NEEM points of interests

The upper two meters of the NEEM snow stratigraphy as seen in the double pit made yesterday by Timothy. The sun is shining on the back side of the snow wall through the second pit visualizing the layering. Each layer represents a snow deposition or a storm event and the entire profile probably represents three years of snow accumulation.

After a hard working day the NEEM camp area offers a variety of evening entertainment. In the case of nice weather, one of the most popular sights is the skiway. After confirmation with the field leader that no air traffic is around, the trip to the skiway can be made on foot, by skiing, or by skidoo. At the southern end of the skiway one can take a rest in the transit area sofa and watch the quiet landscape and the camp at a distance. On the way out there one will pass the newly mounted wind sock and more than 200 skiway flags each mounted on two bamboo sticks according to U.S. Air Force Instruction 13-217 for Drop Zone and Landing Zone Operations. The trip may extend to the end of the lead-in flags which reach 5 miles out. Other sightseeing options are the UK double-pit that allows studying the upper 2.5 m of snow stratigraphy in great detail, the Canadian pit for pollen sampling, the Korean pit for chemical sampling, the Danish pit for temperature logging that will also be sampled for 10Be, and the automatic weather station.

What we have done today:

1. Drilling with the NEEM long drill: 33.78 m. Drillers depth: 736.18 m.
   
2. Ice core processing: 16.50 m. Depth: 459.80 m.
   
3. CFA analysis: 13.20 m. Depth: 147.95 m
4. Continuing BAS radar profile west of camp
   

Ad.1: Drillers report June 28:
Drilling continued in a routine way this Sunday after an initial hole cleaning run that also recovered 2 m of core. A total of 23 m was cored and finished at 702.40 metres depth."

Ad 2: Several science trench saws went on strike today. At the same time the ice is becoming more demanding as we approach the brittle zone.

Weather: Mostly clear sky, evening ground fog, temperatures form -8 to -16 deg C, winds 5-15 knt from S.

Field Leader, Anders Svensson

In case someone would pass by (e.g. a Hercules C-130) it is now easy to determine the wind direction at NEEM.

Taking a rest on the sofa in the middle of nowhere.