MD7uPDstRYNeq26zSWcPpIGELQ3r-1AahRpgjv6aslKX0PaJc7m1gKlKb8LTsbaqpncTvjUYDrxmJP6Ro6O0dGjd4eXS/s1600/sand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEil0k4jjZ3A8FM14rlCl7SiJkoUp8UuhrsadCBl05tSnPNt4ml9MD7uPDstRYNeq26zSWcPpIGELQ3r-1AahRpgjv6aslKX0PaJc7m1gKlKb8LTsbaqpncTvjUYDrxmJP6Ro6O0dGjd4eXS/s400/sand.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">After working hard all week, the only task remaining was to load up our gear into a big cargo net and to wait for a helicopter to fly us and our camp equipment to Lake Hoare. The <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_212" target="_blank">Bell 212</a> is an extremely powerful helicopter that makes a lot of wind as it lifts 1900 pounds of tents, fuel, rock samples, and duffel-bags. It's important to watch the helicopter take off to make sure that the cargo net stays safely packed and away from any obstacles (like the wall of ice next to our camp). The Garwood is a very sandy valley, and, as the winds roared while the helicopter took off, I managed to collect one last sediment sample in my beard. Nothing quite like playing in the dirt. </div></div></div>Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-920577022651777752012-01-07T16:25:00.000-08:002012-01-07T18:49:28.749-08:00Garwood-bound/McMurdo-boundIt’s funny how one word can mean two exactly opposite things. I’m at McMurdo Station, waiting to kick off this year’s research program in Garwood Valley (one of the southern McMurdo Dry Valleys). My team and I arrived last Monday, and have spent the week assembling our camp gear, testing scientific instruments, and packing up food and supplies. We hit the ground running, with the goal of being Garwood-bound on Friday, January 6<sup>th</sup>. But, weather (it’s been snowing quite a bit lately), coupled with a tight helicopter usage schedule, and mechanical problems with one of the big Bell 212 helos that we need to move our camp in, have kept us McMurdo-bound this weekend. The good news is, if the snow clears, we’re on the schedule for Monday, and can get rolling with our science! (The other good news is that the McMurdo galley has the best brunch below 65*S, so it’s a treat to be able to have a few more days of delicious chow before the menu changes to camp cuisine). <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx4ZDEvjOhvh5ORpg_Dl7MJum_5Kd_FewrT4R68aqa8cDMYjjUmQpZY6OG9Z_Df7eSliK3qugq_7kZ4nihaoQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> This is the view out my lab window at McMurdo. That bright white space in the background is the direction I need to be flying, and those little flakes in the foreground are getting in the way! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What’s this season all about?</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">During the last glacial maximum (the LGM, which was the peak of the last ice age), about 20,000 years ago, Antarctica was a colder place than it is today. The ice sheets that cover the continent grew in the cold, and like giant glaciers, came pouring out of the high interior mountains of Antarctica and flowed down towards the coast. During the LGM, so much ice came flowing out of west Antarctica that it literally filled up the Ross Sea. The flood of ice spilled up into the valleys that surround the Ross Sea—so much ice was draining into the region that the glaciers flowed up hill! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">But then the planet began to warm up again. The ice age was waning. The “grounding line,” which is the point where this wall of ice met the ocean, began to move back inland. Ice drained from some of the flooded valleys (but not all—Garwood being one that kept its ice). This is where Garwood Valley becomes important. Warming climate conditions stopped this flood of ice in its tracks, melting back ice that been streaming out of the West Antarctic ice sheet. Today, scientists are concerned that the West Antarctic ice sheet is experiencing so much warming that it may melt back catastrophically. When the ice melts, the water pours into the ocean, raising sea level. