Live from Antarctica: Wednesday November 26th
After having had a couple of days of true Antarctic summer weather, the wind has now picked up. For the newcomers, this is almost surprising. They have been enjoying the clear blue skies since they got here. However, the catabatic winds remind everyone that this is, after all, no picnic.
As far as the building activities are going, the carpentry inside the station has now truly taken off. Apart from one outside team which is working on an extension of the garage, we are now also happy to announce the existence of an "inside" team (working in jeans and a t-shirt is a welcoming change with comparison to the usual polar gear).
With regard to science, the BELISSIMA team performed its first measurements yesterday. What was first intended to be an equipment test ended up as a radar survey of the base surroundings. It rendered very good data. Today is the first day for conducting the experiment on sleep in the Antarctic summer. Volunteers are to take part in this experiment once in approximately ten days. Their sleep quality is recorded for one night and their physical activity is measured during the days preceding and following the sleep record.
Nathalie Pattyn
Picture: Jacques Touchette Working Inside the Station - © International Polar Foundation