Our drillers and first of the on-ice science team have arrived at New Zealand’s Scott Base, and are keeping busy while they wait for suitable weather to fly to Crary Ice Rise (ICDP_SWAIS2C_Site 2). They practiced critical survival skills as part of Antarctica New Zealand’s Antarctic Field Training, and spent the night in tents at Windless Bight.

Over at the US’s McMurdo Station, they were treated to a tour of Crary Lab, including the famous touch tanks where they met some of the critters who live around McMurdo Sounds. The lab has a special connection with our season this year, as the lab and our field site are both named after Albert P. Cary, an American pioneer polar geophysicist and glaciologist. They stepped back in time with a visit to Scott’s Discovery Hut, getting a glimpse of how tough the conditions were for the early polar explorers. There’s never a dull moment on Ross Island, but they’re looking forward to getting into the field when the weather clears.