Ah, yes, I'm still here. But we're definitely on the 20:30 flight tonight though. Hopefully it will take off this time, and not boomerang (return to McMurdo). If we don't make it out I may find some skis and set out on foot. McMurdo is no longer a pretty snow-covered village:
To keep myself sane I thought I'd try yoga. I fear I may have got this confused with meditation at some point, as I was hoping we'd just lie on the floor humming for an hour. It turns out to be a sneakily strenuous activity - sneaky because you never actually move very fast, strenuous because I seemed to be tied in a knot and standing on one leg most of the time.
I didn't take any photos, but thought I'd pinch a few from the web to give you a flavour of what I was supposed to be doing. I am most proud of having managed both a right and left bind. However, I was mildly terrified that if I toppled over I wouldn't be able to untangle my arms in time to prevent a broken nose. Luckily this did not happen.
I think my poorest effort was the sleeping pigeon - mine more resembled an uncomfortably dozing chicken. The flexibility genes mysteriously went to my brother, so I am expecting a demonstration of a rather more relaxed pigeon at Christmas please Robin.
Today's excitement was a trip down to the aquarium where they have a 'touch tank'. We opted not to touch any of the spiky ones (I tried this whilst on holiday in Greece aged 8 and it didn't go well), but did prod all the squishy ones, desite the neon yellow one looking like something out of a sci-fi movie.
Ok, time to pack. Again.
Today's excitement was a trip down to the aquarium where they have a 'touch tank'. We opted not to touch any of the spiky ones (I tried this whilst on holiday in Greece aged 8 and it didn't go well), but did prod all the squishy ones, desite the neon yellow one looking like something out of a sci-fi movie.Ok, time to pack. Again.
From todays Times...
ReplyDeleteBritish Antarctic Survey scientists are to survey a remote glacier to understand how rapidly the ice is melting.
The Pine Island Glacier in Western Antarctica is known as the “weak underbelly of the Antarctic” because only a relatively small ice shelf is holding back a huge body of ice from flowing into the ocean. Scientists believe that the glacier is one of the fastest melting regions of the continent.
Andy Smith, who is leading the three-month mission, said that the loss of the glacier could be a major contributor to global sea levels rising in future.
“When Antarctic ice sheets melt away, they take away some of the resistance that’s holding back the glacier. It’s a bit like pulling the plug out,” he said.
Sea levels were projected to rise by between 18 and 59cm (7-23in) by the end of the century in a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. However, this included only the effect of the oceans expanding because of warming, and not the additional water caused by ice melting in Greenland and Antarctica.
Dr Smith and his team will work in temperatures of –33C, 800 miles from the nearest fixed research base.
Sounds like important work, you better get out there and do it!
do you have a spare plane, preferably with crew?
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