Hello Trekkers,I am home safe and sound. My beard is a lot longer. Just the fact that I have a beard is kind of funny. At least now it is freshly showered!!! I began by travels home on Tuesday the 12th from Byrd Surface Camp. I flew on a LC-130 cargo plane to McMurdo Station. After dashing around McMurdo for 36 hours turning in gear, picking up supplies, conducting a live event with you, I boarded another cargo plane for New Zealand. I got to a hotel in Christchurch after midnight making it early Thursday morning. I slept for about 4 hours before it was time to go to the airport to catch a plane to Los Angles, California. Another two flights later I was met at the Kansas City airport by my family and some friends. Remember I passed the International Date Line so I had a Thursday...
Hi Trekkers,
Hello from Byrd Surface Camp on the continent of Antarctica
Can you find Antarctica on a globe or on a map?
I am traveling with my friend, Gary Wesche. He is a Polartrec teacher
Have you been reading his journals? They have great pictures.
Byrd Camp is located on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet
Antarctica has recorded the coldest temperatures on planet Earth.
Thanks to Mrs. Grantham's second grade class at St. Regis School inKansas City I have a big red coat to keep me warm.
We know this because scientists keep track of the weather all overAntarctica using weather stations
Some of the data weather stations collect are temperature, wind speedand the wind direction.
To communicate from camp we have to use a special phone that usessatellites.
Antarctica is also the...
Hello Trekkers,
You've helped set up all the radars and you have loaded them into theplane and tested them. You're ready to fly in the twin otter airplaneover areas of West Antarctica Ice Sheet using flight plans, BUT there ismore to it than just getting on the plane.
Let me introduce you to your pilot and co-pilot
Here in Antarctica there are some very specific rules that are followedto ensure safe flying.
A pilot can work 14 hours per day with 10 of these hours flying. Thenthey need 10 hours off work.
Weather is, once again, one of the most important factors in determininga mission plan. There must be a 1000 foot ceiling. This means anyclouds must be 1000 feet above the ground.
Visibility must be 4800 meters. You have to be able to see that farinto the distance.
There are also...
If you did all your planning correctly we are ready to go. Now we wait
until Lexi determines if the weather in all the locations of our grid,
fueling caches, and at Byrd is going to be weather we can fly in. If
any one of the locations has or is expecting bad weather or low
visibility the flight is cancelled or the plan is reworked. At anytime
during the flight operation the pilots may decide that the weather is
becoming an issue and the plane will turn back.
As I wrote in another journal, weather is the number one factor that
determines how much science gets accomplished in a season.
Well, if you have done all your calculations you are ready to fly.
Let's go!!!
I am an extra passenger in the plane. Does my weight increase or
decrease the time the plane will be able to fly prior to...
You have met Chad Brown a member of our team from Polar Grid.
{photo of Chad 1 of 6]
He along with Keith Lehigh represent Polar Grid and brought to thefield the computer processors which enable the team to get a first lookat the data to ensure that all the equipment is in perfect workingorder. Keith was here the first part of the expedition and left lastweek. Not one for smiling in front of a camera I did get a grin fromhim just before he boarded the plan out of Byrd Surface Camp.
Logan Smith, a member of the team from KU, does some of the earlyprocessing.
Here is a picture of the data you helped collect on our flight yesterday.
Study the graphs of the data. The x-axis has the points of latitude andlongitude which also correspond to the same points on your flight plan.
The y-...
Jump to audio
Trekkers,
I have heard the words "global climate change" exactly once the entire time I've been here in Antarctica. You would think that it would be a popular topic of conversation between the many scientists here on this continent.
The one time I heard the phrase "global climate change" was during a friendly discussion about the funding of the space program and the funding of societal needs and social programs. The comment, which was not debated by the 15 individuals engaged in the conversations, was, "The science community has known for nearly 40 years that we (industrial nations) have been influencing global climate change negatively. Yet, we haven't made any significant advancement toward correcting the problem..."
As I look back on the many...
Trekkers,
Here is an activity you can do while you are home on holiday or even at
school as a science activity.
