Was out to take a final team photograph a little before sunset this evening (around 21h00) and snapped off this panorama from the northern buttress looking back towards the base. Click on the image for full size.
Boy… lots been happening. Will try to make some nice posts soon, but in the meantime, here are some photos from fieldwork yesterday at Flarjuven Nunatak, 42km south of SANAE IV. I was assigned as a field guide to our two geomorphologists, who had to travel to the nunatak to download data from a temperature logger. The logger is situated on the margin of an area of patterned ground – movement of the rock due to temperature changes creates patterns in the surface – and records both air and ground temperatures at various depths throughout the year. We flew in, established an emergency camp (the wind was unpleasant and very cold at that altitude) and completed the data download and maintenance before flying out in a hurry as the weather deteriorated once more. Pictures below:
Field camp at Flarjuven, with the southern peak and mountains to the southwest in view.
Looking north towards Vesleskarvet and SANAE IV (Vesles is the flat smudge on the horizon in the center of the frame).
Aurho, another nunatak near Flarjuven, with its impressive west face.
Self-portrait at the field camp with my beloved MSR Fury tent.
Geomorphologist Mike Loubser retreats from the building weather after checking the temperature logger for the last time. 30 minutes later we were clouded in with snow.
This blog has once again served as a vehicle for raising the profile of Antarctica and in particular expedition medicine, to my great satisfaction. JuniorDr Magazine, a print-and-online publication based in the UK and targeted at all doctors ‘in training’ (ie. before reaching specialist/consultant level) came across the AntarcticDoctor blog while researching a piece on working abroad. I’m proud to say that an article (based on a piece which I wrote for the AEP newsletter) appears in the latest edition, and will hopefully contribute to raising the profile of Antarctic research and wilderness medicine. You can visit JuniorDr.com to read their online content or click on the image above to read/download a copy magazine.