Friday, January 21, 2011

Same Season - Different Purpose



Click on Photo To Enlarge

I found this photo on the Common computer drive here
at McMurdo. It shows the difference only a few months
can make in the activities down here. Where there was
once an Ice Runway, there is now a shipping channel!
I stood on that ice many times this season and it actually
supported a small town dedicated to supporting the planes
taking of and landing here. However, in December, the
ice begins to thin and will no longer support aircraft. It
begins thin enough that Ice Breakers can plow through
it, creating a channel for ships to arrive. In the second
photo is the research vessel, Nathanial B. Palmer, on it's
way to dock at the ice pier at McMurdo. This water is
hundreds of feet deep here and still just above freezing.
I'd hate to try to land a plane on it now!

1 comment:

Lori Murray said...

Very cool pics. The ice really changes fast doesn't it.