Thanksgiving at Lake Hoare

As reported by Sam:

23 November – Doug and I dive the "tile hole" again, where we collect more samples. We also retrieve a long section of Jiffy Drill screws that we found lying on the bottom. These are the screws that are used to drill holes in the ice. A past group must have dropped these down a hole, or forgot them. If left on the ice surface, the screws would eventually melt through and drop into the ocean. I have mixed feelings about removing the drill screws. To me, they are litter. But Dr. Pollock points out that to the sea creatures encrusting the screws, it is part of the habitat. My apologies to the sponges and foraminifera that were calling those screws home...

24 November – I feel exhausted, so no diving for me. I’m probably touched with mild dehydration mixed with a lack of sleep. Neal’s ear seems fine, so he and Doug go to the tile hole and collect more samples. Doug takes his camera and makes a video survey of the underwater scenery. That evening, Doug and Neal do back-to-back surface supply dives and harvest more forams.

25 November – Thanksgiving! We take a short helicopter ride up to Lake Hoare, where we’ve been invited for dinner. About 40 other people are there, and we had a nice turkey feast. I think it was a relief for everyone to sit and chat with new people, rather than work, work, work back at Explorers Cove. But it’s a bittersweet visit – on the return trip, Sue, Jan and Wojtek leave camp and fly back to McMurdo. They are scheduled to return home soon, so they need a few days to process their samples and pack. Doug goes with them to do our laundry and make some collection dives for Jan. We say goodbye, and then investigate the Wales Stream delta, where we see that the stream has begun to flow. This is bad news for us. It means that the Wales Glacier meltwater will begin pooling up in front of our camp, forming a moat filled knee-deep with ice cold water. No more walking to the dive shack in our sneakers!

26 November – Bjorn Johns and his work partner, Mr. Reeder, arrive in camp. They are here to make a map of the shoreline and tide cracks. This map will be used extensively for future studies of the moat that is forming between us and the ocean. This moat will quickly warm up and become teeming with microscopic plant life – essentially a "pea soup" that can be an important source of nutrients to marine life when the moat empties into the ocean later in the season. In e afternoon, Neal does a surface-supply dive to harvest forams and I suit up as the standby diver on the surface. That evening, Neal does a second dive with the surface-supply equipment, and I dive as his partner using scuba. Neal uses the minisampler, and I collect sediment cores.

27 November – A beautiful, sunny day at Explorers Cove, so Neal and I make a dive at the Ice Cliff site. Neal uses the minisampler and I collect sediment cores for analysis of the organic materials here. This spot seems to be much richer, and the forams seem to be larger and perhaps more abundant. The most is filling up fast, so this might be the last time we get here! In the evening, we are visited by a group of geologists who are using some fancy radar equipment to search for ancient underground ice deposits. It is fun to have visitors, and Dr. Pollock bakes some brownies and turnovers for the occasion. We swap tales until 3AM!

28 November – Another beautiful day at New Harbor. Neal and I make a routine collection dive in the afternoon. In the evening, we take a trip to the Ferrar glacier to scope out future dive sites. The fjord leading to this glacier is surrounded by steep mountains, making it a picturesque setting. Dr. Stockton made a dive here about 15 years ago, and he recalls seeing some interesting things. Maybe one day we will return to this area.

29 November – Dr. Stockton and Doug Coons return to New Harbor. Doug and Neal do back-to-back collections at the dive shack. I head back to McMurdo to wish farewell to Drs. Goldstein and Pawlowski and to process samples.