Some cool vehicles we use in Antarctica.

Here are a few of the vehicles that I use in Antarctica. Just about everything down here is setup for driving on snow and ice.

This is a Pisten Bully. We use these to carry people, supplies, and also move snow (if they have a blade). They are really fun to drive!

This is a Pickle. It’s an old Navy vehicle that was originally used for offloading ships. We use them to move snowmobiles, generators and other aviation equipment. They are hinged in the middle and the forks can tilt if you are not on level ground.

Ford Superduty with Mattracks. All the Ford vehicles down here either have lift kits with really big tires, or Mattracks to get through the snow and ice. We have lots of Ford vans and trucks all over the station. They are all bright red and have National Science Foundation logos on them.

This is a Hagglund. They are great for driving on the snow and ice. We used this one to go out on the Ross Sea Ice. The trailer in the back is used to carry people and supplies. Our survival bags are located on the trailer roof. They have everything we need to survive in the harsh Antarctic environment if we get stranded out in the field.

This is the snowmobile and ATV storage area inside my shop in McMurdo Station, Antarctica. I maintain this fleet of vehicles and train scientists and station employees how to ride them. We have over 100 snowmobiles!

Sea Ice Training

Yesterday I did Sea Ice Training. The purpose of this class is to learn how to profile cracks in the sea ice to determine if it’s safe to cross with the vehicle you are in. We went out to the Mt. Erebus glacier tongue. This is where the glacier pushes out into the Ross Sea ice several miles. It’s a very active crack area because the glacier is constantly pushing against the sea ice. One of the cracks we profiled was about 10 feet wide and had cracked and froze multiple times.

To profile a crack we carefully approach and examine the crack and shovel off snow to find the overall width of the crack. You can clearly see the different layers that form each time it breaks and the incoming water freezes. We then drill holes all the way across to determine how thick each layer is. The profile is used to determine whether it’s safe to cross. The thickness of the ice inside the crack and overall width are important factors to know whether you can cross it with a certain type of vehicle. Each vehicle has a different limit on thickness and crack width. It was actually really fun!

Me with Gretel, our trusty Hagglund.

The ice drill we use to profile cracks in the sea ice.

An active crack in the Ross Sea Ice that we profiled. Mt. Erebus is in the background and you can see some faint steam venting at the top.

Looking down the length of the crack in the Ross Sea Ice. The crack was about 10ft wide.

The crack profile and thickness of each layer across the crack. This crack had broken about 5 times. The most recent formed a pressure ridge at the center.

Weddell seals basking in the sun on the Ross Sea Ice.

Weddell seal basking in front of Mt. Erebus. Erebus is an active volcano with a lava lake in it’s crater.

Our Hagglund on the Ross Sea Ice.