We rolled out of Kanger at around 8:15am this morning and headed for Summit. Everyone was very eager and we only had around 18 people this time so there was A LOT more room. The flight time was about 2 hours and 15 minutes. About an hour into the flight I laid down on the floor and took a nap for about 45 minutes. It was definitely a very needed nap because the past three nights I have probably slept an average of 5 hours (and my body is more used to 8 hours!).
The plane skiied (yes that's right, the plane has both skis and tires) into Summit around 10:45am. We were all greeted by some current Summiters, including my advisor Dr. Barry Lefer. Everyone walked over to the "Big House" where we met Kathy the camp director. She told us some of the rules for Summit life and then we had a delicious meal...steak wraps, a relish tray including pickles...mmmmm...beef and vegetable soup, and pumpkin soup. It was sooooo very good! The Big House includes the kitchen, bathroom (where the sign on the door reads..."If it's yellow let it mellow, if it's brown flush it down!" and you can NEVER flush toilet paper), five long tables with chairs, stero system, tv for dvds and videos, a shower (remember only one 2 minute shower once a week), a washer and dryer, and the main office.
Following lunch, our team (me, Craig Beals, Dr. Craig Clements, and Barry) left for the satellite camp, which is about 800 meters away from the Big House. I participated in three tethersonde launches (one that had an ozonesonde on it) and one radiosonde launch today and got most of them up to 600m. A lot of clouds rolled in so most of the soundings followed the adiabatic lapse rate. The winds are out of the north, which isn't good because the "Big House", generator, and tent city (where all of our individual sleeping tents are located), are to the north of the satellite camp. So all of the NOx, Bromine, Ozone, and other chemical measurements are contaminated. We have a high pressure system dominating over the area, which is the cause of the northerly winds. Our team is also monitoring the spectroradiometer (SAFS) instrument that measures the UV radiation above the snow, the snowbird spectroradiometer that measures the UV radiation at 5 different depths within the snow, a sky camera, ozone measurement just below the snow surface, 10 thermocouples (measuring temperature), and one sonic anemometer (wind speed and wind direction) on the 50 meter meteorology tower. I will post pictures and descriptions of these probably tomorrow.
Dinner was at 6pm. We had lasagna with white sauce (with mushrooms, artichokes, bacon, and chicken), vegetarian lasagna, homemade bread, salad with balsamic vinegerette) and for dessert...the most amazing and addictive pecan cookies I have ever tasted! The food is maginficent and definitely makes the conditions more barrable. After that I went and downloaded some new programs necessary for data processing. We then had to walk the balloon back to the shed for storage over night. Right now it is 6F with a wind chill of -6F. Not too bad they say.
Summit is located at over 10,500 ft. Altitude sickness has hit a few people (headache, throwing up, dizziness, tiredness). I did feel a little light headed (kind of like I had two glasses of wine) and had a headache, but I took a couple of tylenols and felt better.
I am beat so I am off to bed. My tent has a cot, which is quite a luxury around here!
Good night!
Smell-oh-meter: 2...I can still smell the conditioner in my hair!
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