The Situation:
The camp is set up for 60 people to be living in tents in temperatures
that are below freezing. The wind blows most days at 15-20 knots. The
members of camp work long hours when the weather allows, and the work
they are doing is physical work. (Even walking through the snow in all
the gear that must be worn to keep warm is physical work.)
When people work outside in the conditions that are common here in
Antarctica their bodies use a significant amount of calories just to
keep warm. When it is time to eat everyone is eating almost twice the
amount of food they would if they were at home like you are.
The Task:
Your task is to plan one meal. Choose breakfast,...
Merry Christmas, Trekkers,
How did you celebrate the holidays? Did you travel, eat, cook, eat,play games, eat, decorate, eat, frost sugar cookies, eat, make newfriends, eat, laugh, eat, laugh more, eat?
Well, the Byrd Surface Camp did all of that and more. There are 42people in camp now so we had quite the active group. The galley, whichis our dining room and kitchen, was full of laughter and fun.
It was amazing what people had packed in their bags in anticipation of aChristmas celebration. I had a little Christmas tree and candy canes.Someone else had craft supplies and rounded up lots of recycled stufffrom around camp. Word was spread around that there would be a whiteelephant gift exchange a couple days earlier so many were working onhand made projects.
A large batch of sugar...
Trekkers,
The CReSIS team had their first official radar flight from Byrd Surface Camp yesterday, December 22, 2009. CReSIS team members Fernando Rodriguez - Morales and Cameron Lewis, along with pilot Lexi Larson and co-pilot Lee Thomas took off into beautiful blue skies.
They were gone about 7 hours gathering data with the three different radars. Upon their return everyone on the team went to work. Polar Grid team members Chad Brown and Keith Lehigh began the process of backing up the data. Meanwhile the rest of the team discussed what in-flight modifications and adjustments had to be made with the radar systems during the flight. After dinner the team, having looked at some of the data results determined that something was not functioning in one of the radars. Fortunately this team...
I love Christmas. I really enjoy decorating Christmas trees. Maybe that is why we usually have several Christmas trees in my home. One of the special trees we set up is a live red cedar. I remember as a child going out into the pasture with grandparents on the farm and choosing a fresh cedar for the Christmas tree. When you brought it inside the whole house would smell like cedar.
Here in Antarctica there is no vegetation on an ice sheet. So it would be really difficult to have a Christmas tree, OR WOULD IT???
There are many creative minds here, and once work is completed these minds keep creating. I would like to show you the most original Christmas tree I have ever helped decorate.
Using metal strapping from the cargo boxes and a couple pieces of scrape wood we have the Byrd Christmas...
Trekkers,
We need you to groom a 10,000 meter runway that you can land a Hercules LC-130 fully loaded with passengers and cargo.
This will be no simple task.
First, you need information that I cannot supply you with as I do not have access to a library, Google, or a phone.
1. What is the Hercules LC-130?
a. How large is it?
b. How much does it weigh fully loaded with cargo?
c. How much runway length does it need to land?
2. What does the plane need to land on a snow runway?
a. What modifications are made to the plane?
b. What condition does the snow need to be in?
c. How does it take off? ( into the wind or with the wind)
3. How do you go about making a runway in the middle of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet?
You might find many of these answers and I hope you do explore your resources and...
Believe it or not Trekkers, I have spotted Santa. He was playing bassin a 3 man combo at a charity event sponsored by the women of McMurdoStation.
Every year for the last 14 years the women here in Antarctica stationedin and around McMurdo put on a "Women's Soiree". This is a talent showthe women present for the community here. Now this occurred a coupleweeks ago while I was still in McMurdo. Due to the fact that Santawould be a little busy any closer to Christmas.
Over the past 13 years the women have raised $30,000. I counted about500 people in attendance this year, so I am sure they raised a niceamount in support of a children's home in New Zealand. I was told thatthe charity chosen is always in New Zealand as a way for all of us hereto give back to the country...
