Today we had the other half of the ONH team go on a field trip into the Dry valleys. This trip took us northward across the Wright Valley and into Victoria Valley, where Ron Sletten and his team are working on modern day sedimentary processes. The trip to Victoria Valley was spectacular going over large glaciers and over one valley after another.
Flying over the mountains toward Victoria Valley
Landing in Victoria Valley.
Ron had a special treat for us and directed the helo onto a hilltop over looking Victoria Valley. It was here that large granitic boulders had been eroded by the wind blasting. What was so interesting about them that it seemed that the wind had eroded them from the inside out. Ron explained that the surface of the rock are changed by the wind blasting, leaving them with a kind of varnish that seemed to protect them.
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A ventiform that looked like a helmet.
The result was that they formed shapes that Ron described as walking through a zoo, with many of the rocks resembling animals and other forms. The incredible shapes that we saw amazed everyone.
Granite sculpted into a penguin with a long beak.
A snake head?
A Scott tent made of granite.
A granitic tunnel
Also, the vista here was exquisite, with the various valleys extending out in different directions, surrounded by high peaks. Our walk down allowed us to see what Ron was working on, which was the polygonal shapes formed from expansion and contraction of the ground. While the process is slow, within a short amount of time (geologically speaking) the ground would slowly completely resurface itself. It is amazing that in this frozen world that processes can actually rework the entire surface.
The ONH team in Victoria Valley.
The ONH team walking with Ron toward his camp in Victoria Valley.
Victoria Valley also has a frozen lake that has been wind blasted, resulting in the surface to be smooth. This allowed us to be able to peer through the transparent ice that was lined with cracks down to the lake bottom. It was here that green and brown algae was proliferating. Additionally, the algae was also growing upward and then became frozen resulting in a white delicate forms that laid below us. The ice was so transparent so it felt like we were walking on air, gliding across this underwater wonderland.
The brown and green algae seen through the clear lake ice.
Victoria Lake with Victoria Glacier in the background.
Ron’s camp was also in a remote valley far from other field camps. It was a six-person team, a bit larger than Alan and Adam’s camp, but still without the comforts we have at our larger camp on the sea ice. I tip my hat to them, while it is an extraordinary place to work, it is also a tough place to work.
Ron and Steve in Victoria Valley.
Luke and Luci in the Helo
