The windiest place on earth

Physics Department Chair Terry Flower, Ph.D., is using the real world labs of Argentina, Costa Rica and Antarctica to study global warming, rain forests and penguins and has sent us updates and photos.

We are just bringing the last of the Polar Cirkle Boats onto the ship. They clang against the loading platform just above the water level. The noise reverberates and rings loudly but in a way, sadly as bells tolling at a memorial service. This was our last landing in Antarctica. The last expeditionary member has come aboard and we will shortly sail out of Paradise Harbour.

Here we are surrounded, literally, on all sides by steep mountains which rise sharply out of the waters. They provided whalers of old protection from storms, and wind, especially the wind. This is the windiest place on the planet.

There are what we call katabatic winds–which roar down the snow covered slopes, accelerating like a luge out of control on a steep run.

Earlier we visited an unmanned Argentine station on the mainland, Almirante Brown. Those who were willing and physically fit enough, climbed a rather steep snow covered hill (see our class photo.)
It was an arduous trek through the snow that seemed to pull your boots downward every so often. It seemed that every fifty to one hundred feet change in elevation the views changed so startlingly so that it almost looked like we were viewing different glaciers.

Atop this rocky crag we sat and marveled at what is around us. Is this real? Can we really be seeing this? We thank the Lord for bringing us here safely and for making it possible for us to see His wonders. Only when you see what we have seen will you know why we can say that we, from here, can put out our hand, and, touch the face of God.

We’ve been recording UVa and UVb values hourly so we can get a better handle on the ozone depletion overhead. We are also measuring the magnetic field.

It is interesting that the north magnetic pole of the planet is down in this area, but not on the continent. We are plotting values to trace out the paths of field lines. We are not sure if we will be able to demonstrate the South Atlantic Anomaly.

This afternoon we will cruise into Wilhelmina Bay where the scenery is reported to be dramatic and many whales make it their summer home.

Terry Flower