Looking out at the sea ice from McMurdo. You can see both of the icebreakers in this picture. A Russian breaker, the Kracin is near the left edge, and the US Coast Guard breaker, the Polar Star is near the right edge. Normally the Coast Guard can keep the channel open with one breaker, but for the last few years the ice has been unusually thick because an iceberg the size of Delaware has been stuck offshore, blocking warm currents that help to thin the ice. They had been bringing two of their icebreakers down, but this year the second couldn't come and they arranged to have one of Russia's ships help out.

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Page created 22 May 2005, Last updated 15 June 2005 22:10 Pacific Daylight Time