CCD: Clothing Distribution Center

Today I geared up in Christchurch at the CCD, along with about fifty other scientists and support workers. I have more cold weather gear then I'll hopefully need. I would have never guessed any desert environment to require so many layers! However, there is a strict 75lbs baggage limit, and I have about 1/4 of that invested in my size 14 boots, so sacrifices will be made...


Anyways, I'm meeting lots of scientists, all working in different fields of research. Last night, I met a group from Wisconsin who are installing a neutrino telescope at the South Pole. It involves drilling 70 separate holes in the ice, each 2,400 meters deep! They drill at a rate of about 2m/min, roughly 200,000 gallons of ice is melted, and it requires a crew of 30 people (and a mere 4,800 gallons of fuel each hole!). The telescope is named "IceCube," and "will search for neutrinos from the most violent astrophysical sources: events like exploding stars, gamma ray bursts, and cataclysmic phenomena involving black holes and neutron stars." Check out the Icecube site for a further description about the project.


But even more exciting, I sat next to Henry Kaiser on the shuttle to the CCD!



Kaiser produced, composed, and filmed all the underwater footage for Werner Herzog's latest film, Encounters at the End of the World! He talked with me a bit about his work (all of the underwater footage in Encounters was collected over 2 years, the rest of the documentary took only 8 weeks), and all the gear required for filming under the frozen Ross Sea Ice Shelf in 28 degreesF water! It has been a very inspiring day indeed!


Tomorrow, we will be waking up at 3:30AM and off to the Antarctic Center/Airforce Base. If the weather permits, I'll be in McMurdo in the afternoon!