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVqKMXQnEbR-pMfkvA4BKwi0H-0K0FMXnRmbyx_MQP16UsUX9FWvwcuk4qy8aYheOOU5f719hN04c-YcZa2wHSxwFlIgoe-e7uTlnMBhUbzRTipkEq08z_0MPUR097yLTsGVyrfDJCPytl/s1600/conway_sm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVqKMXQnEbR-pMfkvA4BKwi0H-0K0FMXnRmbyx_MQP16UsUX9FWvwcuk4qy8aYheOOU5f719hN04c-YcZa2wHSxwFlIgoe-e7uTlnMBhUbzRTipkEq08z_0MPUR097yLTsGVyrfDJCPytl/s400/conway_sm.JPG" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is a map from <a href="http://www.sciencemag.org/content/286/5438/280" target="_blank">Conway et al. (1999)</a> showing where the "grounding line" for the West Antarctic ice sheet is thought to have been over the last few thousand years. Garwood Valley is the green dot. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">One of the big goals of this project is to help understand when, and under what temperature conditions, did the West Antarctic ice sheet flood into the Ross Sea region, and when, and under what temperature conditions did it get melted out. By Understanding the West Antarctic ice sheet’s response to past warming, we can inform predictions about how it will respond to future warming. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So, what’s a geologist doing all caught up in a story about glaciers and ice? As it turns out, Garwood Valley is a sticking point for the West Antarctic ice sheet as it came flooding out to sea. (Garwood is the green dot on that map). When the ice flooded into Garwood Valley, it dammed a tiny river that is fed by a glacier in the valley (the Garwood River). Like sticking a plug in a bathtub drain, the ice dam held back the water, causing a lake to rise in the valley. Eventually, a large delta grew in the lake where the river entered it, dropping off sediment every year during the summer melting season. </div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5liIiWvqpfaYi-7aMvZYEwK_M-lcJ2Xf5E3ZbP1HyBcpWDBsxYRi3q1utgUSwWtg33Yeve8BXlgRwk5D8uaATLGvWyWmAggbVbpsR9aCKpcyPDTSaA65xQqGSgKXeA3ed4ka8tFroyH2/s1600/Gar_context_wide_sm.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ5liIiWvqpfaYi-7aMvZYEwK_M-lcJ2Xf5E3ZbP1HyBcpWDBsxYRi3q1utgUSwWtg33Yeve8BXlgRwk5D8uaATLGvWyWmAggbVbpsR9aCKpcyPDTSaA65xQqGSgKXeA3ed4ka8tFroyH2/s640/Gar_context_wide_sm.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">This is a satellite image of Garwood Valley. To the right is the modern Ross Ice Sheet (the sea). The tongue-shaped thing left of that is buried West Antarctic ice sheet ice. To the far left is the modern Garwood Glacier. Snaking its way down to the sea is the modern Garwood River.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This lake is one of the keys to figuring out when the ice flooded in, when the ice melted out, and what the temperatures in the Dry Valleys were like when all this happened. As the lake grew, algae living in the delta were buried, along with the shells of microscopic organisms that produce calcium carbonate shells. The age of these plant remains (algae and carbonates) can be determined by carbon dating, and by uranium-thorium dating. Since the lake deposits are actually sitting on top of the ice plug (more about that in another post), the lake deposits have to be younger than the ice flood, giving a minimum age for when the valley filled with ice. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48NePuCcA9rgccqzUzxeGoJwdm7PBmXmhVrM8QEik8KTddu4I6lz5ktt_CAtc0CtYg-4MylJSncX3WVy4IwT8j2SU0d9H3aU8lLR8-3GqE7WBONeF2GMFMYu9cq_2_woYTFNA3dK2zPIZ/s1600/Gar_context_sm.jpg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi48NePuCcA9rgccqzUzxeGoJwdm7PBmXmhVrM8QEik8KTddu4I6lz5ktt_CAtc0CtYg-4MylJSncX3WVy4IwT8j2SU0d9H3aU8lLR8-3GqE7WBONeF2GMFMYu9cq_2_woYTFNA3dK2zPIZ/s640/Gar_context_sm.jpg.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"> Right in the middle of this zoom you can see the deltas. The river bends around them. Looks pretty wet, doesn't it? Thanks to Paul Morin and <a href="http://www.agic.umn.edu/" target="_blank">PGC </a>for the great satellite images!