Big Changes
big changes are coming in just over a week, and some are already here.
four flights of people and cargo will come in at the end of August for Winter Fly-in. those planes will leave taking away about half the winter-overs, but they will leave behind three things we have not had for many months: fresh fruits, mail, and germs. the population of town right now is just over 200. half of those will leave, and over 300 more will come in, doubling the population of town, but it will be about 75% new people from the outside world- tan harbingers of germs. it's kind of like the europeans colonizing the west... on a less drastic scale.
apart from the occasional upset stomach from cafeteria-style food, nobody has been truly sick for months. it will be a shock to our immune systems with all these new people. it will be good to get new people to look at, though.
the sky is changing in leaps and bounds, too- which is quite refreshing. i work in an office with no windows, and a few days ago i was at work and my job had not taken me outside until i left for lunch. i opened the door and was AMAZED at the absence of blackness. the sky was blue, and nacreous clouds were coloring the sky with rainbowy hues. the sun doesn't rise until the 19th (and then, only for an hour or so), but the sky around the middle of the day looks like dawn then dusk... then it's black again. but we get more and more daylight everyday, and the clouds really put on a show. some info from online:
Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are clouds in the winter polar stratosphere at altitudes of 15-25 km. They are implicated in the formation of ozone holes. The stratosphere is very dry and clouds, as commonly seen in the troposphere, rarely form. In the extreme cold of the polar winter, PSCs of two types may form: various forms of type I of nitric and sulfuric acid; and type II (rarer) of water ice which form below -90°C. As you can imagine, when the sun hits the crystals contained in these clouds they turn into miniature prisms, giving them their signature rainbow-hued color.
the appearance of these beautiful clouds really marks the time for me as to how long i've been here. almost a year ago, i came here and was amazed at the sky- now i get to see it all again from quite a different perspective. i've enjoyed it all immensely, and i'm looking forward to more big changes coming.
in one of the pictures you can see the haze in the town below. when i was a kid, i remember those very cold and calm Sunday mornings when my dad would warm up the car in the driveway before going to church. when it was time to go, i would stand in the thick clouds of exhaust that hung in the air behind the car and just breath what i thought was the sweetest smell of winter. my mom didn't think too much of that, and i was always told that it wasn't good for me and to get in the car, it's time to go. well, on those very cold and calm days down here, all that sweet exhaust (from the buildings, trucks, dozers, and loaders) just hangs in the air over the whole town. it's hard to see more than 50 yards sometimes. so we wait for the breeze to carry it away. fifteen years ago, i would be in heaven- but, Mom, if i could get in a car and leave this exhaust behind, i would. i don't feel very good after working outside in this stuff too long.
i hope you are all doing well!
-Phil
four flights of people and cargo will come in at the end of August for Winter Fly-in. those planes will leave taking away about half the winter-overs, but they will leave behind three things we have not had for many months: fresh fruits, mail, and germs. the population of town right now is just over 200. half of those will leave, and over 300 more will come in, doubling the population of town, but it will be about 75% new people from the outside world- tan harbingers of germs. it's kind of like the europeans colonizing the west... on a less drastic scale.
apart from the occasional upset stomach from cafeteria-style food, nobody has been truly sick for months. it will be a shock to our immune systems with all these new people. it will be good to get new people to look at, though.
the sky is changing in leaps and bounds, too- which is quite refreshing. i work in an office with no windows, and a few days ago i was at work and my job had not taken me outside until i left for lunch. i opened the door and was AMAZED at the absence of blackness. the sky was blue, and nacreous clouds were coloring the sky with rainbowy hues. the sun doesn't rise until the 19th (and then, only for an hour or so), but the sky around the middle of the day looks like dawn then dusk... then it's black again. but we get more and more daylight everyday, and the clouds really put on a show. some info from online:
Polar stratospheric clouds (PSCs) are clouds in the winter polar stratosphere at altitudes of 15-25 km. They are implicated in the formation of ozone holes. The stratosphere is very dry and clouds, as commonly seen in the troposphere, rarely form. In the extreme cold of the polar winter, PSCs of two types may form: various forms of type I of nitric and sulfuric acid; and type II (rarer) of water ice which form below -90°C. As you can imagine, when the sun hits the crystals contained in these clouds they turn into miniature prisms, giving them their signature rainbow-hued color.
the appearance of these beautiful clouds really marks the time for me as to how long i've been here. almost a year ago, i came here and was amazed at the sky- now i get to see it all again from quite a different perspective. i've enjoyed it all immensely, and i'm looking forward to more big changes coming.
in one of the pictures you can see the haze in the town below. when i was a kid, i remember those very cold and calm Sunday mornings when my dad would warm up the car in the driveway before going to church. when it was time to go, i would stand in the thick clouds of exhaust that hung in the air behind the car and just breath what i thought was the sweetest smell of winter. my mom didn't think too much of that, and i was always told that it wasn't good for me and to get in the car, it's time to go. well, on those very cold and calm days down here, all that sweet exhaust (from the buildings, trucks, dozers, and loaders) just hangs in the air over the whole town. it's hard to see more than 50 yards sometimes. so we wait for the breeze to carry it away. fifteen years ago, i would be in heaven- but, Mom, if i could get in a car and leave this exhaust behind, i would. i don't feel very good after working outside in this stuff too long.
i hope you are all doing well!
-Phil
posted by Phil on Ice at 10:46 AM
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