Trekkers,
Imagine that you could climb inside a giant ball that is painted the color of milk. Inside that ball would be totally white. There is no horizon in the distance. The sky is white with clouds. The ground is white with snow. The view in the distance is white with fog or blowing snow.
If you ever watched the movie _Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory _think of the scene when Mike shrinks himself into the TV. Remember what it looked like with him in the white TV. That is what my world here at Byrd looks like much of the time.
If you stare at the picture long enough it can look like the photographer was standing up high on something. In reality he was standing about 20 feet from me on level ground.
Question of the Day
What's wrong with this picture? (Other than Mr. W needs a...
Trekkers,
We are on a journey through time today. We are going back just over 100
years.
Near McMurdo Station there is a building that has been standing since it was built by the crew of "The Discovery". This ship's crew was on an expedition led by Captain Robert F. Scott. Due to the cold temperatures and dry air the hut and all of its contents, even the 100 year old dead seal at the door way caught for food, are in remarkably good condition.
This is where our journey begins past a window that explores of our past gazed out at the frozen sea.
We are now part of history. You and I are trekking together and are now part of the history that is Antarctica.
Inside we are guests here, passing through a global history. All are careful to leave everything undisturbed, untouched,...
Hello Trekkers,
What a wild couple of days. On Wednesday of this week here on Antarctica we, my teammates and I, loaded all our suitcases and participated in a "bag drag". This is when you lug all your stuff including all you extreme weather gear up to the post office building in McMurdo and it all gets weighed. Even I had to stand on the scale with my stuff. This is so the plane does not get overloaded for the trip. We left everything there except for our carry-on luggage. Our suitcases and duffel bags were then placed on pallets which would be loaded onto the plane the next day.
Thursday morning in McMurdo was nearly 40 degrees. We once again made our way to the post office to prepare for the flight. It was so dry and warm that dust blew around town as it would through...
Trekkers, I have told you that I have met the most amazing individuals while I have been here. I yesterday I sat down to lunch with some friends and a woman joined us that others at the table knew. As she sat by me I said, "Hi, my name is Gary." She responded, "Hi my name is Ann." Lunch continued and we discussed a web site that honors great women of science. WINGS WORLDQUEST, http://www.wingsworldquest.org/ . The motto of the organization is, "WINGS celebrates and supports extraordinary women explorers and promotes scientific exploration, education and conservation to inspire future generations." My lunch companions began pointing out women in the galley that had been honored by organization. Then one of them turned to Ann and asked why she hadn't...
On Sunday, 29 January 1989, 80 people gathered to dedicate the new Chapel of the Snows, which is the third chapel to be raised at McMurdo station. It is located just 840 miles from the South Pole. The Chapel of the Snows is the world's southernmost building erected primarily for religious services. It also is the only known house of worship in Antarctica.
STOP!!!! Before you read any farther or look at any pictures STOP!!!! Draw, paint or doodle a design for a stained glass window in the Chapel of the Snows in McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
What symbols would you use in the window?
What colors would you use?
Remember ½ the year the sun never sets and the other ½ of the year the sun never shines. Does that cause create any issues for your window? We can't light it using electricity...
Diving under the sea ice in Antarctica. What an amazing thought. Since I am not a scuba diver this would not be something I could do myself, BUT I could get close.
I had the wonderful opportunity to join Stacy Kim and her team as a dive tender. You can read all about Stacy's project here in Antarctica in polartrec teacher Michele Cross' journals with the Antarctica Undersea ROV ‘09 project. They do work with a remote controlled sub called SCINI
First of all let me introduce the three divers that I joined.
All three of them live in California and have dived in many places around the world. They are all members of the same research team. Rachel Javorsek, an employee of Raytheon Polar Services and I were brought along as the dive tenders for the day. Dive tenders are...
The science conducted in Antarctica is so varied.
Teams are studying geology, glaciology, oceanography, astronomy meteorology, atmospheric sciences, biology, and medical science. I am sure there are even more that I haven't even discovered. With these fields you find all types of engineers and computer specialist like the members of my team as well.
One thing they all have in common while they are conducting their science on Antarctica, the coldest, driest, windiest continent on the planet, is they have no control over the weather.
