1 July 2008 Canada Day

July 1, 2008- Monday – Canada Day

HAPPY CANADA DAY….eh…(Sorry that was SO cliché).

We’ve been celebrating Canada Day all day long. We only have one Canadian (Tara from Univ. of Toronto) on the crew so I don’t quite understand how it turned into such a celebration, but I guess it gives us something to rally around.

From Wikipedia:

Canada Day, formerly Dominion Day, is Canada's national day, a federal statutory holiday, celebrated on July 1 annually by Canadians. Canada Day observances take place not only throughout the nation, but also internationally.

Walking on the path to Sat camp, all passersby waved and cheered, "Happy Canada Day!”. For lunch, Will the cook, made a Canadian staple: poutine. Poutine is a pile of French fries smothered with brown gravy and topped with cheese curds! I thought it was great, eh! (Sorry, I’ll stop with the "eh’s” now). For dinner, Kathy, the assistant cook, created a moist chocolate cake with white "ice” frosting and the Canadian flag sticking proudly out of the top. After dinner it was time for a singing contest: each table had to sing the Canadian national anthem…in FRENCH (we were all given cheat sheets)! You will never guess who was sitting at the winning table…yep, you guessed it…yours truly and Christine (U. of Houston), Will (the cook), Chris (the medic) and Jacques (from France…he might be responsible for helping us win a singing contest in FRENCH!!).

I am happy to report that "Nemo” the tethersonde is back up and running at full capacity. The patch job is holding strong and the broken ozone sensor is fully repaired! The wind has finally subsided and all is well at Sat Camp on Canada Day!

During the down time of the last few days, Katrine "Kitty” Gorham (Univ. of California – Irvine) and Bonnie "Bon Bon” Reicherdt (GA Tech) decided that this "field campaign” needed a logo. They had the vision and I had the computer. Below is what we came up with.

*GSHOX**** stands for Greenland Summit Halogen (that is the HOx part) Experiment which literally means we are looking for Halogens (click here** for more info on halogens ) in the air and snow. *

The snow flake represents the search for chemicals trapped in the snow pack of Greenland’s Ice Sheet. These chemicals can help us understand the history of the Earth, and how it is changing today.

*The sun represents the 24 hour daylight that causes chemical reactions to occur in the snow pack. By understanding how the sun affects the historical record in the ice, we can have a more accurate assessment of the future of the planet. *

To the left is the Greenland flag because the field campaign has taken place atop Greenland’s ice sheet for two years (2007-2008).

On the right is the US flag. The National Science Foundation and the American taxpayers are responsible for funding this important research.

The logo is circular to remind us that all of Earth (in the middle of the logo) is affected by things that happen in various parts of the world. The chemicals that we produce on one side of the world will ultimately affect the entire globe.

Stickers of this logo will be on sale for $70,000 a piece, which will cover the cost of one Air Force C-130 flight up to Summit Camp!

Food Update:

Lunch: Cheesy Ham and Macaroni, Meat free Mac and cheese, Poutine, and salad

Dinner: Baked chicken, mashed baby red potatoes, chicken gravy, asparagus, and salad. For dessert: baked whole pears with a honey ginger glaze (AMAZING!) and Chocolate Blueberry cake with white "icing”!

Stay Warm!!

PS. The traverse team is scheduled to pull out of camp tomorrow…I intend to have a full update if they are able to leave.