group-milling.JPGAfter a couple of days of enforced lay up it’s been great to be able to get back to the science today. Despite it sounding like a herd of sumo wrestlers were charging our tent for most of the night we woke to much calmer conditions. We were able to get back out to collect some more lichens and to look for more cryoconite holes. Unfortunately, there don’t seem to be many cryoconite holes here but the lichen studies get more exciting every day. We managed to find a species that we hadn’t found before- it’s been really exciting to see so many lichen in an area where they haven’t been officially recorded. I’ve been running some transects to collect samples to test for background nitrogen-15 when I get back to the UK. The lichens we have sampled are unusual in that they are in a pristine environment with no outside influence from other organisms. They provide a really unique opportunity to provide background data for other studies that are done close to other animal and plant colonies. carl-walking.JPGAs the weather has been so good this afternoon, the boys are taking it in turns to use a small square of mat to go out and give themselves their first wash of the trip. They even have a small bar of soap that they have bargained off Carolyn. It’s still -8 degrees outside and the girls are safely tucked inside their tents away from the sight. I think we will be content to use our wet wipes for the time being. I did do a clothes wash yesterday though. Drying clothes in Antarctica is quite an experience. Within seconds of being outside wet clothes freezes into a stiff board. I’ve tied the stiff shapes to various guy ropes and my clothes are festooned around the campsite like rigid flags.