27. November 2019 Irene Bartolome
Flying back home
It has been almost one month and the second phase of SouthTRAC has come to an end. HALO, after flying to Buenos Aires and then to Cape Verde is since today back home in Oberpfaffenhofen.
2019
25. November 2019 Irene Bartolome
SOUTHTRAC: communicating our work
Hi everybody! Long time without posting, since the WISE campaign back in 2017. This year I joined the second phase of SouthTRAC and I am mainly helping with the ground control of the GLORIA instrument. This means monitor from ground what GLORIA is doing during the flights and write down any relevant information about its performance and the meteorological situation. However, I won’t continue talking about my work here, but about some of the social activities in which we have participated.
14. November 2019 Markus Geldenhuys
Tracing the footsteps of Darwin to find penguins and sea-lions
On 29 January 1833, Charles Darwin sailed on the HMS Beagle through the strait now known as the Beagle channel. Sailing on this ship, Darwin came to his first ideas on evolution – for which he became famous. Nowadays this very channel forms the border between Argentina and Chile. We decided on our day off… Read More
12. November 2019 Markus Geldenhuys
Blue screen of Death …
You will agree with me there is nothing more infuriating than working on a computer and suddenly the blue screen appears, leading to a restart… The infamous “Blue screen of Death”… Most people (including me) are extremely outraged by this and their rage frequently results in a ferocious shout, a slap on the desk or even a kick aimed at the computer box. Now imagine this, except this computer, is the ‘brain’ of your instrument that is worth about 1 000 000 Euros AND has data of 3 flights which you hope to use in your PhD… Need I say more!
7. November 2019 Markus Geldenhuys
We’re back …
After a brief 2 week ‘vacation’ at home we are on our way back to Rio Grande. You might wonder why do I call it ‘vacation’? Especially since the last two weeks were spent working at Forschungszentrum again…? It seems that I have been spending so much time in Argentina and so little time in Germany, that Argentina almost feels more home nowadays…
17. Oktober 2019 Markus Geldenhuys
A well-deserved break
Finally a well-deserved break. I would not call the break a restful period, but it was most definitely rejuvenating, relaxing and a hell-of-a-lot of fun!! We spent 4 glorious days hiking in National Park, Torres del Paine. This is one of the most famous parks in the Patagonia region.
7. Oktober 2019 Markus Geldenhuys
Last bit of science and interactions with local students
Our time here in Argentina is drawing to a “pause”… The end of the first campaign is within sight and most of our teams are on their way home. We, however, still have 2 weeks left in Argentina, what is work without a little bit of play?? But I leave our holiday plans for the next post, first I will say a bit about the last couple of days…
27. September 2019 Markus Geldenhuys
Another nightshift …
Another nightshift… It’s 3 AM and I have to stand outside in the cold to have a mere feeling of being awake. Coffee is not doing its job anymore, I ran out of Mate Tea (for those of you who don’t know, Mate is a local tea from Argentina with half as much caffeine as coffee but with supposedly double the buzz…) and I still have 3 hours of my shift left…
21. September 2019 Markus Geldenhuys
Hexagons, Alpacas and Tomography
So maybe I am running out of creativity or I suffer from severe sleep deprivation. So tonight I will talk about our latest science flight and combine that with photos of the wildlife in Argentina. I know they don’t fit, but hey it’s my post … 😉
14. September 2019 Markus Geldenhuys
Finally, the long-awaited HALO arrived in Rio Grande.
Finally, the long-awaited HALO arrived in Rio Grande. We obtained our container from customs and managed to get our first measurements in the flight down to Rio Grande. Now that we are all very excited (and relieved), the real work starts…
3. September 2019 Markus Geldenhuys
Welcome to the SOUTHTRAC campaign!
We are taking off in a few days to Argentina on campaign. Over the next 3 months we will be located in the picturesque Rio Grande in the Patagonia region of South America. Join us and follow what’s going on during a campaign abroad.
Letzte Änderung: 16.03.2025