The Great Canadian Diamond Search

Introduction

How often does your job take you beyond your comfort zone. How often do you stand in the ski hut at the bottom of the hill putting on your boots and imagine swooshing down the infamous Kamikaze $\blacklozenge$ run. And then when you get there and look over the edge you say to yourself “What was I thinking, I must be out of my mind to do this”.

I’ve been on plenty of field trips, some to far away places, some right in our backyard, some a few days long, and others up to 6 weeks in duration. On paper, they are all the same. In reality, every project is different, from the logistics and travel, to the weather, equipment and personnel making up the crew. And yet, with every new project there is a time during the deployment where I feel I have no idea what I’m doing and I must be out of my mind. Just turn around, pack up, and go home where it’s safe. And then another crew member will say to me, “We’re sure glad you’re here to take care of all the data and processing. We can lug around all the equipment and make it happen, but without you it wouldn’t mean a thing.” Crap.

Feb 18 - Yellowknife, Twin Otter Flight

I’m standing on the lake ice where Air Tindi flies in and out of Yellowknife. It’s near Old Town by the Narrows Bridge. In summer, they use pontoons and land on the water. In winter, they use skis and land on the ice. The crew flew in to Yellowknife yesterday and we wait for all of our gear to arrive. I’m watching them load the Twin Otter for our flight to camp which is located near Sulky lake, 560 km to the northeast. Another 2 hour plane ride ahead of me. It’s a nice day, maybe $-12^{\circ}C$.

We finally depart Yellowknife around 11 am and I take a few pictures of this part of the lake. It looks pretty sparse, but considering the entire city population is 20,000 the density would expectedly be low.

After 2 hours of wind noise and engine drone, I get my first glimpse of camp. There’s about a dozen orange and white tents, an unfinished wooden structure, and two helicopters at the far end. Our plane circles and lands on a cleared strip of pond ice - “a lake with no name”.

The landing is pretty smooth. The skis have some suspension, but I credit the camp crew who maintain the airstrip. Everytime it snows and the wind blows, they are out there to clear the airstrip of snow drifts, and the path to the tents which I later find out are called Weatherhavens. I notice that the sun is not very high in the sky. It’s 1pm but looks like it’s ready to set in a short while. No wonder - at $67^{\circ}N$, we are inside the Arctic Circle ($66.5^{\circ}N$). This means that the sun will be below the horizon for most of the day in winter and the reverse in summer.

The camp manager reserved a test for us. From here on it’s called the “Gravity Tent”. Our crew of 4 will fit nicely in this 4-bunk tent, with some of our larger tool boxes outside. This is my bunk. First order of business - put everything on charge to make sure the batteries are ready. What have we got - laptops, gravity meters, GPS, UHF radios, Garmin handhelds, cameras, cell phones but they won’t be working here.

After an hour or two, Roger finds the Camp Gravity Benchmark. It’s not tied to any Government network out here, it’s just a benchmark we’ve used on several jobs to tie all the surveys to a common internal network. This Shield rock outcrop is perfect for a benchmark, it won’t be shifting, and it has a stable base for the meter. It’s not too distant from camp and well away from the helicopter pad. Roger will take readings several times to ensure the meter has equilibrated after the long journey. I will do the same with my gravity meter. Our GPS operators are Richard and Laurie.

Feb 20 - First Survey Day

Welcome to our first survey day! I prepared the grid stations layout file for the GPS and gave the pilot our work coordinates. He dropped us and our equipment in an open spot and will pick us up at the end of the day. Richard begins by setting up a GPS base station near the survey grid. It doesn’t have to be on a grid point, any location will do as long as the radio signals will reach all parts of the grid. The GPS base has a radio transmitter and antenna. It will be broadcasting correction data to the rover units that Richard and Laurie will be carrying in their backpacks. The base station is marked so we can find it again, but the tripods will likely stay up until we move to another grid. The base unit will run all day transmitting and collecting position data. At the end of the day, Richard will bring the batteries and GPS back to camp and process the data. An important step for the gravity crew is to take a reading at the GPS base before we start on the grid. This will serve as the local grid base station and we will take a gravity reading at the beginning and end of each day. This routine will ensure we close the day’s loop in isolation from the helicopter trip, which can upset gravity meters on occasion.