Weather rules this place. Nothing is done without consulting the weather. No planes or helicopters take off without concern for the weather. No teams are deployed to the field unless they are prepared to face the weather. You don't even leave on a hike...
Place your hands on the table in front of you.
Move your right hand toward your left hand, which is firmly held in place, until your fingers begin to touch.
While the left hand is in place keep moving your right hand toward the left and notice what happens to your fingers.
You have just produced a model of a pressure ridge. Your left hand represented a massive ice shelf fed from a glacier. Your right hand represented the sea ice that as summer advances the ice begins to melt and crack and then begins moving as it is influenced by the tides.
Where these two forms of ice meet the ice buckles and forms what is called a pressure ridge.
I had the opportunity to walk around these pressure ridges. In the beauty of these photographs you...
Hello Trekkers,
I have found it is fascinating to introduce myself to everyone I happen to be standing or sitting near. While a huge number of the people here are directly working with a science program like I am, many people living here are going to work every day like most adults where you live. They do jobs like trash collection and sorting, road repair, water services, firefighting, housing office staff, janitors, chefs, dish washers, recreation coordinators, priests or ministers, nurses, pilots, painters, repairmen, office assistance, shop keepers, yoga instructors, gym trainers, town managers, large equipment operators. Everything needed to support the work of science
Jamie is a bilingual elementary teacher who is working on staff in the dining room where they feed 1100 people 3...
For over 2 weeks members of my team have been here in McMurdo Station working in a small building on the sea ice runway.
Their job was to begin the unpacking and testing of the specially designed radars that had been shipped from The Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS) in Lawrence, Kansas to McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Dr. Fernando Rodriges-Morales an electrical engineer, Cameron Lewis and Logan Smith both graduate students in electrical engineering from the University of Kansas had the equipment assembled and tested by the time the rest of the team arrived.
After the testing was completed in the small building it was time to take everything apart and reassemble it inside the twin otter airplane, which had been modified to make room for all the radar...
Did you read the teaser?
Are you as confused as I was the first time I heard this?
I have been learning more about computers and computing than I ever would have thought I would here in Antarctica thanks to members of my team. Of my team members Keith Lehigh and Chad Brown are from IU, Indiana University in Indianapolis. They are computer systems analysts with Polar Grid.
Polar Grid is the computing hardware and software that is here with us in Antarctica but also is the computing clusters that are located at Indiana University (IU) and at Elizabeth City State University (ECSU) in North Carolina. Polar Grid, which is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), helps the team improve the quality of the data we are collecting here in the field and to reduce...
I, Gary Wesche, am the last polartrec teacher for the polar year 2009-2010.
All 18 teachers applied October 1, 2008 and were selected in January 2009. The last week of February 2009 we met in Fairbanks, Alaska for training. A week after that the first teacher of the year, Deanna Wheeler, left on her expedition. Now the last 5 polartrec teachers are in the field and 4 of us are passing though McMurdo working with our expedition teams or preparing to go into the field.I want you to meet two of them here in my journal in hopes that you will read their journals as well. Each one of them is journaling about their experiences. Each project is unique. Each brings such an interesting background to the teaching profession.
Sarah Diers is headed today to the Dry Valley's of...
Going to work today began with putting on several layers of clothing including my ECW, Extreme Weather Gear. This includes snow pants, a couple hats, a pair of thin gloves and mittens, and of course my BIG RED.
I then walked to visit the guys who needed to check out my computer to insure that it was safe to connect to the station's internet. There I met Holly, Brody and DekeThese are the guys who provide help to any of us who need it. It is always interesting to hear a little about peoples' stories out here.
[video:index=0]
Then I went in search of a shuttle. On this search I introduced myself to Sondra who works in the human resources department. Sondra got on the phone and found where the shuttle stop is located and I made my way there. This shuttle took me on a 10 minute ride...
I am extremely fortunate for I have spent 24 years married to a supportive and loving woman. These flowers are for you, Laura.