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">What happened to the lake? We can tell that the lake drained by cutting through the ice plug because the deltas get lower and lower as they get younger and younger. In order for the lake to drain, there has to be somewhere for the water to drain to. If the grounding line hadn’t moved past Garwood valley, the lakes could not have drained into the open ocean. So by dating when the lakes drained, we can learn when the ice had melted back past Garwood Valley. </div><div class="MsoNormal"> </div><div class="MsoNormal">Best of all, because the chemistry of the lake sediments can be used to figure out what temperature the water was, we can figure out what the climate was like when the ice filled the valley and when it left. I really like it when rocks can tell us something interesting about ice! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">And, of course, if you don’t entirely believe the history I just told you, here’s one last bit of evidence. The ice that flooded the valley during the LGM is still there. It’s buried by delta sediments, and is rapidly melting away where it’s been cut into by the modern Garwood river. We’re trying to figure out just how fast this old ice is melting, so we can know how much longer it will be around, and what will happen to buried ice like it elsewhere in the Dry Valleys when temperatures start to rise. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0OKZjX2LyAV0MyDmZAHZ9WLo_dGunVznS4QJfggxetD_Zf9hUh92OsIhVM3KcJcfd1stp99P9Hu21ZAEMoHefv3EO91fp1C8Gmami2CpBm8i_D1Y3YgrD1lB21AMwov8IlFncaeQKvSbD/s1600/Garwood-Valley-ice-cliff-IMG_1627_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0OKZjX2LyAV0MyDmZAHZ9WLo_dGunVznS4QJfggxetD_Zf9hUh92OsIhVM3KcJcfd1stp99P9Hu21ZAEMoHefv3EO91fp1C8Gmami2CpBm8i_D1Y3YgrD1lB21AMwov8IlFncaeQKvSbD/s640/Garwood-Valley-ice-cliff-IMG_1627_sm.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">This is the famous Garwood Valley "Ice Cliff." That's buried ice that got its start deep in West Antarctica, topped by layers of river-deposited sediment. I'm there in green, next to Andrew Fountain (from Portland State University), and Thomas Nylen (in blue). Thanks to Jim O’Connor of the USGS for the awesome photo, and for extensive amounts of insight in piecing together the geological history of the valley. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-29508828711307355102012-01-05T19:58:00.000-08:002012-01-05T19:58:39.020-08:00New season, new linksI'm back in McMurdo, and a 2011-2012 season set of posts is soon going to be on its way. In the interim, for anyone who didn't see it, here's a link to the CBS Sunday Morning coverage of Antarctica, and the LTER's work there: <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7390504n" target="_blank">"Destination Antarctica."</a><br />
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For those looking for something new, here's a view of the McMurdo Station live <a href="http://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/mcmwebcam.cfm" target="_blank">webcam</a>.Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-35122993034519274082011-08-14T12:10:00.000-07:002011-08-14T12:10:40.086-07:00Water tracks on Mars?Last season in Antarctica, we focused on trying to understand "water tracks"--small meltwater channels that percolate downslope through Antarctic permafrost (frozen soil). The idea is that snow and ground ice melt in the summer, and the water flows downhill under the pull of gravity. Because there's not a lot of water, it just oozes through the soil, rather than flowing atop the soil as a stream. As a result, water tracks show up as lines of wet soil snaking down valley walls in the Antarctic landscape.<br />
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Now it seems that water tracks may have been discovered on Mars by Alfred McEwen and the <a href="http://hirise.lpl.arizona.edu/">HiRISE camera team</a>. For full coverage see <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-14408928">BBC</a> and <a href="http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/08/is-mars-weeping-salty-tears.html">Science.</a>Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-64817632962591404652011-06-18T15:08:00.000-07:002011-06-18T15:11:56.793-07:00It's Official! Back to Garwood ValleyExciting news! I've just received word that the National Science Foundation has approved my proposal to continue work in <a href="http://www.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=-78.029277,164.10965&spn=0.127607,1.192017&t=h&z=10">Garwood Valley</a>! <br />
