Martin's Antarctic Visit  
January 2004  

To look at the ice crystal texture in an ice core we must first split the core along its length using a band saw (left side of picture). Then we take one of the pieces of ice and, again using the band saw, cut off a thin slice (2-3 mm thick). Thus, in this picture you can see Kim Morris holding the thin slice in her left hand and the piece of ice from which it was cut in her right hand. The thin slice of ice is then placed on a light table and viewed in plain transmitted light and between crossed- polarizing filters to reveal the crystal texture.

Note how Kim is dressed in a bulky down parka (just the outer layer of five layers in total) to keep warm in the freezer, where it is -23°C plus the windchill from the fans that you see above her head. It is cold, breezy and noisy in the freezer. Kim's red nose is sunburned. No matter how much sunscreen you put on your nose when you go outside, down here it seems to make little difference.

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