DANIELLE WHITTAKER AND MARTIN FROGER SILVA; NEXT PAGE: MARTIN FROGER SILVA Fall 2026 45 tent to get started by 9 a.m. Second shift slept later, checking in around 1 p.m. to either swap out with a member of the day shift, or to work on tasks at camp like labeling sample bottles and bags or preparing equipment. Dinner was the only time during this period that the whole team was together. We gathered in a large communal heated tent with 12 metal folding chairs set up in a circle around the perimeter. Our camp manager prepared surprisingly good meals for us, given the conditions: chickpea curry over quinoa, pasta with pesto and shrimp and grilled cheese sandwiches were some of my favorites. Second shift began right after dinner and lasted until after midnight. Once we were done drilling for the night, we spent an hour or so cleaning up, shutting down the drill and the generator and transporting the ice core boxes to a storage trench dug into the ice. At last, we headed back to camp, usually getting to bed around 3 a.m. under the still-bright sun. The novelty of the situation had been energizing at first, and the two shifts enjoyed some friendly competition and cheered each other on. First shift left thermoses of hot water and encouraging notes for us to find when we returned. The second shift was sassier, writing “Second shift rules, first shift drools!” on the whiteboard in the community tent. But the anticipation of the end and the failure to reach it day after day wore on us. By now, we had endured multiple days of winds between 30 and 40 knots (35 to 46 miles per hour), creating a wind chill as cold as minus 36 CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT This is as low as the sun ever gets when you’re at latitude 77 degrees south of the Earth’s equatorial plane. “Sunset” arrived at 1:30 a.m. on Dec. 17, 2025, in the Allan Hills of Antarctica. University of Washington graduate student An Li draws an orientation line on the second-to-last ice core section. The triumphant COLDEX team after loading boxes of ice cores onto the plane at the end of a successful field season. From left to right: An Li, Romilly Harris Stuart, Ivo Strawson, Danielle Whittaker (the author) and Martin Froger Silva. A slice of blue ice showing bubbles trapped within. These bubbles are like tiny time capsules, containing samples of ancient air that can be analyzed in the lab.
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