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We've been authorized to spend three years and three field seasons exploring the buried ice that we reconnoitered this past winter, in order to learn about the climate during the transition out of the last ice age. The official NSF site about the award can be found <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward.do?AwardNumber=1043785&WT.z_pims_id=5519">here</a>.<br />
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Some folks might wonder how it is that scientists fund the research that they do (in Antarctica and elsewhere). Many scientists are supported part of the year by the university at which they work (the scientist's salary is paid for teaching classes, advising students, serving on university committees, etc). For the rest of the year, and if they want to do research with expensive equipment or in far away places, require that the scientists secure grants from state, local, and federal government agencies, or from private companies or foundations.<br />
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Most federal agencies (like the US National Science Foundation) get an annual budget from the US Congress. Some of that budget is dedicated to research programs (for example, the <a href="http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=8173&org=ANT&from=home">Antarctic Earth Sciences</a> research program, which funds my work). Scientists send research proposals to the funding agencies ("Hey, look at me! I've got a great hypothesis that needs testing!"). Usually the scientists work in teams to tackle bigger problems than an individual could solve on his or her own. <br />
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The program manager at the funding agency then assembles a team of scientists to evaluate the proposals. This process is called peer review. The review panel reads through the proposals to determine where the strengths and weaknesses are for each proposal. This process is very helpful--not all the proposals will be funded every year,but every proposal gets feedback. When else does a scientist have a room full of experts providing feedback on their best ideas?<br />
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The review panel doesn't just pick favorites, of course! Every proposal is evaluated based on criteria that are established by the funding agency. The NSF, for example, evaluates proposals based on the intellectual merit of the proposal ("Is this good science, that solves an important technical problem, or that tests a major hypothesis?") as well as the broader impacts of the proposal ("What societal good will come from this work? Will students be trained? Will the general public learn about the research through an outreach program?").<br />
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Once the proposals have been evaluated by scientists, the program manager (usually a scientist, too!) makes a set of recommendations to the funding agency, and then the administrator of the funding agency approves or rejects the proposals. The proposals all have a budget attached to them ("How much will it cost to answer this question?"), which is then paid for with a grant from the funding agency.<br />
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I count myself very lucky to have a chance to go back to Garwood Valley to do science as the head of an NSF funded project. Only about one in four proposals are funded on average, and that ratio has been falling in recent years. It's very unusual for a new researcher like me to be named the principle investigator of a big project like this. It's all exceptionally exciting!<br />
