One of the most famous optical phenomena of the polar regions is the Aurora. In the Arctic it is known as the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, and in the Antarctic it is the Aurora Australis, or Southern Lights. With the growing nighttime at McMurdo, we’ve been lucky enough to see some beautiful examples of… Read More
This lidar campaign has been an ongoing project for 15 years. We are hoping that the project can continue into the 2030s. The Chu research group could make some impressive discoveries with 2 full solar cycles of lidar data. But keeping a project continuous for 15 years and counting is no easy feat. Each year… Read More
This is the fourth post in a series on optical phenomena in Antarctica. This post covers cloud iridescence, one of the most elegant and beautiful optical effects I’ve seen. Above: A golden cloud with iridescence, appearing as a rainbow streaking through the cloud. Photo taken from McMurdo town outside of building 155. Cloud iridescence is… Read More
Jess and I have many responsibilities as the winter over lidar team at McMurdo station. These responsibilities include maintenance of the lidar systems, data analysis, outreach, and, of course, the operation of the lidar systems. Anytime the skies are clear, we’re trying to gather data. But what does lidar operation actually look like? The first… Read More
We’re changing from the summer to the winter season at McMurdo. Besides the unique changes in sunlight, slowly changing from 24 hour sunlight to 24 hour darkness, the transition is also visible in the vastly decreased population and the quality of the data we can collect with the lidar systems. The station population drops by… Read More
After a successful summer season, we now progress towards winter at McMurdo station. We had 3 months of difficult refurbishment from November to February, and we’re now hoping for quality data as we approach the winter season. While the Lidar systems are still having issues, Jess has done an excellent job of troubleshooting and keeping… Read More
