Lake Vanda is unlike any of our other sample sites as there is no permanent camp or sample hut there. Because of this, our stay at Vanda lasts just one day and we do all of our ice drilling, water sampling, and instrument casts in that time. This year we had a member of the science support staff join us at Lake Vanda. This is referred to as a “morale trip” for the staff member and allows them a chance to see parts of the continent that they may not experience otherwise and it is helpful for the scientists to have an extra pair of hands! Here’s our Lake Vanda team drilling a 10 inch sampling hole through the ice cover.