Progress for all three COLDEX field teams

By Peter Neff

Week of November 21, 2022

With the full I-165 team arriving in MCM this week, we’ve made much progress moving toward put-in of the shallow ice coring camp at Allan Hills. The team joined camp manager Johnathan Hayden, who has already been in town for two weeks, arriving on ice Monday, Nov. 21st. The team completed required trainings and is progressing through field planning, completing science cargo, and pulling camp food. A reconnaissance flight was planned for Friday, Nov. 25th to assess surface conditions for Basler fixed-wing support, but this was canceled due to weather. The entire I-165 group will spend Nov. 28th and 29th undergoing deep field shakedown which then positions them for camp put-in as soon as Dec. 1st. If all goes well with personnel, aircraft, and weather this could enable setting up ice core drilling tents and equipment the week of Dec. 5th.

COLDEX ground and airborne geophysics teams (I-188 and I-185) are now enroute to Antarctica via New Zealand, with possible on-ice dates of Nov. 28th or Dec. 1st. Cargo movements for these projects are nearly complete, with most items already at McMurdo Station. Although all of our projects are delayed, we continue to work with NSF and Antarctic Support Contract to revise scheduling and still achieve primary science goals.

COLDEX I-165 team members upon arrival at Phoenix airfield, Nov. 21, 2022. Austin Carter photo.

COLDEX I-165 team members inside their Arctic Chief tent after testing the setup procedure at McMurdo Station. Peter Neff photo.