On Saturday, October 20th, we took a day trip out to the
Dry Valleys, specifically to Wright Valley to visit Lake Vanda and Bull Pass. It was the first time that we stepped foot on Continental Antarctica! Many people who work here at McMurdo never get to see the Dry Valleys - it's too bad, because this area is otherworldly and incredibly beautiful. We were accompanied by Loomi, a FSTP (Field Safety Training Program) team member and we all had a great time.
The Dry Valleys are appropriately named because there is almost no snowfall there at any time of year and the mountains are so high that the Ross Seawater can't make it inward. The valleys are typically very windy, which makes it really hard to get to and land at, but we had really incredible weather and were able to get out there and land with ease (special thanks to our Helo Pilot Barry).
Our first stop was to
Lake Vanda. It's a hypersaline lake - meaning it has 10 time more saline than seawater! And the maximum depth is 225 feet! The lake is covered by a transparent freshwater ice sheet that is 11-13 feet in depth year round. When we arrived, I was so shocked to see it's beauty! Wow, truly incredible! We each went on our own little adventures finding so much beauty on the lake ice. It feels so weird to stand on top of clear ice, but we were definitely on very thick ice, so there was no concern of breaking through. We quickly got comfortable and were nearly ice skating in our bunny boots gliding all around the lake - it was so awesome!
After spending 3 hours at Lake Vanda photographing everything possible, we packed up and got back in the Helo with our Pilot Barry and made our way to Bull Pass between Wright Valley and McKelvey Valley. Here, we spent 2 hours photographing ventifacts - which are granite boulders that have been severely weathered by wind and blown sand that they look polished or sculpted. There were some huge ventifacts and some tiny ones, but each was unique and allowed one's imagination to wander to find shapes, animals, and figures... kind of like finding cloud formations.
We returned to McMurdo base mid-afternoon and spent a couple of hours downloading photos, then got ready for a night out on the town! I have to say, it's a weird feeling heading home at 3 am in broad daylight after a night of fun (think : walk of shame)!!!
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| Snow drift formations near Lake Vanda. |
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| Lake Vanda. |
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| The cracks and ribbons were amazing! |
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At some point a storm must have blown in and some snow
and sand got trapped just below the surface ice. |
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| Bull Pass. |
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| Ventifacts. |
Dat Ice is beautiful!!
ReplyDeleteMiss you!!!
Hi Murphy! The ice is beautiful! These were some of your best photos yet! I love the ribbons in the ice and those ventifacts are cute. They are like looking at clouds. I have a question, I am confused about the continental antarctica and the dry valley. How is this the first part of antarctica without snow and/or ice? Is this part a dessert that doesn't get rain that will freeze and build up as ice over time? How is the rest of antarctica so icy? How many miles is the "continental" Antarctica compared to all of Antarctica? This may sound ignorant but I am just curious!
ReplyDeleteHi Alex! Good questions. Antarctica's land is about 98% covered in ice. At McMurdo, we are actually on the Ross Island which is right near the Ross Ice Shelf. Over the winter, the surrounding sea ice freezes, which makes the continent look much bigger, but that ice isn't considered part of the continent because it melts and is open water mid-summer. The Dry Valleys are ice-free because the nearby mountains hinder the flow of the sheet ice into those areas like it does in other areas of the continent. There is very little precipitation in Antarctica at all and the dry valleys, particularly, are very low in humidity and remain dry. And also, because of katabatic winds that blow so fast that they heat up and evaporate any water, ice, and snow. The Dry Valleys constitute only 0.03% of the continent! Hope this makes sense!
DeleteTHE COLORS ARE NUTSSSSSSS.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI'm a PhD student at ETHZ in Switzerland Zürich and was wondering if you'd be ok with me using one of your Lake Vanda picture for a publication? I'm mentioning the use of Candida antarctica (a fungus first discovered in sediments from Lake Vanda) and your pictures are much more beautiful that anything else I found online.
My email address is sami.bensaid@usys.ethz.ch
Thanks in advance for your answer!
Cheers,
Sami