Once the GPS base and rovers are up and running, they will begin laying down station flags along the grid lines. The station numbers are written on the pin flags so us gravity operators know where we are. The snowshoe tracks actually help to keep our directions straight. The lack of trees means we can keep each other in site for pretty much the whole day. Ok, so that’s the GPS crew underway. Once started, they move faster than the gravity crew, but will only lay out enough stations that we can read each day. Due to the weather, the pin flags may get blown away or snowed under before we can read the gravity. If that happens then they just have to lay them out again.

It’s just me and my meter now, trusty levelling tripod and snow stick. The sun is quite bright and I wear sunglasses to keep from going snowblind. It’s deceptively pleasant out here but never forget you are 30 km from camp and it’s $-20^{\circ}C$, keep your skin covered at all times. The snow cover in the windswept areas is fairly thin but it packs solid so you are walking on the top quite often and it’s hard to tell just how thick it is. That’s where the snow stick comes in. It’s made from cheap lath, pointed at one end and marked off in 5 cm increments. I use it to measure not the depth of snow but the height from the tip of the stick which I thrust down firmly to the top of the levelling plate. I would normally use a carpenter’s measureing tape for this but that doesn’t work with this much snow. Note that the tripod need not be pushed all the way to solid ground, just enough to remain stable without moving during a reading. Ok, now where’s the next flag? In mid-February, our work day is from 9am to 3pm, a meager 6 hours. At 10 stations per hour we might get 60 stations a day. In summer, with longer days and shorter times per station, we could reach 100 stations per day. Once 3pm arrives, we head for the GPS base and call the helicopter, unless prior arrangements are made. They often check on us a couple of times during the day, especially if the weather is changing.

When the air limo arrives I get a chance to get some aerial pics of the survey grid. Very sparse slow growing trees, hills mostly of shield outcrop and muskeg filled low areas. This is one reason we do surveys in winter - a frozen ground is much easier to traverse than a wet soggy one, and it’s easier on the environment since vehicles would chew up the native grasses. Everything is slow growing and scars last for decades.

We land at the helipad. The pilot/mechanic refuels and does a once over before and after each flight. One of the biggest expenses for the camp manager is fuel, fuel for the helicopters, fuel for the tent heaters, fuel for the kitchen and wash house, and fuel for the electrical generators. Everything runs on either diesel, kerosene, or propane.

While the GPS crew takes care of their equipment, the gravity guys are not done yet. We’ve closed the loop back at the grid base, but we need to tie it into the camp base as well. Doing this at the beginning and end of each day will build up multiple readings for a more precise network. I will also be able to detect when meter problems occur and trace which station readings are affected. I will either be able to fix them, or we will have to reread some of them, and we don’t like doing that.

Feb 21

Let’s watch as Roger sneaks up on a still sleeping station and captures a live gravity reading in the wild. Today is overcast and snowing lightly. The visibility is low but good enough to fly. We’ve been told that if conditions worsen the pilot will call us to prepare for evac or spend the night. Yikes, the first time we heard this was a shock, but after the 15th time, we got used to it. Notice how his meter case has fallen over. Not a big deal, not much is left in the case after removing the meter. You need to know that this is the latest upgrade (circa 2008) to the LaCoste & Romberg Model G gravity meter. Before the upgrade, the meter was tethered to the case with a power cable running to a 12v gel cell battery. The battery was capable of running the meter for 12 hours in summer but only 4 or 5 hours in winter. The battery was heavy, especially if you needed a second one. The power upgrade modified the side of the meter to include a plug and play battery housing. The battery had a slimmer form factor and hugged the side of the meter. There was no cable, the battery connections were inside the housing. The battery could be swapped between station readings quite easily. The one thing I appreciated with this upgrade was fewer tangles with the power cord or meter case tipovers that would jerk the meter and cause a world of hurt. If you peek through the trees, you’ll see the GPS crew setting up the base equipment and getting their rover units communicating with the base. Can’t see it very well, let me zoom in for you.

There you go - there’s Laurie and Richard. So what’s all this setup work they perform each morning. It’s a thing called Real-time Kinematic (RTK) Positioning. RTK positioning is a precise GPS technique used for accurate location of grid points in surveying and mapping. It involves a base station and rover units. The base station, positioned at a known or soon-to-be known location, receives satellite signals and calculates corrections, which it then transmits via radio to the rover units. These rovers, equipped with GPS receivers, apply the corrections in real-time, significantly enhancing their positional accuracy to millimeter precision depending on the equipment and duty of care setting it up. This method allows surveyors to efficiently and accurately layout and locate predefined grid points, crucial for tasks requiring high precision.

