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Meanwhile, at Lake Z
While you have been reading about the adventures of our last days at Site 5, Recovery Lake B, we have been quietly moving on to establish and conclude yet another science site, at the elusive Lake Z.
Location: Recovery Lake “Z”, 81º 42’ S, 8º 34’ E
Weather: All clear, -25C, wind 10 kts
Lake Z is a potential fifth lake to the northwest of the four known Recovery Lakes. Data from Icesat and other satellites give pointers to a lake at this location, but they are less obvious than they are for Lakes A, B, C, and D, and the outline is more obscure. Icesat data have also indicated fluctuations in surface elevation at this spot, suggesting that Lake Z is a part of the drainage system downstream from the other lakes, with changeable water levels underneath the ice cap.
To investigate this – and to collect more data on snow accumulation and climate history – we have spent yesterday and today here, going through most of our usual science programme for short stops. The side traverse team – Ted, Anna, Kirsty, Einar, and Stein – have completed a 71 km circuit around the area with their radars and gravimeters, to collect data on the bedrock topography, ice thickness and potential subglacial sediments and water levels. Ted and Andreas have also installed a GPS station on site; which hopefully will continue to collect and transmit very precise data on surface elevation and fluctuations for some years ahead.
Of course Zoe has dug her snow pits too, and we have collected several ice cores. The drilling programme ran into some problems, though. The spare drill we received by plane some days ago has drill heads that are subtly different from our old drill, and they proved to be less suitable for the rather fiddly snow conditions we have here. Thick layers of depth hoar makes for very brittle cores, and they require finely crafted tools and a skilled driller to get them up. Skilled she is indeed, and Lou managed to pick up 24 meters with a drill that isn’t nearly as fine-tuned as she likes them.
So is there a Lake Z? Our data seem to suggest so, but some months of careful analyses are required to say more about it – such are the ways of science. At any rate we are quite happy with the fruits of our efforts here on the site. Tomorrow we will head out on the really long leg of this journey – 780 kilometres for a brief stop at Kohnen Station, at 75º S, 0º E.
The man, his vehicle, and an instrument. Side traversing is solitary business. Photo: Stein Tronstad/NPI