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Stay tuned for updates as I assemble the field team and prepare to return to Antarctica!Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-70791697818756702432010-12-18T12:30:00.000-08:002010-12-18T12:45:39.533-08:00NorthboundIt's been a busy week in McMurdo trying to get prepared to leave Antarctica tomorrow. My team and I have been busily cleaning and returning gear to the Berg Field Center and the Crary Lab.<br />
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The biggest task this week has been preparing samples to be shipped north. I've got all kinds of samples that all have different processing and transportation requirements. It's kind of like trying to figure out how to load a grocery bag. You want your ice cream to stay frozen, your apples not to get bruised, and your eggs not to crack. Only here, I need my ice cores (from Garwood) to stay frozen, my soils (from Taylor) not to grow mold, and my rocks (from everywhere) not to get chipped. Fortunately, the cargo vessel that will be docking in McMurdo next month has freezers, coolers, and giant storage containers aboard that should get my samples home safe and sound.<br />
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Since Antarctica is in the southern hemisphere, and Portland is in the northern hemisphere, the ship has to cross the equator to get my samples home. It's pretty impressive to think that the ship can keep ice cores at -20*C (-4*F), even when it's 90*F outside. Since my soils don't need to be in a freezer the whole way back, they need to be dried so that they don't grow mold in the heat (the same way foods like potato chips or raisins are dried to keep them from getting moldy).<br />
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I'd say it has been a great season. We've learned a lot about how the "invisible streams" in Taylor Valley (the water tracks) come out of their winter freeze. In Garwood, we've begun to explore a frozen world that existed almost 10,000 years ago. It's been an adventure at times:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjgJzfXfxTV6ajPH8hVZJVy1HLvmjhBaopCq0XdTwNalhJ-CXJ1DPslhT5X12rWy6kpraRVL_FI6R-dGmNg0PJ4OENW0lqVZGvdJIv_xJ0jsdxSLPYNhnjajsKhgftMlHLllbA67Dv8jg-/s1600/Garwood-Valley-ice-cliff-algal-mat-sampling-IMG_1678.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjgJzfXfxTV6ajPH8hVZJVy1HLvmjhBaopCq0XdTwNalhJ-CXJ1DPslhT5X12rWy6kpraRVL_FI6R-dGmNg0PJ4OENW0lqVZGvdJIv_xJ0jsdxSLPYNhnjajsKhgftMlHLllbA67Dv8jg-/s320/Garwood-Valley-ice-cliff-algal-mat-sampling-IMG_1678.jpg" width="286" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sampling algal mats at the top of the Garwood Valley "ice cliff." It might not seem like much of an adventure, but to get there I had to cut toe holds in the ice...</td></tr>
</tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PRw6jqMwnoS3irJdB9fUJZwsv30-1xHt0FgHmctiKY-lP6eY5tfLEFoIIQ4V6KDjAosg6JO5g_0lBxBMlEFPDx_l3bfrdn4DMuUKXn51QRnQP3-56IkdwV2xqsclNGx0xIlSA-qAszR5/s1600/Garwood-Valley-ice-cliff-IMG_1627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5PRw6jqMwnoS3irJdB9fUJZwsv30-1xHt0FgHmctiKY-lP6eY5tfLEFoIIQ4V6KDjAosg6JO5g_0lBxBMlEFPDx_l3bfrdn4DMuUKXn51QRnQP3-56IkdwV2xqsclNGx0xIlSA-qAszR5/s320/Garwood-Valley-ice-cliff-IMG_1627.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...all the way up to the top of the wall here. It's worth it, though, since we can carbon date the algae in the sediments. The sediments are on top of the ice, so the ice has to be at least as old as the sediments that bury it (geologists call this "the law of superposition). Get an age for the algae, and we've got an age for the ice. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>It's also been a great deal of fun. My colleagues--both the scientists, and the <a href="http://rpsc.raytheon.com/">support personnel</a>--have been a pleasure to work with. I'm definitely ready to be heading home, but a little piece of me is already excited about continuing to explore in Garwood valley next year!<br />
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Stay tuned to this blog during the "off season" for updates on what we've found in the Dry Valleys, news about publications, and more stereo pictures!<br />
