The ACT-15 team is spending its last few days at Summit Camp where their work is nearly complete. They are finishing up some core logging where they’ve taken over the sauna room (without the stove running, of course) and using it as a cold-room for logging ice cores — I’m impressed that they actually have a sauna room!
Summit Camp is the “luxury hotel” version of the various research stations on the Greenland ice sheet.
Fantastic meals are prepared daily in the Big House:
The Big House serves as the station hub, housing the kitchen, dining facility, communications office and shared warm space for researchers and staff. Source: summitcamp.org
Each person is assigned their own Arctic Oven tent with a cot:
Most visitors to the station sleep in Arctic Oven tents. Each double-walled tent houses one person and their gear. The tents are unheated, but warm up in the sun. Source: summitcamp.org
Arctic Oven tent at Summit Camp. Source: Alaskatent.com
The temperature at Summit Camp has been colder than at previous locations. They have not seen temps above 0˚C since their arrival:
Outside temperatures recorded over the past week. Source: summitcamp.org
Mike reports that the crew is tired but in good spirits and ready to be done. Being ahead of schedule should allow them to catch a flight to Kangerlussuaq a few days earlier than originally planned. If weather cooperates, the next C-130 flight out of Kangerlussuaq is on June 6, which means our U.S. crew could arrive at their final destinations by June 7.
Speaking of the C-130…
Take a look at this fascinating video of a Hercules C-130 ice landing in Greenland. These pilots do an amazing job of safely transporting our scientists oftentimes in hazardous conditions!
Source: YouTube (molly mollyisagooddog)