Feb 24

Wow - is it the end of the day already? Some days fly while other days seem to take forever. I think it has to do with getting and staying in the flow. When you’re productive and things are going great you don’t notice the cold or the time or anything around you. Then the radio goes off and they want you to get back to the pickup point. The tripod makes for a great tea table and the meter boxes make for a great stool. I think Roger is asking Richard:

"So how was your day?"
"Same as yesterday, planted lots of flags"
"Any issues?"
"Nah, saw some wolf tracks though"
"Oh really? Should we be concerned?"
"Nah, they were small"

Feb 28

Supply Day comes about once a week, sometimes it’s two planes if we need fuel as well. After the fuel, the biggest delivery is groceries for the kitchen. The camp consists of the manager, the cook and cooks helper, camp and airstrip maintenance pair, client geologist, the pilot, and the four of us. I might be forgetting someone so let’s call it an even dozen. Multiply that by 3 meals a day for 7-10 days and the grocery trip is going to need more than one cart or one pickup truck. When the supply planes come in, everybody is on deck to get them unloaded and stowed. Hmm, just like home.

Feb 29 - Leap Day

The office tent is equiped with a satellite system and dish. It also has a wifi transmitter that’s strong enough to cover the whole camp. I have no trouble sending and receiving email, and getting a bit of news each day. As far as local weather goes, well, the camp has it’s own weather service - The La Crosse Technologies weather station with inside/outside temperature, windspeed, humidity, and precip gauges. A close look at the screen says it’s too cold to work today. The temperature is $-31.5^{\circ}C$ with a windspeed of $27 kph$. I looked up the windchill equivalent temperature and it is approximately $-50^{\circ}C$. This is officially a “stay in camp if you want to live” day.

Mar 3 - Why does the GPS operator cross the tracks?

The tent that is all by itself, like it’s the VIP/Leper tent? Yep, that’s us. I think they reserved this one because there was more room around it for the equipment we brought. That’s not just a nice bench outside where we invite visitors to sit and offer them a mint julip to drink. Oh no - that’s the tripods and GPS poles box - the long-ish stuff.

The guys don’t have far to walk to set up the GPS base in camp, but they do have to look both ways. Why did the GPS operators cross the snowmobile track? Good question, and to find out the real reason I interviewed a well-known influencer and celebrity pundit (in their own mind at least):

Me: Here’s the first half of a chicken crossing the road joke and I want you to do your best to give me the punch line, given the nature of these jokes and the context. Why did the GPS operator cross the snowmobile tracks? I’ll let you in on what’s on the other side - it’s the camp base station. What’s the punchline?

ChatGPT: Why did the GPS operator cross the snowmobile tracks? To triangulate the perfect position at the camp base station!

Me: Hm, not funny, accurate but not funny. Maybe to get to a better part of town, the signal was stronger over there, he wanted to be in a better position, he didn’t like the gravity of the situation near the tent. Ok, what’s yours?

ChatGPT: Why did the GPS operator cross the snowmobile tracks? To get to a better position at the camp base station!

Me: You’re useless.

ChatGPT: I’m sorry that wasn’t quite what you were looking for. Let’s try a different angle: Why did the GPS operator cross the snowmobile tracks? Because he didn’t trust the gravity of the situation near the tent!

Me: That was my idea.

ChatGPT: I apologize for that. Let’s try something new: Why did the GPS operator cross the snowmobile tracks? Because the signal was stronger on the other side!

Me: That was my idea too. You have one more chance and then I’m throwing you outside for the night, just like Fred Flintstone’s pet sabre tooth cat.

ChatGPT: Got it, let’s make it count: Why did the GPS operator cross the snowmobile tracks? To ensure he wasn’t left out in the cold at the base station!

Me: That’s sad, really sad.

ChatGPT: I understand, let’s try one more time: Why did the GPS operator cross the snowmobile tracks? Because the camp base station was the real point of interest!

Me: Hmm, ok, you pass, barely. That’s a two, maybe a three, but it’s not a four or a full six. Do you get the reference?

