It's now June and the daylight hours are fading fast, along with the temperatures getting a lot colder and the sea ice increasing to almost one metre in thickness.
This week it was time to try and download data from the submerged tide gauge located in Horseshoe Harbour, before the ice becomes too thick for the Jiffy drill auger to drill through.
Using a series of photos to help triangulate the exact location of the tide gauge, a team of three, being Trev (comms), Kate (doctor) and Kolfy (dieso/chief Jiffy drill operator) bored three holes into the sea ice and sent down an underwater camera to see if we had the right location. Success, it was there!
After many attempts to try and lower the download 'cup' on to the exact location of the tide gauge (which was around 900mm below the sea ice) it was Dr Kate, with her fine surgical dexterity, who managed to seat the download cup onto the tide gauge so we could communicate with it and start the data download. Big cheers all round!
After 1.5hrs we had collected all the data that was needed. We then packed up and headed back to the comfort of the 'Red Shed' to warm back up again.
Trevor Crews, station comms.
