Arrival

Written By Lija Treibergs

I've arrived at McMurdo Station! I'm glad to be here after 5 days of delays. Our flight finally left Christchurch around 9am yesterday (Dec 6th) and landed on the ice in the early evening. We were greeted by clear views of Mt. Erebus (the world's southernmost active volcano,) the Royal Society Range, and lots of snow and ice. Life in McMurdo over the next week will mostly consist of trainings covering everything from field survival skills to proper chemical waste disposal in lab as well as some prep work for the field and lab work later in the season. If all goes to plan, I'll be heading out to the Dry Valleys on Tuesday.

The images below were taken by AWI Operations Manager Sue O’Reilly in 2015 during her time working in Antarctica. They were taken on the Pegasus Runway where wheeled aircraft land during mid-summer on the ice in front of McMurdo Station. The Kiwi C-130 is the same type of aircraft Lija flew on.

Lija Treibergs

Lija joined the AWI in the Spring of 2020 as a research technician and works in the lab and field on the Institute's water quality monitoring programs and environmental research projects. Prior to joining the AWI she worked as a lab manager for an aquatic geochemistry group at the University of Michigan researching carbon cycling in tundra watersheds of northern Alaska and as a technician for a marine nitrogen biogeochemistry lab at the University of Connecticut. She is interested in the biogeochemistry of aquatic and marine systems and particularly enjoys working with long term environmental data sets to understand how human activities can alter biogeochemical cycles and impact water quality. Lija is excited to explore the abundant beauty of the Adirondacks by foot, ski, and kayak and is happy to finally live in a place with real winter.

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Headed to the Dry Valleys today!
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Flying!