XXXOOO
Trekkers,Never take for granted the people in your life that support you and love you. These are the individuals who know your strengths and your faults and love you. They support you with words of encouragement when you need it, and they push you to dream big dreams. These are the same persons you would do anything for, and can't imagine your life without them. They need to know your love and support too.For all the men and women who made discoveries here in Antarctica and for all those who are conducting science currently there are families in other parts of the world who supporting, encouraging, and missing their loved...
It all seems a little unreal. New Places...New Faces...Celebrating Thanksgiving with a formal sit down dinner tonight...Making New...Hearing about the most interesting types of science...WOW WOW WOW. This teaser will be my journal as everyone here has 2 days off and they must check out my computer first. So Monday here that will happen. I will have journals for you then...Gary
Hi Trekkers,This is a journal that is going to take me several days to write. I am planning to add to it on every plane I travel on until I get to New Zealand. YOUR TASK, should you choose to do it is to calculate the miles/kilometers I have traveled during this journal entry. Post your answers on the web site under Ask the Team. Click on "ask the team". Then select the question that says "Miles/Kilometers traveled by Mr. W" and post your guess.
1:00PM, Monday, November 23, 2009 local time Kansas City, Missouri
After running around Kansas City dressed as a penguin, my family decided to hide my costume so I wouldn't wear it to the airport. I figured it would be great advertisement for my expedition, but they didn't want to be too embarrassed by Dad.
I am now in...
Hello Trekkers,
It has been 24 hours since the word was sent out about our missing polartrec teacher, Mr. Wesche. Thanks to many of you we have had some sightings that give us hope that we will soon know his whereabouts. Video footage has been received from all over the nation. However, the most reliable clues have been generated in his home town of Kansas City, Missouri. In yesterday's alert we relayed that Mr. Wesche was last seen in his "Extreme Weather Gear". It is now believed that he is currently dressed as an emperor penguin, another form of extreme weather gear. We hope the following footage may give us some more leads as to his location.
[video]
Trekkers, thank you for your help!!
pTREC'ers following Mr. Wesche... we need your help! People-spotters all over the world in airports between Kansas City, Missouri and McMurdo Station, Antarctica have been on the look-out for a missing 6th to 8th grade teacher dressed in extreme cold weather gear.
On November 9, 2009 the students of St. John Francis Regis held a Polar F.U.N. night to showcase their work of 7 weeks. Each student selected a topic related to one of the two poles of our planet. Their mission was to create a Factual, Unique, Neat and complete project. Factually, they needed to include 25 facts that the typical person would not know. Uniquely, they could select any media they felt gifted with to create their project. Some students wrote songs, poetry or children's story books. Others designed games, experiments, and posters. The Neatness and completeness of the projects were vital to attract the attention of the public.
Enjoy the video taken by my wife during the event.
[video]
You are in a large room surrounded with 125 projects educating you about the polar regions of our planet when a reporter walks up to you and asks you a question. Will you make your student proud that you know the answers? Will you amaze their friends with your knowledge and verbal ability?OR...Will you hide from the camera, stutter, guess, and rely on other equally informed parents to help you out.Trekkers, join Mrs. Wesche as she probes the parental depth of knowledge at St. Regis' Polar Open House held November 4th at St. John Francis Regis School.Will she find the answer to the question - ARE YOU SMARTER THAN YOUR MIDDLE SCHOOLER?
[video]
In middle school I remember studying the great explorers who lived in what my teacher called, "The Age of Discovery."
I loved looking at maps and tracing the routes they took in their great sailing ships. I checked out books from the historical fiction section of the library just so I could travel with them through their story.
These men of history had traveled to parts of our planet and had become the men known for their feats of discovery. But that was how I understood science in middle school. The discoveries about our planet were made. There wasn't anything else to discover. It was hard for me in middle school to imagine that there was any place left on Earth where the science of discovery was still being conducted.
So I studied science by reading history. In high...
