Arrival in McMurdo

My bag arrived at my hotel Thursday night, in time to catch the flight from Christchurch to McMurdo on the US Air Force C-17 cargo plane. Me and the other 47 passengers were lucky to catch a ride on the C-17 as this is the fastest way to get from ChiChi to the ice (only 5 hours). Plane was loaded down with supplies and scientific instruments, but still plenty of space for us. An uneventful flight, I got to read my book and try to sleep. Otherwise, I snapped a few photos of glaciers near the end of the flight. After we landed we headed into the NSF Office (a.k.a. the Chalet) for a briefing on the rules of the Station. While we are all here for science reasons, most important rule is to "Be safe at all times" as it is still a long plane ride back to civilization and a real hospital. And when the weather is bad, could be a few days or more before you can get help. Also learned that McMurdo Station is the largest research facility in Antarctica. It is located on the southern tip of Ross Island and lies 2,415 miles south of Christchurch and 850 miles north of the South Pole. The US National Science Foundation (NSF) , through the US Antarctic Program (USAP), coordinates US scientific research in the Antarctic. Research performed in and around McMurdo includes marine and terrestrial biology, biomedicine, geology, geophysics, glaciology, meteorology, upper atmospheric physics, and last but not least... atmospheric chemistry (the reason I am here). During the austral summer the population of scientists and support personnel at McMurdo often exceeds 1,100 people. In the winter, the population drops to roughly 250 people. For more information about McMurdo station and the current weather conditions, check out: http://www.mcmurdo.usap.gov/