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Ann Curry, a correspondent for NBC's Today Show, broadcasted live this morning from McMurdo Station. Her broadcast formed part of a chain of live broadcasts from the Arctic, Equator, and Antarctic billed as "Ends of the Earth," which focus on the issue of global warming. This is the first time that a live broadcast of this sort has been made. There will be two more live broadcasts, which will show on Tuesday and Wednesday morning in the US (middle of the night here). The crew have been filming down here for about a week, and indicated that the broadcasts will include stories about the various science projects going on down here, including ANDRILL. Stay tuned!
On the lower level of the Crary Science and Engineering Laboratory is a room full of sea water tanks that house some of the fish and invertebrates that live offshore (and under the sea ice).My favorite is the Antarctic Toothfish (aka Antarctic Cod). These guys have adapted to the extreme cold in some curious ways. They have antifreeze proteins in their tissues and blood because the seawater is colder than the normal freezing point of tissue. They have a very slow metabolism, with a heartbeat once every six seconds. These cods have a lifespan of about 40 years and can reach lengths of over 6 ft and weights that exceed 250 pounds!The toothfishes in the Crary tanks will come up to the surface to say hello. These are young ones, less than a foot in length, caught offshore in about 500 ft of water. Aren’t they cute?
ABOVE: A few interesting vehicles used around McMurdo, including (from top to bottom) Ivan the Terra Bus, a Delta, a Tucker Sno-Cat, a Pisten Bully, and a Mattrack pickup.
There are a lot of interesting vehicles down here, which are designed for getting around on the snow and ice. I’ve included pictures of some of the more interesting ones. In addition to these, there are standard vehicles, pickups and vans, which have been modified for the cold and snow (4-wheel drive, large snow tires, engine-block heaters, and hydraulic emergency brakes). When parked, vehicles are “hitched up” to electrical outlets to keep the engines warm. There are also a lot of bulldozers and tractors that are used in maintaining the roads. A few lucky people get to use the skidoos.
My first ride, from the airplane to the base, was on Ivan the Terra Bus. It's so big, the door entrance was at head level. We were taken to Happy Camp in a Delta, with 18 of us packed into the back. I'll soon be traveling across the sea ice to the drillsite, in either a Pisten Bully or a Mattrack.
