10.18.12 INACCESSIBLE ISLAND

After approximately 1 hour and 45 minutes, we arrive at Inaccessible Island which some now think should be called Moderately Accessible Island:

A panoramic view:

We start jiffy drilling through the nearly 6 feet of sea ice to access the fish below. Here is a photo of myself on the left and a fellow by the name of Ralph, who joined us for the day, on the right. You can see that height advantage can make a huge difference here. The ice is extremely dense and thick, even though the drill is substantial, pressure must be applied the entire time in order to make any progress. I find that I have to end up pulling it towards the ground rather than leaning on it with my weight until we can drill deep enough so that I'm able to change position. 

Here, I'm on the right, Ralph on the left and Grant from cargo in the background. Dan was kind enough to take these photos.

Dan and Grant pushing down with all of their body weight:

Below, a sea ice crack extending from where I'm standing all the way to the island. We make a point to stay on the right of the cracks, not the side closest to the island as this is where most tension occurs and you see repetitious stress cracks taking place. Staying on the most solid ice territory is obviously the safest way to go and is our constant intent.


We have to penetrate the ice with two full flights, or drill bits, before we hit the sea water. At this point the trick is to not let the motor get wet as the water rushes upward, otherwise it will freeze and the dill will become unusable until it has a chance to thaw and dry again back at the station. On this particular day we did actually run into this problem, but not until the very end of the third successful fishing hole so we were able to rotate 4 people for a rather successful day.


It doesn't look like much, but nearly our entire operation depends on it! It will refreeze in a matter of hours. 

It's difficult to describe how dense this ice is and what intense manual labor it takes to drill through it but this is what it looks like before the water rushes in:

Unfortunately there is a shadow here but you can see how far the water comes up to the surface. We are constantly clearing the hole of reforming ice, not only because it catches the line, but because the surface water is actually colder than where the fish reside below and the their exposure to the surface ice (as well as air temperature) can be detrimental.

This was pulled up by the drill from below where the bottom of the thick blanket of ice touches what would be the surface of the sea. It just looks like a dirty chunk of ice - but it's actually algae growing on the ice where sunlight still penetrates. Fish and other creatures survive by eating this algae - especially during the summer months when it grows plentifully.


You can see a few more ice cracks here reaching outward from the Inaccessible Island.

Our vehicle with Mt. Erebus in the background:

Here are a few shots of Inaccessible Island, where the textural layers are apparent.

 Grant fishing:

All three fishing holes put to use; back to front: Grant, Dan, Ralph just in front of the ice crack.

Ralph fishing.

  

Ralph catching:

And depositing the specimen into the "transport unit"

Mt. Erebus on the right

One of my favorite things here, includes the variety of patterns that are carved into the icy snow. There are several photos below demonstrating this:

You can see vehicle tracks cutting through here:

The water temperature starts to drop so it's time to get back to the station with some non-frozen fish. All souls aboard - including nearly 30 fish - and we are ready to head back.


As we approach McMurdo you can see a few huts on the right:

That little red blob is an APPLE - a little round hut-like unit made of a light material so it's easy to transport, but also offers protection from the wind and some insulation for when you get the stove burning inside.

Here is a closer view of this Apple with the helicopter pad in the background:

The gray building in the top middle is the Crary Lab that we work in daily and where we'll deliver the fish to the holding tank.

This is to the left of the main part of McMurdo station. You can see several dome structures on the right and left (white and dark) on the tops of the hills where additional research takes place.