Thanks Jody! If anyone is interested in learning more about the CASES overwintering cruise great info and pictures can be found here.

Shelly will remember this (it was before Jeff’s time in the Deming Ecosystem), but we used a vehicle similar to the “Piston Bully” during an overwintering icebreaker expedition we had in the Arctic (called CASES, for the international Canadian Arctic Shelf Exchange Study) in 2003-2004. Our vehicle, called the Half Track, was used to create and maintain a small airstrip on the ice next to the ship, the Canadian research icebreaker called the Amundsen. The ship was completely frozen into surrounding sea ice (immobilized) from December 6, 2003, until May 6, 2004, when the ice finally began to break up and the ship could move in open water again. But, during the immobilization period, every six weeks small prop planes would land next to the ship for an exchange of crew and scientists and to bring fresh food (!) to the ship. We also used the Half Track to create and maintain snowmobile trails from the ship to distant sampling sites. We really appreciated the heated cabin of the Half Track on the coldest winter days, which for us that year dropped below –40°C! Your –15 and –10°C at McMurdo sounds awfully warm…