HMP Research Station Field Update July 20, 2005

Today was a perfect example of why we need to be prepared for anything when working in the high Arctic, an extreme environment even in the brief summer. Our day started with a wind storm with winds gusting at over 60 km/h at one point. This was soon followed by a snow storm which dropped a little over 5 cm of snow. Towards the end of the storm the wind tapered off and it was quite pleasant to walk around in the snow.

A snowy landscape.

The storm did affect some our research activities, most noticeably the DAME Mars drill project which had to postpone drilling until tomorrow. However even in these conditions other research activities continued on. Also today the first of three outdoor webcams went online. In the coming days two more will come online as will two located in the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse monitoring plant growth.

Today Dr. Alain Berinstain principal investigator of the Arthur Clarke Mars Greenhouse provides us with the following update on the greenhouse.