Monday was our last field collection day. I'm in the lab now, at 10 pm on Tuesday, filtering the melted snow that is my last sample from Antarctica. The rest of the week before we leave will be filled with packing and cleaning, which sounds trivial, but will probably take every spare minute of each day left. The sea ice has changed over our weeks here: the ice has gotten warmer and wetter (shifting from phase I to phase II) and there are more bare patches of ice where the snow has melted away. In a few months, the ice will be gone and our field site will be open water.
This evening is special not only because it marks the end of my field samples, but also because it really snowed tonight! We haven't had a good snow since we've been here, just a few days when there were small flurries. The air in Antarctica is usually too cold to hold water vapor, so there is very little precipitation here. But I guess with the changing season and warmer air, snow is possible!
1 Comment
Barney
11/28/2023 07:08:47 pm
What an amazing adventure and a lot of long hours. Have a safe yrip home.
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AuthorI am a marine molecular ecologist at the University of Washington. I'm excited to share my first Antarctica trip with you! Archives
December 2023
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