Palmer Station
Here's an excellent view of Palmer Station as captured by John Brack on 18 September 2008 (USAP photo library).
September 2009...sorry to be mostly ignoring this corner of the continent, although I have been adding a few things here and there. Sadly it has been 19 years since I last departed this place. Sadly, a bit of news...doctor Matt Houseal, who spent 3 months here between September and December 1990...was murdered in Baghdad in early May, one of 5 people shot by a fellow soldier. Matt left Palmer Station to go winter at Pole in 1991. A bit more news and info about Matt is here.
I have updated the links a bit to ID some of the 2009 folks. Unfortunately I haven't heard anything new of late about the research vessel Hero sighting.
We thought the contract rebidding is over except for the award etc., but NSF has put things off for another year to try again, in the meantime giving RPSC a 12-month extension. In 1989 the bidders actually got to visit Palmer Station, but that hasn't happen since, all they got were Powerpoint presentations and videos. Here's my commentary on the Antarctic contract rebidding adventure.
25 January 2007...have to announce the death of long-time Antarctican and 1976 manager Larry Miyoda (obituary).
Don't miss Dave Gallas' incredible blow-by-blow eyewitness account of the 1989 Bahia episode!
The late Richie Skane was in the news...before Midwinters Day 2006, veteran science tech Glenn Grant gathered documentation to officially name a significant Antarctic feature (well, significant to us Palmer folks at least) named after Richie. And it happened! Follow the process here.
The 1999 and 2000 winters saw some major renovations of both the biolab main floor and GWR, including a new exterior back stairway on GWR, moving medical and other offices from Biolab to GWR, as well as moving the fire tank outside, to make more room inside Biolab for beakers or whatever. And the 2002 winter saw the massive complete reconstruction of the ground floor of Biolab, including all new labs, HVAC system and boiler, and consolidation (and firewalls/safety upgrades) of the mechanical spaces to make a science instrument lab in the old mechanical room.
What is going on at Palmer nowadays? After the 2005 winter construction of T6, things have been a bit quieter. The station science sitreps are published here by the LTER people, nowadays with a new look (in MS Word, with photos); Woods Hole set up a webcam as part of their survey for their proposed/cancelled remote underwater observatory, and several years ago Glenn Grant documented the January 2004 collapse of the glacier behind OP between Arthur Harbor and Loudwater Cove, turning the area into Norsel Island, perhaps, but in 2007 it was named Amsler Island.
| Updated 13 October 2009 | Visits since 11 March 2004: |