There are streamlined objectives for event K023 in 2011-2012.

All the primary field objectives have been completed for the Marsden award except for "sampling the physiochemical gradient" as put forward by the funding proposal.

We have several small scientific goals. We need to collect all iButton deployments around the mountain, collect "incubation wool" at Tramway, collect subsurface gasses for CO2, CH4 and N2O analysis, collect Tramway soil for glycerol preservation, "sample the physiochemical gradient", and collect "cool" samples that are comparative to Mt. Melbourne.  We also want to collect more ice cores.

We have a team from National Geographic joining us at Fang and at Lower Erebus Hut. This is going to introduce logistic challenges. Last year, we had a few people who largely remained at the hut, taking care of things like cleaning and meal preparation. We have no one who is designated for this and the lion's share of these activities will probably fall to K023 to ensure that the camp runs smoothly. This will require cohesive leadership between event leaders and AFT. I also fully expect to have scientific goals slowed down by the presence of additional personnel. Larger groups generally take longer to mobilize and get to sites.

The second goal is to sample the diversity of hot sites on Erebus for a more appropriate comparison with Mts Melbourne and Rittman. This effort will need the inclusion of "cooler" locations at Tramway.

We still have not identified additional experiments to be completed at LEH. There have been a few ideas thrown about: Biolog and PCR studies have been mentioned, but the benefits of these experiments remain dubious.