ice under pressure

Anthony Powell, the professional photographer on station has been asked by the BBC to take some time lapse photos of the pressure ridges. As part of his work, he is taking a few of the winterover photographers out to "help" him. With all the stress of the season and work, these little trips have been a fantastic reminder of the Antarctica that is amazing and so rarely seen; even by folks who work in McMurdo.

The pressure ridges form by Scott Base when the permanent Ross Ice Shelf pushes up against the island and also where the temporary sea ice meets the permanent shelf. The amount of power that builds up pushes the ice into mounds, and then ridges, and then towers. The area is quite volatile. In one area, where I stood snapping pictures a week before, there was a pool of open, slushy water that likely flooded through a crack in the wrinkles of ice. Towers break off and collapse. We heard one tumble while we were out a couple weeks ago.

After a long season of relentless work at my mundane and stressful job, this opportunity is refreshing; it reminds me of the Antarctica that is fascinating and beautiful, cold and dangerous, vast, powerful, and intricate.