Hey everybody!
As you can see, it has been awhile since I have written. Things have been pretty busy around here. Our mission has been going very well, and so I have been kept busy processing data they bring back to me. My days are mostly spent in front of the computer, but I have had some interesting adventures in the past two weeks. I have been to Scott's Discovery Hut, Shackleton's Nimrod Hut, and to the penguin rookery at Cape Royds.
Going to the huts where explorers of the Heroic Age based their expeditions is really quite cool! They are mostly undisturbed from the time when the explorers were last there, right down to the carcasses of dead animals that are still hung up. I cannot imagine living in these tiny huts, with no insulation from the cold. It helps me to understand Shackleton's famous advertisement a little more: "Men wanted for hazardous journeys. Small wages. Bitter Cold. Long months of complete darkness. Constant danger. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition in case of success."
The penguin rookery was just amazing! Because the ice edge is out so much farther this year than normal, apparently the rookery I went to was only at about one tenth of its normal capacity. There were still lots of penguins, though.
Send any questions to lidar.mapping@mcmurdo.gov and have a Happy New year!
Best wishes,
Katie