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Northbound tomorrow.Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-77736808560154498042010-12-12T11:59:00.000-08:002010-12-12T11:59:34.556-08:00One last day in the fieldI'm sitting in the Lake Hoare hut in the heart of Taylor Valley, waiting for a helicopter that will take me, Thomas Nylen (whose photos are in this post), and Jim O'Connor (a colleague from the US Geological Survey) down to the end of the valley for one last day of fieldwork. It definitely makes me sad to be leaving the field (and sadder to know that I have a solid week of labwork ahead of me--the same kinds of things I did earlier this season). But we couldn't ask for better weather, or a better last project.<br />
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We'll launch from Lake Hoare aboard an A-Star helicopter.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPu8NI8BQYx_BJJHCDUvPbHNG4E7LQXPem-DYGF-b9zQXatOTEas88B4Sk8_MHKdJa8HVM5mQ7epQxIPYIzbpp7dfSQtnPmRtjjH4rONEmczYc2GbBlOMVp-dhnXPToZZ9jXPRAczI7jfb/s1600/helo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPu8NI8BQYx_BJJHCDUvPbHNG4E7LQXPem-DYGF-b9zQXatOTEas88B4Sk8_MHKdJa8HVM5mQ7epQxIPYIzbpp7dfSQtnPmRtjjH4rONEmczYc2GbBlOMVp-dhnXPToZZ9jXPRAczI7jfb/s320/helo.jpg" width="240" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">An A-Star helicopter dropping off a "sling load" (cargo attached to the helicopter by a cable).</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">A short flight down the valley, and we'll arrive at the New Harbor camp--a small hut and lab on the shore of the Ross Sea. I'm going to meet <a href="http://earthweb.ess.washington.edu/dwp/people/profile.php?name=sletten--ron">Ron Sletten</a>, another permafrost geologist, to talk about a research borehole he's drilled into the soil here. Jim is going to look at more paleo-deltas from when the lakes of Taylor Valley were linked and flowed into the Ross Sea.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then we'll walk inland to a spot called "Explorer's Cove." The LTER maintains a weather station there, where Thomas needs to do some maintenance work, and I need to collect one last soil sample. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then we'll continue our hike inland, past the Lake Fryxell camp, and then up and over the Canada glacier back to Lake Hoare. It should be a pretty excellent walk. Not a bad way to wrap up an Antarctic field season. </div>Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-69432891360099754232010-12-10T11:19:00.000-08:002010-12-10T11:19:40.768-08:00Old Ice in Garwood ValleyI'm back from a week of tent camping in Garwood Valley--one of the southernmost Dry Valleys (more than 78 degrees South!). The mission was a great success. I'm starting a new project to study buried glaciers that flooded the valley more than 10,000 years ago. Unlike most glaciers from that era, which have long since melted, this ice is preserved under a thick sand cover.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5uyUweMIz6Pun22jpgP5b0ScprDMfLe7vLQQjgvECvpDSGZ0Lpu0wJiFFk1V9xcMUP5utPNeBug4bjawXaL3N4y4SPpRqIdHuCmNooSZykiwzDOfcV1L-Rhn59aEKhhj6gbUaC60lMG67/s1600/IMG_7812_gar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5uyUweMIz6Pun22jpgP5b0ScprDMfLe7vLQQjgvECvpDSGZ0Lpu0wJiFFk1V9xcMUP5utPNeBug4bjawXaL3N4y4SPpRqIdHuCmNooSZykiwzDOfcV1L-Rhn59aEKhhj6gbUaC60lMG67/s320/IMG_7812_gar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Buried ice, to the right, in Garwood Valley. A 3 m tall weather station is next to the ice.</div><br />
