Dear Friends and Colleagues, A ‘lidar marathon’ record, a lot of penguins, and gorgeous Antarctic scenery with so much open water — these are the unforgettable aspects of our Antarctic journey! Flying back home today my heart is still filled with the Antarctic beauty and the fantastic science we can do there!… Read More


Dear Friends and Colleagues, The lidar legend in Antarctica will be continued by our outstanding students from CU-Boulder! This great news makes my flight back home today a pleasant journey! Since the start of the McMurdo lidar campaign in late 2010, many students and researchers have participated and made great contributions. Our lidar observations at… Read More


Dear Friends and Colleagues, Happy New Year 2013!!! In my 7th trip to the Antarctic, I got a VIP treatment — we flew in with an Airbus aircraft and landed in the McMurdo Pegasus airport in the early morning on December 23rd, 2012. Although my flight to the ice from Christchurch, New Zealand was delayed… Read More


The definitive Antarctic experience of Brendan Roberts, replete with photos, in all its excruciating detail. I left Christchurch for Antarctica on December 1st, 2011. The shuttle bus pulled onto the tarmac and right up to the giant grey C-17. I was the first off the shuttle bus and the first to the steps into the… Read More


Dear Friends and Colleagues, My 6th trip to Antarctica has been very pleasant and successful, but it still came to an end as I flew out of McMurdo, Antarctica on February 6, 2012. We have optimized all four lasers and got the lidar running really well and ready for the winter 2012. Our team members Wentao… Read More


Although my advisor, Dr. Chu, is quite happy with the data collected in March, it is my obligation to get enough data. I am determined to collect lidar data as much as possible. At the beginning of April, I thought the weather would be better and better, but the fact is that it was worse… Read More


Open water surrounding the Ross Island generated so many clouds. We ran into a few times of conditions II. In March, there was not even a single day with continuous 24 hours of clear skies. My tries to run the lidar were frustrated by the cloudy sky and quick weather change. But eventually I managed… Read More


By mid-February 2011, I was “left” alone and became the sole operator for our Fe Boltzmann lidar through the first winter season at McMurdo. What a wonderful and big family we had in the summer at McMurdo! I really enjoyed working with my professors and colleagues. By January 22, 2011, my advisor, Prof. Xinzhao Chu,… Read More