It is the end of a highly successful field season for our ‘Antarctica’s Secrets’ team – a mix of sadness and joy

Having been joined by a fifth team member, Tim Flood from St Norbert College, our “Antarctica Secrets” team sets out to a new field site near Mount Achernar.

Back at the Central Transantarctic Mountain camp, our ‘Antarctica Secrets’ team figures out the best way to cross a crevasse zone to get to their next field camp at Mt Achernar.

Our Antarctica Secret’s team starts collecting samples at their first remote field site at Mt Howe, Transantarctic Mountains, about 180 miles from the South Pole.

Our field team flies from McMurdo to their first base camp, named CTAM, which stands for Central Transantarctic Mountains. This camp is set up by the US National Science Foundation every 5 to 10 years, with input from scientists on the cutting edge research that can be done in the region.

Mike Kaplan and Nicole Bader, first-timers in Antarctica, report from taking their basic survival training at McMurdo Station in Antarctica, aka ‘Happy Campers’

Kathy Licht, an “old hat” of Antarctic field research and part of the Antarctica’s Secrets team, shares her impressions how it feels to be back on the ice.

Having picked up their extreme weather gear in New Zealand, our Antarctica’s Secrets team lands on Antarctica and settles in McMurdo station where they will be trained and prepared for their camping trip to the Transantarctic mountains.

After months of waiting, our Antarctica’s Secrets team leaves Los Angeles on a non stop 12 hour flight to New Zealand. Their first stop is Christchurch, New Zealand, where they pick up their extreme weather clothing for the trip to Antarctica.

Understanding the historical context and dynamics of Antarctica’s massive ice sheets is critical for modeling future changes that have the potential to impact the globe, including significant contributions to sea level rise.