ChatGPT: Yes, I get the reference—you’re rating the joke on a scale of 1 to 6, with 6 being the best. I’m glad it at least passed! If you need any more jokes or anything else, feel free to let me know.

Me: Yea, no, I was referring to scoring runs in Cricket. Ah, now you get it, right?

ChatGPT: Ah, I see! Scoring runs in cricket—yes, I understand now. A “two” or a “three” means it was a modest effort, while a “four” or a “six” would be more impressive. Thanks for explaining that! If you want to give it another shot, here’s a new attempt: Why did the GPS operator cross the snowmobile tracks? To make sure the base station wasn’t offside!

Me: Sometime you try too hard - it could be called “brown-nosing” :)

ChatGPT: Got it, I’ll keep it simple: Why did the GPS operator cross the snowmobile tracks? To stay on the right path to the base station!

Me: I give up.

Mar 8 - Ice Fishing

The fog was so thick today, the pilot couldn’t see where he parked. On those days we are camp bound and when all the housekeeping chores are done it can get pretty boring. It didn’t take very long for the guys to put 2 and 2 together, that is, sitting on a frozen lake and we have an ice auger in the tool box, before they came up with an idea.

Mar 10 - I walk the line

I Walk the Line

I keep a close watch on this meter of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tracks behind
Because it's mine, I walk the line

The cold winds bite, my furry shadow bites too
I find myself alone until each day is through
Yes, I'll admit that I'm a fool for you
Because it's mine, I walk the line

As sure as day is grey and night has aurora light
I track our way from flag to flag on sight
And hope the chopper's flight will be alright
Because it's mine, I walk the line

The barren land and wild are far from my backyard
I scan for wolves and bears, I’m always on my guard
For you I know I'd even face them hard
Because it's mine, I walk the line

I keep a close watch on the snowshoe signs
I keep my eyes wide open for the lines
I keep my heart light in these northern climes
Because it's mine, I walk the line

Go Listen to the full recording, then come back

Mar 10 - Taking a gravity reading

More will be said about reading a LaCoste & Romberg Model G gravity meter, but I’d like to give you a brief description here.

Normally, the meter box is attached to a pack frame so you don’t have to hand carry it. It depends on the terrain and distance you have to walk between statons or to the pickup point. In this case, it was easier to hand carry it. In the other hand, you carry the snow stick and tripod, the notebook is in the meter box between stations.

Point form procedure:

1. Look for the next flag along the line, with the expectation of what it’s station number should be based on the last one just entered.
2. If tracks on the line exist but the flag is not visible, you are probably headed in the right direction. Also, you are already aware of how many flags mark out the line and you might have them pre-written in the notebook.
3. Make sure you haven’t left anything behind, and start walking. The flag will come into sight as you get nearer.
4. As depicted in the image, it is not important that you put the tripod direcly over the flag, just pick a spot where you can plant the tripod without other objects interfering such as rocks, trees, holes, etc.
5. Put the meter case down and out of the way. It’s important not to drop the meter, bang it on some other object or let it fall over. Any rough handling will degrade the gravity loop readings for the whole day.
6. With both hands, plant the front two legs of the tripod in front of you and swing the 3rd leg out and down. The leg joints at the plate should be snug enough that the legs do not swing loosely but stay where you put them. Then put your weight on the plate to level it. Eyeball level is close enough, you learn by repeating this procedure, which you will do quite often every day.
7. Once the tripod and plate are solid and it doesn’t move with your upper body weight applied, use the snow stick and measure the height of the rim of the plate. The stick should penetrate the snow layer and touch solid ground. The tripod legs do not have to go as deep, as long as it’s stable enough to support the meter and not shift suddenly or slowly during the reading. I’ve run into times where the ground was too wet and the legs would slowly sink. Taking the height measurement now is optional. You may find it is more efficient to measure the height after the reading has been taken and record both the reading and the height together.
8. Open the case and remove the meter by the eyepiece and gently place it on the plate. The plate is a shallow bowl and the 3 meter legs are fine-threaded screws ground to a rounded point. They should protrude from the bottom of the meter an equal distance so the meter will level easily with a little sliding around.
9. Level the meter in two passes: course level by sliding around until the two level bubbles are close, then fine tune by turning the three levelling screw knobs on top of meter. Leave the lower left one alone and adjust the upper left one until the short side level is good. Then adjust the right side level knob until the long side level is centred. Check the short side that it’s still level or adjust as needed.
10. Once the meter is levelled, turn on the light switch and unlock the beam. If you are a good gravity meter operator you will be aware of which way the readings are moving as you walk down the line, or you can check by looking at your previous readings. You might expect the reading to continue the trend.
11. Once the beam is unlocked it will be free to swing by turning the dial and observing the beam shadow in the eyepiece, you will be able to zero the beam line. Always move the beam shadow so it approaches the zero line from the same side. This ensures you’ve removed any gear backlash inaccuracies in the reading.
12. Once you are happy with the reading, lock the beam and turn out the internal light. Return the meter to its case.
13. Record the dial reading and the time of the reading in the book. You should have your name, date and line ID at the top of the page. For each reading you should have the station ID, time, reading, tripod height.
14. Put the notebook back in the case, pick up everything, and return to Step 1.

