A hint of what’s inside

Overnight we have seen a noticeable change in the amount of visible ice crystals on the wooden crate surfaces,  and around what little we could see of the interior.

This led us to expect that the freeze-welded sections of the crate lid would now move freely again as previously seen in Antarctica. After a little cautious investigation, Sasha and I lifted off two separate pieces of the lid, revealing the familiar formed-straw bottle protectors with a tantalising view of what looks like the top of a bottle. Have a look for yourself:

The top view of the crate with pieces of lid removed

We’ve been able to lift the crate off its original transport board and it is now resting on a block of perforated ethafoam which supports the weight of the crate evenly but allows drainage of any meltwater. We’re not getting any great melt run-off at the moment, but the ice is definitely receding gradually by evaporation.

Over the next few days we will be monitoring the melt visually, documenting the changes, and continuing to measure the moisture content of the crate boards.

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