Week 5: Pressure Ridges

An evening recreation trip to see the Pressure Ridges.

The Pressure Ridges near McMurdo form where the annual sea ice collides with the permanent Ross Ice Shelf. Stress builds up in the sea ice as it pushes against the ice shelf, causing cracks and large pieces of ice to break up and form the pressure ridges.

Dramatic, angular blocks of ice on the pressure ridges. Photo credit: Meghana Ranganathan.

After work, I signed up for a tour of the pressure ridges with a few other TIME team members. I am borrowing some of Meghana's pictures here because she brought a nice camera and is a much better photographer than I.

Heading out on the short hike, bundled up in our Big Reds.

Several-meter tall pressure ridges, with Castle Rock in the back left. Photo credit: Meghana.

The pressure ridges are right along the shoreline next to Scott Base, at the start of the Ross Ice Shelf. In addition to the large blocks of ice pushed up by stresses within the ice, there is significant cracking around the area.

Looking down into a large crack in the sea ice. Photo credit: Meghana.

Green and red flags designate safe paths, and crossed black flags mark areas with significant cracking that are unsafe for us to walk on. There are also many melt pools where the ice is very thin. 

Here I am, taking a picture of a seal while staying on the marked path (designated by the red flags, right). Photo credit: Meghana.

Ice ridges framing a large melt pool. Photo credit: Meghana.

The melt pools and cracks are great places for seals to pop out on the surface and sunbathe!!

This seal was rolling around and stretching. Photo credit: Meghana.

I think she may have been showing off to us, a captive audience. Photo credit: Meghana.

Snow-covered seal baby (left) and mama (right and looking at the camera). Photo credit: Meghana.

The sun was also acting extra beautiful -- there was a phenomenon known as a 22° halo around the sun, caused by refraction of the sunlight through ice crystals in the air. I saw this effect around this same time a year ago.

22° halo around the sun. I actually took this picture!

I'll finish this post with some more pictures!

Another cool ice formation. Photo credit: Meghana.

Me in my Big Red, having a great day! Photo credit: Our Pressure Ridge Tour Guide, who I did not catch the name of. But he works the night shift in Central Communications.

A really cool picture of the pressure ridges with kiwi-green Scott Base in the distance. It's a good photo, so you can guess what's next: Photo Credits: Meghana.