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Herschel Island 2013: Drilling into the frozen ground
(Photo: S. Weege) Louise sub-sampling a freshly taken core. Thursday 11th of July 2013
It is 1 pm. We just finished breakfast and are packing our equipment for today's fieldwork.
Today the goal is to try repairing the second weather station at the slump. It has not been functioning since a little mishap with the batteries, and we will try an alternate power source.
There are two weeks left to monitor the microclimate inside the slump. Hopefully it will work! At the same time a group will drill the third permafrost core for Jaroš.
Isla and Louise will continue mapping vegetation in the area. They use a GPS unit to delineate vegetation zones and describing the types of plants found there.
(Photo: S. Weege) The coring group on their first day drilling the frozen ground.They are also trying to take photos to compare them to pictures taken from the same place during the past. Pictures are very valuable for Isla to analyze shrub growth and vegetation change on Herschel Island.
Our rangers left by boat last night and embarked on their ten hour journey back to Inuvik, where their boat will have the engine replaced.
Also the seats were destroyed by a bear this winter and need new cushions. For the time being, Hugues is in charge of the camp.
That means that he can´t work with us in the field at the moment. Instead he is taking meteorological measurements several times a day from the base camp station, and is giving a weather report to the two incoming float planes.
It is a one our flight from Inuvik to Herschel. In case of fog or big waves, they would come here without being able to land.
(Photo: B. Radosavljev) Selena Ross from the Canadian magazine The Walrus and Park rangers Edward and Samuel McLeod getting ready to leave for Inuvik So it is important to have good weather conditions for landing. Hugues also needs to stay and help fasten the float plane on the dock.
Selena Ross, a writer for the Canadian magazine "The Walrus" also left with them on the boat, as she had collected enough material for an article about us.
So now we are ready with packing and have our lunchboxes filled up with sandwiches, chocolates and hot tea and are ready to head out.
Like our rangers say: "Herschel Base Standing By"
Written by Stefanie and Boris