Lab Daze

I'm still here. I have been busy working in the Crary Lab these days, analyzing lake water samples from the dry valleys by ion chromatography. I measure the concentration of things like sodium, calcium, chloride and sulfate. It does not always seem very bloggable, mostly because the labs are very functional and comfortable places to work, but they are not exciting to photograph (low bloggicity factor?). Water samples in plastic bottles are not exciting until you get the data. Of course it is exciting to see if the lakes are more or less salty than last year. The lakes in the dry valleys are very unusual chemically stratified lakes and the bottom waters are very old and salty. A little spilled drop of water from the bottom of Lake Bonney turned into a little pile of salt overnight on my lab bench. It is about 30% salt by weight, or almost 10 times saltier than sea water. The surface waters change a little every year depending on the balance between the stream flow into the lakes and the evaporative loss off the surface.
Last night after a long day of labbing it, Chris, Liz and I walked on one of the trails near McMurdo. It's a trail that goes up a ridge from Hut Point, near Scott's Discovery Hut, and then circles back through the station. Many people have walked up this hill over the years, but a trail was officially established and opened for recreation 2 years ago just before the two day Christmas holiday. It's a great way to get some elevation gain and do some site seeing. There I am trudging up the steep path with Scott's Hut at the edge of the peninsula below. (Ohhh, and next time I'm out there I need to check out those little ponds.)
Photos courtesy of Chris Gardner