Mar 11 9am

What a gloriously sunny day, temperature a brisk $-25^{\circ}C$ but no wind. It’s 9am and the sun is maybe SSE. It comes up and goes down in 6 hours, and moves across the sky from SSE to SSW. Just peeking up and dropping back down again.

I want you to notice the grid lines in the lower snow field below. You might have to zoom in to see the snow shoe tracks we’ve made as we walk from station to station at least twice: once to plant the flag with GPS guidance and again to read the gravity. Makes for a tangible view of the grid.

Mar 16 11am - 4 Weeks In

It’s been 4 weeks so far and you’d think it would warm up already. Well, we’ve had good days and bad. Spring is definitely on its way since the weather is quite variable. Stable conditions make way for more frequent foggy days as the humidity climbs. I can feel the snow density and texture changing too, breaking through the top crust more often. My snow pants and parka do a fine job. I may look as miserable as a stale freezer popsicle, but inside it’s toasty warm.

Mar 18 9am - Say Hello to Steve

A new recruit arrived today. One of our GPS crew threw a shoe and had to be flown home to visit the farrier. Meet Steve. Keen eyes will make out a row of red flags behind Steve.

Mar 24 11am

The snow is deeper amongst the trees. The wind blows the snow from the open areas into the trees and it doesn’t get blown out. They look thicker here, but it’s still pretty sparse. The lines may look a little crooked but I’ll choose an easier walking route over the shortest every time.

A good technique is to use your snow shoes to trample the snow around the flag to give the tripod a solid base. Looks like Roger had to set the tripod pretty deep to get a solid base. Looks like a good foot of snow here even after trampling down the powder layer. That’s my meter outfit behind him. You might be thinking we are leapfrogging the stations but we are not. That is not an efficient way to survey and tends to cause noise in the data. It shouldn’t but seems to be worse compared to assigning blocks of non-interlaced lines.

Mar 26 7am - The Final Sunrise

I love the smell of kerosene in the morning. Not really, I prefer coffee and bacon. I regret not taking pictures of the kitchen/dining tent when all of us are there for breakfast or supper. It was quite an adventure. I only suffered one injury. Carrying the meter case, even with giant Snow Goose mittens, my fingers got very cold and I damaged my finger tendons. I’m OK today, it took years to lose the trigger-finger effect in both hands since I swapped hands throughout the day.

Today, we pack up the equipment and wait for the supply plane to take us back to Yellowknife. We make sure the equipment is checked into the logistics company for shipping and we get a hotel room for our last stay in Yellowknife.

Mar 28 3pm - Yellowknife Airport YZF

If you’ve never been to Yellowknife, the airport has an adult polar bear in the act of catching a seal escaping down an air hole in the ice. This scene is displayed above the baggage belt. We had a little time to explore the city/town and found the territorial government buildings, the various First Peoples craft stores, the camp supplies outfitters - they have everything you need for arctic conditions, Old Town, and the best seedy bar in town.

Conclusions

A person can take the perspective that this is just another gig, a job no different than the others. Or, a person can compare the version of themselves before and after, and realize it’s going to have an impact on everything else you experience for the rest of your life. And each time you commit to a growth experience no matter how scary it might seem at the time, you will look back on it from a higher level of confidence and say, “yea, I can do that”, and I’m not just talking about work.