We were
lucky to have a bit of a late start today. With the early morning
arrival, we couldn't head up to the lab until the plane departed around
noon (the trucks were full of DA8 parts to be shipped south) and the
extra sleep was much appreciated by our travelers. After lunch, we
headed up to the lab where the team's experience, coupled with the
still non-existent sun (the low clouds stopped us seeing the sun's one
hour excursion above the horizon), made for a reasonably relaxed
afternoon. Rodica worked magic with the Bruker optics, setting us up
for a big reduction in the path the sun must take across the room, as
well as removing several sets of mirrors and the large triangular mount
we had on the end of the instrument. The FTS lab looks much bigger!
Felicia and I unpacked and set up the PARIS accessories, while Cristen
continued to fault-find an annoying communication issue with the
PEARL-GBS. Volodya and Tom got the SPS and MAESTRO instruments unpacked
and began their testing. By dinner time, everyone was happy with a day
well done, and Emily and Bernard headed up the hill for another night
of observations.
It looks like it's going to be a better season for wildlife viewing
this year, with a pair of Arctic foxes entertaining us right outside
the station, and a team of distant musk-ox visible during the drive up
the hill.