Mission: South Peninsula (priority: baseline)

This is primarily a repeat flight, designed to assess dh/dt of four glaciers draining the Dyer Plateau: Fleming, Maitland, Lurabee, and Clifford. We also refly a portion of the grounding line along the George VI Ice Shelf, which was last flown in 2011. Finally we continue the grid uphill from the grounding line on the west side, with grid lines spaced at 20 km. This grid is intended to assess dh/dt in this area, and on its south end it connects with a similarly-designed grid in the English Coast 03 flight. The Fleming Glacier lines in this mission are supplemented by a 10 km grid over Fleming in the Alexander-Fleming flight. 

An easier decision today to select this baseline mission, with a consistent forecast across the board. Indeed, clouds only appeared at the very beginning of the first centerline track along Maitland Glacier, compromising ATM/FLIR/CAMBOT/DMS for ~12 min, but were absent thereafter. The flight proceeded well and uneventfully over the Dyer Plateau, with fantastic views of various nunataks and passes over notches on the grounding-line track. We also passed over the remnants of the Wordie Ice Shelf below Fleming Glacier. Most of the spectrum of possible grounded-to-floating ice transitions were surveyed. A member of the DC-8 crew declared it his best day of work ever. 

All instruments performed well. 97% data collection for ATM T6.

We conducted a ramp pass at 2000' on departure from PUQ.

Attached images are:

1. Map of today's flight

2. Mt. Balfour, which splits the lower reaches Fleming Glacier, with tidewater glacier terminus in the foreground (NASA / Joe MacGregor)

3. Pyramidal nunataks on the Dyer Plateau (SGL / Andrew Palmer)

4. The Feature 1: Unusual blue ice exposures next to and on a broad rock ridge, beneath a sharper ridgeline, Palmer Land (SGL / Andrew Palmer)

5. The Feature 2: Zoom-in on the blue ice exposures on rock ridge, possibly filling in subglacially quarried cavities (SGL / Andrew Palmer)

6. ATM T6 swath map of crevassing (NASA WFF ATM / Jim Yungel)

7. MCoRDS data collection showing significant subglacial relief associated with Dyer Plateau pyramidal nunataks (KU CReSIS / Carl Leuschen)