I'm writing to you under some pretty tough conditions�we hit a nasty wind storm today. Winds are reaching 80 knots; that's 92 mph. The waves are kicking up and splashing over the side, half our crew is sea sick, and�well, let's just say we haven't gotten much work done!
This storm isn't exactly a surprise. We are trying to collect some sediment samples and seafloor images from the ocean floor around Cape Denison, which is known as the windiest spot in Antarctica. And Antarctica itself is the windiest place on Earth!
In fact, Antarctica holds the record among continents for sustained wind speeds; wind speeds can reach 200 mph here. Most research teams, like ours, learn to deal with the wind; other teams actually spend their days in Antarctica studying wind.
People don't go there for fun in bad weather.