Our team is just back from difficult-but-stimulating fieldwork on summit glaciers, documenting Kibo's climate. Initial instrumentation at our weather station was installed in February 2000, then gradually supplemented and expanded. The configuration by 2013 is shown above. After near-annual maintenance and observation visits through 2017, we visited the stations for a Red Bull film in 2020 and then could not get back during the pandemic. Fieldwork in 2022 was foiled by bureaucratic miscommunication. By September of 2023, negative mass balance resulted in tipping and damage of equipment - the extent of which will soon be revealed by analysis of recorded data.
All the hardware, instrumentation, and ablation stakes have now been removed from the mountain and the National Park. As will be detailed in subsequent posts here, this was accomplished despite delays in departure, followed by high winds and riming precipitation. Removing everything required multiple trips to the summit by our accompanying crew, as well as an additional 19 porters to move equipment down the mountain.
We dedicate our 2023 mission to the hundreds of porters who have been essential to the success of this research since February 2000. They did the hard work transporting everything up - and then down - 5,000 meters of elevation, keeping us cheerful (most of the time) and productive. Perhaps most impressively, they were integral to a perfect safety record through the entire study. On this latest trip, we crossed paths with numerous porters from past trips, and spent time with one who was along on trip #1 back in February 2000; today he continues working as a respected mountain and safari guide. Also this month, one porter introduced himself as the son of a favorite porter, not yet born when his dad started helping. Asante sana to all the porters, guides, cooks, drivers, and support staff who have been involved - from Keys Hotel, Marangu Hotel, and since 2006, Summit Expeditions and Nomadic Experience (SENE).
2023 team: Doug Hardy (UMass), Mike Winkler (GeoSphere Austria), and Emily Collier (Univ. Innsbruck)
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