The ice is not stable, though. It formed under much colder conditions during the last glacial maximum and is now melting and sublimating away. It's particularly at risk of melting where the ice is exposed to the warm, dry summer atmosphere--so the "ice cliff" in the above photo is melting away like an ice cream cone on a hot afternoon. The melting of the buried ice, coupled with erosion by the Garwood river, means that this treasure trove of climate data from the recent past is quickly disintegrating.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNOiCNDoFc-M-ccEcvEhCLZUGs5fqTRsuXvljFBDJKqXQBmRqa_zV2GCLgIRnNphyphenhyphentKpUnzBLiH18YSoi3PMPIQ-OSy3-_t9yZSF8JvhvPXmdMAgq_Y95Nu55Iw_2pAlexpQua9aOoPpnd/s1600/IMG_7801_block.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNOiCNDoFc-M-ccEcvEhCLZUGs5fqTRsuXvljFBDJKqXQBmRqa_zV2GCLgIRnNphyphenhyphentKpUnzBLiH18YSoi3PMPIQ-OSy3-_t9yZSF8JvhvPXmdMAgq_Y95Nu55Iw_2pAlexpQua9aOoPpnd/s320/IMG_7801_block.JPG" width="212" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A block of ice and sediment from the last glacial maximum that has tumbled from its perch into the Garwood river. Best not to be working on the cliff when one of these comes down. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;">What we're trying to understand in Garwood is how thick was the ice in Antarctica 10,000 years ago and what was the climate like. This is important because Garwood is one of the few places in Antarctica that is currently undergoing rapid landscape change because of warm temperatures (relative to 10,000 years ago). It's like a crystal ball that we can use to look into the future of the Antarctic Dry Valleys to predict how the glaciers and permafrost soils will respond to a warmer world.</div>Joe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6717541600618934332.post-91949667479957243672010-12-01T21:19:00.000-08:002010-12-01T21:19:40.342-08:00Off to Garwood ValleyBeen a busy week back at McMurdo Station, getting camp in order for a weeklong trip to Garwood Valley. We're leaving the comforts of station life behind (dinner is running for over 1,000 scientists and support personnel in the galley, or dining hall, right now), and the structure of a well-organized field camp (like Lake Hoare) for a wild part of the Dry Valleys. We'll be putting in a small tent camp to explore buried ice deposits left over from the last glacial maximum. A toe of ice was left in Garwood Valley about 10,000 years ago. Locked in it is evidence of how Antarctica responded to sudden warming at the end of the ice age.<br />
<br />
To give you an idea of what goes in to making a remote research camp work, I've attached the shopping list I took to the food issue room today. McMurdo has a little "supermarket" where you can stock up on supplies for the tent camp. All said, breakfast, lunch, and dinner for 4 people for 7 days came to 199 lbs. of food. It might not be the best chow on the continent, but there's sure a lot of it!<br />
<br />
<br />
Friday Night--Burrito<br />
<br />
2 lbs ground beef<br />
1 bag cheese<br />
1 box rice<br />
salsa<br />
1 bag fajita veg<br />
1 bag tortillas<br />
1 can refried beans<br />
<br />
Saturday Night--Stirfry<br />
<br />
4 can chicken<br />
1 bag asian veg<br />
soy sauce<br />
chili<br />
10 ramen<br />
<br />
(double-up for weather?)<br />
<br />
Sunday Night--Steak and Fish<br />
<br />
4 x steak<br />
4 x halibut<br />
latkes: frozen hashbrowns bag<br />
egg powder<br />
italian seasoning<br />
salt<br />
pepper<br />
<br />
Monday Night--Chili<br />
<br />
2 lbs ground beef<br />
2 cans kidney beans<br />
chili powder<br />
2 small green chili cans<br />
1 can tomato garlic and onion<br />
1 can tomato mexican<br />
1 block tastee<br />
<br />
Tuesday Night--Spaghetti<br />
<br />
2 lbs pasta (not spaghetti!)<br />
2 packages meatballs<br />
1 can tomato sauce<br />
1 can garlic and onion tomato<br />
1 tomato powder packet<br />
<br />
Wednesday Night--Thanksgiving<br />
<br />
4 cans turkey<br />
mashies mix<br />
gravy mix<br />
1 bag stuffing<br />
10 oz.peas<br />
<br />
(double-up for weather delay)<br />
<br />
Thursday Night--Chicken Parm<br />
<br />
12 breaded patties<br />
1 bag mozzarella<br />
2 packets tomato powder<br />
2 lbs spaghetti<br />
<br />
Friday Night--Steak and Fish<br />
<br />
beef jerky<br />
tastee cheddar cheese<br />
cookies<br />
cans of soup<br />
olive oil<br />
peanut butter<br />
jelly<br />
cabin bread<br />
gorp<br />
granola<br />
milkman instant milk<br />
bagels x 1 dozen<br />
cocoa<br />
raro (like Tang)<br />
butter (1 box)<br />
olive oil (small)<br />
oatmeal x 1 boxJoe Levyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09557392560789876245noreply@blogger.com0