31 Dec 2007

82.06585 deg S

54.88962 deg E

3730 meters above sea level

Maximum & Minimum temperatures:  - 30 to - 38 °C

The kilometers we logged today, the last day of 2007, brought us near to the Pole of Inaccessibility, which is the place on the Antarctic continent that is farthest from any coast.  As 2007 came to a close, we reminisced about our journey, which started a month and a half ago from the Norwegian Troll Station near the coast of Dronning Maud Land. On this traverse so far we have drilled three deep ice cores and many shallow ice cores, in search of clues to our changing climate. We have worked together to overcome difficulties, including hurricane-force winds at Troll, science challenges in adapting drilling techniques to the unusual structures in firn, logistics challenges with broken differentials and gear boxes. Throughout all, we have remained solid and supportive as a group, continually striving toward our goal of doing solid science in an unusually long and demanding traverse across the Antarctic continent.  As the clock struck midnight, we celebrated New Year’s Eve with a toast to our success as an international team.

 - Mary

A toast during a short stop on New Year’s Evening (photo: Jan-Gunnar Winther).