This is an aerial view of one of eleven abrasion and weathering test sites in Southern Victoria Land, Antarctica. In this sequence, light glints from three 1 m X 1 m X 1 m high aluminum racks can be seen, as well as the white plastic spacers of the 1.7 m tall sand collector assembly.
Helicopters provide notoriously bumpy platforms for photography.
This site is investigating the effects of wind-driven sand on natural materials exposed for long periods of time in the cold desert environment. Lake Vida is about 5.5 km long by just under 3 km at it widest. The sandy valley floor is seen east of the lake at the end of this sequence.