The day for the arrival of a lot of people is approching

Theo cutting at the entrance to the new cave to make room for a door.

There is a special atmosphere in camp today. Everybody is anticipating the arrival of 23 people tomorrow. It is going to be good, no doubt; but the kind of peaceful intimacy shared among the 14 strong put-in crew, is going to end. We are ready to receive the new members of camp crew. Everything is ready, but we fell a little as if we have the silence before the storm.

Very soon this camp will explode with activity, as camp life goes into a new mode. All science equipment will be set up, and drilling and processing will commence in a week.

Today it has been really warm, -5°C, our newcomers might as well arrive here in their normal clothes instead of polar equipment.

What we have done today:
1. The drillers made 7 filter runs today.
2. Borehole temperature measurements in firn air borehole.
3. Drilling of cooling holes in new ice cave.
4. Preparing for the arrival of many new NEEMers.
5. Making retro cargo ready for flights.
6. CFA laboratory setup.

Ad.1: The drillers continue to get chips out of the hole. Now a total of
172 kg has been retrieved.

Ad.4: With 37 people in camp, we need some more structure to camp life.
Duty rosters have been made, as well as lists of berthing, instructions and descriptions of duties.

Weather: Overcast, in the evening fog, later clearing, -18°C to - 5°C,
calm-12 knots from S and SSE. Visibility: mostly unrestricted, when fog 200 m. Very warm and sticky weather.

FL, J.P. Steffensen


Matthias at work in the CFA laboratory.