Bag Drag and DV's

Here we are, Sunday afternoon, a light breeze and fairly warm for Kangerlussuaq at the end of May.  We had Bag Drag today at 3 pm for tomorrow's flight to Summit.  I tried to combine my bags into one, but it didn't work.  I still have my big waterproof bag and my grey back pack.  Oh well.  Since all of my gear, except for what I will be wearing on the plane, is now in the hands of the ANG, I don't have much to do or to worry about.  I did do a small load of laundry this afternoon, mostly to head into my month at Summit with as many clean clothes as possible.  With ~45 people onsite it will be difficult to get near the one bathroom and the washer/dryer.

We are expecting some DV's to come into town tonight, just in time to come up to Summit with us tomorrow.  Some how. I don't think they will be staying here at the KISS building with us.

As a refresher I have gone back through previous posts and pulled out a few definitions for everybody, just to make sure everybody knows what I am talking about, especially since I do use a lot of slang terms when I am in the field.  

Here is my post from May 31, 2010:

Memorial Day 2010, it has turned out to be a wonderful day for us here at Summit. The last couple of days were overcast and windy. All of the ant tracks were blown away and the sastrugi have gone from nothing to 2 foot in height in some areas. This morning I was removing the snow from the down wind side of my tent, just to let the sun shine in.

Now for some definitions:

ANG
The Air National Guard. The 109th squadron which flies the unique LC-130s that fly into the arctic and antarctic remote stations.

Ant Tracks
The paths made by multiple people in the snow between buildings. Usually following one makes walking easier.

Bag Drag
The act of showing up at the ANG to weigh in for for a flight. All checked luggage is taken, and all PAX are weighed with carry-on bags and ECW gear. The times change with little notice, but are rarely convenient.

Beaker
A scientist.

Big House
The main building at Summit Camp. It houses the dining hall and general use toilet and shower.

Boomerang
To turn back in mid-flight, usually due to bad weather at the landing site, or mechanical problems, especially ski issues with the LC-130s.

Carp
Short for Carpenter. Also the name of the Carpenter berthing building at Summit.

DNF
Do Not Freeze, a label applied to cargo that must not be allowed to sit outside.

DV

Distinguished Visitor, a person of some prominence down for a visit. DV is used in favor of the more common VIP.

ECW

Extreme Cold Weather, the label given to our protective clothing, from parkas and bunny boots, to bear claws, balaclavas, yazoo caps, et cetera.

Freshies
Common term for fresh fruit and vegetables.

Green House
The science and full time crew berthing building at Summit.

MSF
Mobile Science Facility. This is the newest building at Summit. Put into operation summer 2010.

PAX
Passengers.

PI
Principle Investigator, head of a science project.

Sastrugi
Sharp irregular groves in the snow surface carved by the wind. They are usually parallel to the prevailing wind.

Sun DogsThe name for the two rainbows that appear on either side of the sun, approximately 23° away, caused by the refraction of light through suspended ice crystals. Frequently seen with displays of halos and other perihelical effects. They are occasionally visible in temperate latitudes, but more common in polar regions.

TAWO

Temporary Atmospheric Watch Observatory, the building in which NOAA has all of it's equipment to do long term in-situ measurements.  It is a small, cramped and overworked building sitting ~0.6 km from the Big House.

Tent City
This is a group of 20 tents setup at Summit for the use of summer personnel.

Traverse
The name given to any journey across the ICE more than several miles in length.

Kangerlussuaq 2015

It is a good day here in Kangerlussuaq, bright, shiny and pleasantly chilly.  We arrived here last night about 7:00 pm local time.  The flight from Scotia NY - Goose Bay Nova Scotia - Kangerlussuaq took  ~ 8 hours of total flight time.  The LC-130 we flew on was an old friend of mine Tail# 31096 - nicknamed "City of Christchurch".  It is one of the older LC-130's in the ANG stable and she is showing her age.  The flight was louder than normal and had a high frequency buzz that was highly annoying.  I spent most the last 3.5 hours standing and trying to find a spot that didn't make me feel like I was standing on a blender.

My friend Ryan was at the KISS (Kangerlussuaq International Science Support) building when we pulled in, he greeted us and then went straight to bed.  He had flown in from Copenhagen earlier in the day.  I finally made it to bed around 11 pm and was able to sleep until a little before 6 am.  After a quick shower, I took the first of three breakfast shuttles over to the airport cafeteria and had a quick bit to eat.  It was a decent meal, nothing spectacular, just good ol'comfort food.

Not much else is going on, and i will be talkin to u'all later.

Ciao

2015 Polar Field Season Underway

Hi Everybody,

I know that I have not updated this blog in a while, over a year in fact.  But here we go with another Polar Field Season underway.  This year I am going back to Summit camp on two projects, one a Laser Project (CAPABL) and the second the Meteorological Program for NOAA.  Most of my time should be taken up by the Met program which I will go into in a later post.

This entry should be just a quick update from Clifton Park New York the night before we are to leave on the 109th ANG LC-130's.  The next update should be from Kangerlussauq.

Mike