Antarctica Greenhouse Blog

On January 5th, I had the opportunity to participate in a 3 person expedition to deliver science hardware supplies for set up of an extremely remote field camp called PG2, at an elevation of ~11500 feet (about 2000 feet higher than South Pole). The weather was good, only -35F on the ground and mostly clear.  The flight was unforgettable, and passed over the gigantic icy polar plateau. It looked like a huge ocean, spanning to every horizon as far as one could see. We flew at about 15000 feet, which was the physiological equivalent of about 17000 feet. The air is very thin at these elevations. The Twin Otter was not pressurized, so I had to breathe heavily and fast to stay alert. Even though I was just sitting during the flight, I felt like I was experiencing a cardiovascular workout similar to running on a treadmill.

Hi! Just wanted to share with you a couple pictures - It was about -40˚C, with a -70˚C windchill the last few days. Tuesday - it was beautiful, hardly any clouds. Yesterday was it completely clear - the contrast between the table-top flat white ice cap and the blue sky was so crisp it didn't look real. Last year they had only 1 day that was totally clear.