After two hectic days of wrapping up the academic semester and collecting our issued extreme weather gear in Christchurch, our group—Dr. Xinzhao Chu, Kamen Schaefle, and I (Shay Mayer) —finally arrived at McMurdo Station on the evening of December 21st. We arrived on a C130 and were lucky enough to watch a beautiful flight over Victoria Land near the end of the flight.

We finally stepped on the ice at around 6 pm and quickly made our way to station. During the first night, we were able to take in the famous late night summer sun at McMurdo Station and to meet with some familiar friends on the ice – the 2025 winter-over team. Ari Diddams (winter-over lead) and Jack Iribarren (lidar engineer) have been here for a few months preparing for the important winter to come during the solar maximum and both have been collecting summer data with both the Fe Boltzmann and Na Doppler Lidar systems at Arrival Heights.

Shay Mayer (Far Right), Kamen Schaeffle (Middle), and Dr. Xinzhao Chu (Far Left)

Because Kamen and I are first time “McMurdans,” the first morning was spent by becoming familiar with the Crary Science and Engineering Center and our storage lab within. After a quick lunch, Ari, Kamen, and Shay went to the Arrival Heights Lidar Laboratory and finally saw both lidar systems in person and Ari ran us through our first “start-up” procedure. It was such a beautiful day that the group spent some time outside taking in the view of the McMurdo Sound until dinner time rolled along, where the group spent some time discussing various important lidar-related topics with Dr. Chu and learning more about our systems. After dinner, the whole group attended a lecture by Dr. Steve Emslie for the weekly “Science Talks,” where we learned more about Adelie penguins and the interesting 65,000-year history of their colonies in the local region.


The next day was once again spent up at the Arrival Heights Laboratory, where Ari, Jack, and I were able to help troubleshoot a maintenance plumbing repair for the PAL laser system. At the end of the day, Dr. Chu was finally able to come up to Arrival Heights and checked on the lidar systems for the first time since last March while the whole group reported to her. It was amazing to see the expert of the laboratory in her element as she troubleshot optimizing the output of the lasers. Finally, at 11pm, Dr. Chu and the “day shift” technicians (Ari and I) headed back down to station while the “night shift” technicians (Kamen and Jack) stayed up to collect data for the night.

Today was cloudy, so the group decided to work from base. I am writing this from the lounge in anticipation of Christmas dinner on station, a show of the wonderful community here at McMurdo Station. There are a variety of people with all different backgrounds, from the scientists to the “Stewies,” that come together to keep this station afloat and it is truly inspiring to see. As I write this from the small lounge surrounded by the laughter of newly made friends on their days off for the holidays, I cannot help but feel more connected to others in this remote landscape than I did in Christchurch or even Boulder. This community’s united work ethic and passion to drive science forward on the ice is heartening and leaves me excited for my days to come on “the ice.”

Out from the bottom of the world,

Shay Mayer (Undergraduate Researcher)

9 comments on “First Few Days of Lab Visit to McMurdo Station!

  • This experience for you, truly says it all !!! Merry Christmas and an exciting New Year to look forward to! We love reading your Blog. Thanks for sharing.

  • What an incredible journey to McMurdo Station! 🌍 It’s inspiring to hear about the team’s hard work and the beautiful experiences you’re having while settling in. The stunning flight over Victoria Land must have been an unforgettable start, and the community atmosphere at McMurdo is truly heartwarming. It’s amazing how different backgrounds and expertise come together in such a remote place to drive science forward. The passion and dedication of everyone involved, from lidar troubleshooting to the holiday spirit, really shine through in your narrative. I look forward to hearing more about the exciting work you and your team will be doing on the ice! Stay safe and keep up the great work! 🙌❄️

  • What an incredible journey to McMurdo Station! 🌍 It’s inspiring to hear about the team’s hard work and the beautiful experiences you’re having while settling in.

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