Science flight #11 was done on Saturday October 31 - Halloween.  October 31 is also a national religious holiday in Chile called Reformation Day, where Chileans celebrate reformation by Lutheran and other reformed church communities.  It has been celebrated nationally in Chile since 2008.

Take-off of this flight was on schedule at 9 am.  Clouds were present upon arrival to the Peninsula and for the first hour of the flight line so that no data was able to be collected over the George IV Inlet.  However, these clouds soon dissipated and the remainder of the flight lines successfully collected data on glaciers, starting with a survey of Clifford Glacier.

Other flight lines during this Antarctic Peninsula science flight surveyed the Larsen Ice Shelf, the Atlee Glacier, the Central Plateau, the Crane Glacier, Exasperation Inlet and an overflight of Palmer Station.

DC-8 Science flight #11 tracks

Photos from the DC-8 flying low-level survey lines across the Antarctic Peninsula

Sunday November 1 will be a hard-down day for OIB personnel.  Weather permitting, the next science flight will be Monday November 2 with a likely take-off time of 9 am.

Science flight #10 was slightly delayed because of the accumulation of snow and ice on the tail and wings of the DC-8.  DC-8 crew member Don Bailes was able to de-ice the plane so that the take-off time was only a half hour behind schedule at 9:30 am.  Previous snow and ice accumulations on the DC-8 have been so severe that flights had to be canceled. 

This is the second time that the DC-8 flew over the Weddell Sea to survey sea-ice thickness and extent and seafloor depth.  The flight track went over the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, where some low-level clouds were present and interfered with data collection at the start of the first survey line.  DC-8 pilots decided to descend from 1,500 feet to 800 feet in an attempt to get below the cloud cover so that laser ATM data could be collected along the flight lines uninuterupted.  After the first 100 miles along the first flight line, the clouds began to disperse and were no longer a problem for data collection.

Like the first low-level survey of Weddell Sea ice, DC-8 crew and scientists saw seals and penguins during one of the flight lines that was about 65 miles off the edge of the Bonne Ice Shelf.  The flight path then headed north for another long survey line along the Weddell Sea, after which the DC-8 began the transit back to Punta Arenas.

Overall, mission scientists were very happy with the survey and instrument operators reported that, despite some cloudiness, data was collected for 90% of the flight track.

Bob Billings works at the POS-AV Console on the DC-8

Weddell Sea ice from 1,500 feet

Weddell Sea ice during science flight #10

With 26 people on board, the DC-8 departed from Punta Arenas Airport at 9 am on Wednesday October 28 for an 11 hour low-level survey of the Smith, Kohler and Thwaites Glaciers, which are all along the west coast of the Amundsen Sea.  Along with radar and laser measurements of these glaciers, piggyback atmospheric sampling instruments collected data on the atmospheric vertical profile above Punta Arenas.

Pilots reported clear conditions during the low-level survey and scientists confirmed that ATM laser measurements were uninterrupted by cloud cover through out the entire flight line.  MCoRDS radar data were able to detect bedrock below the glaciers for about 80-90% of the flight line.

Beautiful sceneries of mountain ranges and glaciers entering the Amundsen Sea were visible from the DC-8.

A ninth science flight for a second low-level survey of the Pine Island Glacier will be conducted Thursday October 29.  The DC-8 is scheduled to take-off at 9 am.

Bad local weather at the Punta Arenas airport on Monday October 26 led to the postponement of OIB science flight #7.  This flight instead took place Tuesday October 27.  The flight objective was a low-level (1,500 feet) of the Pine Island Glacier using ATM and KU radars.  A high-level survey (37,000-40,000 feet) had been done on Tuesday October 20.  Data from this low-level survey will complement data collected during the high-level survey to better understand the mechanics of Pine Island Glacier.  This area is known to be one of the week points of the Antarctic ice sheet and if the glacier were to collapse into the sea the result could be a sea-level rise of several meters.

Pine Island Glacier from the DC-8 at 1,500 feet

One of the unique features noticeable during this low-level flight was the glacier crevices, or crevasses.  Mission scientists and instrument operators report that these crevices are 30 feet deep in most places and some data suggests that a few surveyed crevices were up to 100 feet deep.  Another noticeable feature was the direction of ice flow, determined by the parallel orientation of the crevices, where the direction of ice flow is perpendicular to the orientation of the crevices.

Crevices in Pine Island Glacier

Parallel crevices in Pine Island Glacier

The OIB science flight #8 is scheduled for Wednesday October 28.  The objective of this flight will be a low-level survey of the Thwaites, Kohler and Smith Glaciers.

0700 Power on and access

0730 Pre-flight brief

0830 Doors close

0900 Take-off

**11 hour low-level survey of Thwaites, Kohler and Smith Glaciers**

2000 Land

2030 or ASAP Post-flight brief

Science flight #7 was originally scheduled to take-off at 11:30 am local time on Monday October 26.  The morning started out with light rain showers, but by approximately 11:00 am, temperatures dropped and snow began to fall.  The DC-8 crew and instrument operators were already on the DC-8 and awaiting pushback when the DC-8 and ground crew noticed snow accumulation on the wings.  It was then decided that the flight would be canceled.  The weather above Pine Island, however, was cloud free and perfect for a survey using ATM and KU radar instruments, making the flight cancelation due to local weather in Punta Arenas very unfortunate.

The low-level survey of Pine Island Glacier is now scheduled for Tuesday October 26 based on current weather forecasts.  These forecasts will be re-evaluated on the morning of the flight and if weather above Pine Island is not clear, a low-level survey of Evans Glacier will be the objective.

0700 Power on and access

0730 Pre-flight brief

0830 Doors close

0900 Take-off

**11 hour flight for a low-level survey of Pine Island Glacier if weather permits, or Evans Glacier as a back-up**

2000 Land

2030 or ASAP Post-flight brief

The DC-8 is grounded because of bad local weather conditions

Snow accumulation led to the decision to cancel the flight

Punta Arenas Airport