Victoria University Antarctic Research Expedition Science and Logistics Reports 1992-93: VUWAE 37

Event Diary

Event Diary

Sea Ice Programme
5 November	Arrive Scott Base. (Pyne, Carter, Gee, Anderson.)page 6
6	November	Field Training. (Carter, Gee, Anderson.)
	Bucket auger tests with Nod well (Pyne.)
7 November	Field Training. Auger modifications and tests.
8 November	Attach winch on Nodwell and GPS receiver in garage.
9 November	Helo Recce. to Granite Harbour and Nordenskjold Ice Tongue. (Pyne, Carter, Gee.) Skidoo fuel cached at ice tongue (76 14 99,162 47 75).
10 November	Battery housings fitted on Vibracorer in garage. Checked field equipment. Spliced winch rope.
11 November	Vibracorer outside with loader on forks, erect mast tubes, chains and returned vibracorer inside.
12 November	Batteries and Electronics tested on vibracorer.
13 November	Electrical problems with to shipping.
14 November	Electrical problems, (limit switches), packed up sledges.
15 November	Final packing and moving out from Scott Base at 1500 hrs. Camp Position: 77 40 83 / 165 28 28 at 2200hrs (38 km from Scott base).
16 November	Marble Point at 2030 hrs, weather poor.
17 November	Refuelled at helo facility. Bad winds and poor visibility.
18 November	Travelling to Cape Roberts, arrived at 2030 hrs.
19 November	Cape Roberts; skua count, restocked emergency box. New wind speed/direction and 2nd temperature sensors fitted to Met. tower, down loaded data and checked wiring on Vibracorer, travelled onto Granite Harbour.
20 November	Drilled sea ice hole at site 92-1, 736 m deep in Granite Harbour.
21 November	Continuity problems with Vibracorer, removed battery housing and batteries (transport damage ?), checked out winch with large weights.
22 November	Problems with data logger power, katabatic winds in the evening.
23 November	Dead batteries data logger, transducer fault with rev counter, chuck jamming after lowering into water, winch capstan creeping backwards and banging in neutral and braked.page 7
24 November	Removed capstan to check on air in the system, replaced it and tested again with weights. Then ran a test using the TAE sledge as a weight.
25 November	Tested the winch using the TAE sledge plus the weights to 100 m. At 1830 hrs started to lower the Vibracorer, stopping every 100 m to readjust the Hiab which was sagging. At above 600 m the comms. cable broke, winched the Vibracorer to the surface by 220 hrs. Repair comms cable.
26 November	Broken comms cable (D5),repaired. Lowered the Vibracorer down at 1500 hrs, reached the bottom at about 700 m and ran the Vibracorer through coring programme but the barrel did not retract the last 2 m. Vibracorer winched to surface to find the core barrel had been bent about 30 degrees. It took from 2200 hrs to 2400 hrs to remove the bent core barrel from the vibracorer.
27 November	DVs visit started drilling new hole about 30 m west of 1st hole, used the winch cable of D5 to saw between the holes. Katabatic winds in the evening.
28 November	Prepared the Vibracorer for lowering, started lowering at 1600 hrs. Lowered to the bottom and ran through the same procedures to find that the barrel would not retract. Returned to the surface to find another bent core barrel.
29 November	Packed and moved to Cape Roberts.
30 November	Science DVs visit, drilled hole for current meter, unloaded the vibracorer for the DVs, surveyor arrived and did local topo survey. Repacked the corer.
1 December	Skua count, surveyors permanent staff erected for tide gauge levelling.
2 December	Bathymetry and sea ice measurements made along seismic line off shore Cape Roberts to the Ice Edge.
3 December	Reprogrammed data logger on Met. tower, repacked sledges, survey of glacier edge Granite Harbour.
4 December	Started travelling south at 1000 hrs, complex crack system south east of Spike Cape negotiated. Nodwell flat tyre removed and all deck cargo. Stopped at New harbour at 0130 hrs next day.
5 December	Travelling back to Scott Base, large crack in sea ice early in the day (New Harbour Crack), arrived back at Scott Base at 0130 hrs.
6 December	Brought tractor train back to Scott Base.page 8
7 December	Started dismantling Vibracorer.
8 December	Packed up Vibracorer returned cleaned field equipment.
9 December	Finished packing.
10 December	Carter return to NZ.
11 December	Pyne, Gee, Anderson return to NZ.
Ice Breaker Cruise (1993).
31 January	Pyne, Henrys to Chch and Scott Base.
1-5 February	Embark USCGC Polar Star 0900 hrs departure and begin 3.5 kHz survey. Disembark 1700 hrs at McMurdo Pier.
6 February	Pyne, Henrys return to NZ.

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