Observation Hill

Picture #1: View of Observation Hill located on the south
side of McMurdo Station.

We initially planned to go into the field on Thursday but our helicopter was unfortunately experiencing mechanical issues. This is a bit of a bummer as we were supposed to take a reconnaissance trip out to the Dry Valleys to look for an ideal location to conduct my experiments.  There is also a two day moratorium on helicopter travel due to a New Years vacation for staff members so the trip will have to wait until Sunday. It’s a little frustrating but can definitely be expected as things don’t often go as according to plan and you just have to roll with it.

Picture #2: This memorial cross located
at the top of Observation hill was erected
in 1913 in memory of Robert Falcon Scott
who died while returning from the South
Pole in 1912. 

Fortunately, there is plenty to do in the lab and this has afforded me some time to catch up. I also decided to take in a little of the local scenery by hiking to the top of observation point, which is a 754 foot (230m) hill located at the south side of the station (Picture #1). The hill itself is volcanic in origin and the trail to the top was underlain with loose cinders of a variety of sizes. While it meant having to carefully watch your step at times, the views at the top were definitely worth it.

There were plenty of sites to take in at the top, including a memorial cross for polar explorer Robert Falcon Scott (Picture 2). Scott was an British explorer who set out on an expedition to become the first individual to reach the South Pole. While he did reach the south pole on January 17, 1912 he found that he was proceeded by a Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen. Unfortunately, Scott's party of five succumbed to a combination of the elements and starvation on their return journey. Scott used the area of McMurdo as his base of operations and the hut he constructed in 1902 is still located at the edge of town.

Picture #3: View of Mount Erebus to the North.

Another sight you can take in from the top is Mount Erebus (12,448 ft) (Picture 3).  Mt Erebus is also located on Ross Island (the same island as McMurdo) and is approximately 25 miles to the north.  It is the second highest volcano in Antarctica and has been technically considered active since 1972.

Picture #4: View of wind turbines which provide supplemental
energy to McMurdo Station.

Observation point also provided a great vantage point for three wind turbines used to provide supplemental power to McMurdo Station and New Zealand's Scott Base (located within walking distance)(Picture 4). Installation of the turbines was completed in December 2009 and they currently provide up to 15% of the electricity needs for McMurdo, and over 85% of the same for Scott Base. Given the main power source for both bases energy needs currently comes from diesel fuel (more on this to come later), these wind turbines will save the need for ~120,000 gallons of diesel fuel annually.

Picture #5: Panorama view of McMurdo Station taken from the top of Observation Point.

Finally, there were also some great views of McMurdo Station and the Transantarctic Mountains located to the west across of McMurdo Sound (Pictures 5 &6). Our field sites are located at the base of these mountains so hopefully will be heading in this direction in the near future.

Picture #6: Panorama view of the Trans Antarctic Mountains located to the west across McMurdo Sound.