The goal for this years field season is to deploy geophysics instrumentation at 4 locations in the Whillans Ice Stream.  The drill team will be melting holes at locations 1A, 1B, 2A, and 2B.  The drill crew and scientists are scheduled to fly into Cresis camp (located next to the Wissard ski runway) by Herc (LC-130) tomorrow morning.  The Cresis camp is located next to the skiway and we will be camping there for 1-2 nights.  During that time we’ll have a chance to access the WISSARD drill camp this is about 7 miles away for a last minute tool and equipment run by snowmobile.  The following day we will ride with the traverse (kind of like a polar convoy) to the first drilling site (1A).  Once the 800 meter holes at site 1 have been finished we will traverse over to site 2 and melt two holes there.

We will be camping in un-insulated mountain tents this year so hopefully the weather is nice to us.

If everything goes according to plan, we will be pulled out by a single Basler flight on 1/30 and return to McMurdo.  I should have some great pictures to post when we return.  Until then, I won’t have any access to internet so I won’t be posting anything until then.   See you in February…..as long as our flight gets out tomorrow!

The Wissard Facebook page and Wissard.org should have some field updates and possibly some pics while we are in the field.

Mt Discovery from Hut Point

Jam Session at the Coffee House