Where did you go this summer? Did you make any trips? Did you go to camp, vacation, or Grandma’s house? Maybe you made a trip to the local zoo or swimming pool. Wherever you went you had to pack. Going somewhere with my family involves packing for eight people: Mom, Dad (me) and 6 children ages 12-21. I like to be ready a couple days early so I don’t get surprised by last minute emergencies. "Dad, I can’t find my jacket"; "Dad, my socks are all dirty"; "Dad, I am out of shampoo." Even going to the zoo can take planning: sunscreen, zoo membership, money, patience.
How do you plan to go to Antarctica?
Well, six months from my departure date of November 24, 2009 I received an email of directions to begin the process.
...
Hello from Missouri.
I know many of you are following the journals of the current expeditions. Don't you just love the charismatic mega fauna (polar bears)?!?!
If you haven't been reading Christina Galvin's journals from the ship, Polar Sea, you should. They are wonderfully informative, and the pictures are fantastic.
I am excitedly looking forward to having you along with me as well.
As MY official polar trekkers I want to involve you in the preparations too.
Your job is to make a flag to represent your class or school. The flags I collect will make their way to Antarctica in my suitcase and proudly fly over my tent while I am in Antarctica. Upon my return I'll mail your flag back to you as a memento of your role on the expedition.
The directions for making the flag are...
Mickey was one of the first people my wife, Laura, told about my being selected as a PolarTREC teacher. Laura picks Mickey up most Sundays on her way to church. It's about a 20 minute drive with Mickey each way and you are always mesmerized by the topics of conversation. The day Laura told Mickey about my pending trip, Mickey came up to me, hugged me, and while holding my forearms and looking in my eyes told me how proud she was of me. She then asked me if she could go in my suitcase. I thought she was joking. For you students out there I hope being told by someone that they're proud of you is a daily occurrence, but for a 46 year old man, well, that does not happen very often. I'm the adult here that's what I say to others. (Reminder to self and others: DON'T FORGET TO TELL...
Why do I have a 40,000 year old tooth in my backpack? I'll need to answer that question later in this journal entry.
Seriously though, I was sitting in an orthodontist office in the middle of a beautiful Kansas City spring day fully prepared to write a journal entry when a baby mammoth walks into my life for the second time since I became a Polartrec teacher.
I have to admit to all you students out there that I really was trying to avoid writing my journal entry. I just couldn't think of a topic. SOOOO I was looking over the same old selection of magazines you find in every doctor's office when I found Lyuba ,the cover girl, on the May 2009 edition of National Geographic. Let me tell you she is more captivating than any super model.
Lyuba was discovered in May of 2007 on the Yarnal...
There are few places in the world where you are allowed to hold something that is 15,000-25,000 years old. Fossils can be older than this and you might have a rare opportunity to handle one, but they have gone through a change since the death of the animal. Those old bones have been fossilized. They are now rocks, fossils. Click on the word dinosaur and find out where fossils are found, and what are the conditions for perserving them in nature.
In contrast, I had the rare opportunity to visit a permafrost tunnel near Fairbanks, Alaska. A tunnel dug into the side of a hill into the permafrost down about 45 meters. As we descended into the tunnel we traveled back into history 40,000 years.
With each step we moved thousands of years into the permafrost. Permafrost is...
Listen to the audio journal below to learn more about Gary Wesche's week of PolarTREC training in Fairbanks, Alaska and the adventure to Antarctica he will be embarking on this fall!
Perspective...I hope since reading my last entry you've turned some maps up-side-down, or at least sat under a globe for a while, even quietly in your own mind.
A poem... to change your perspective"If the Earth were only a Few Feet in Diameter"
If the earth were only a few feet in diameter, floating a few feet above a field somewhere, people would come from everywhere to marvel at it. People would walk around it, marveling at its big pools of water, its little pools and the water flowing between the pools. People would marvel at the bumps on it, and the holes in it, and they would marvel at the very thin layer of gas surrounding it and the water suspended in the gas. The people would marvel at all the creatures walking around the surface of the ball, and at the creatures in...
Husband to Laura-
"Dad" to Nathan, Brandon, Chris, William, Cody, Amanda-
son of Larry and Alice-
teacher to the middle school students of St. Regis-
I always thought I led an interesting life.
I was a kid who wanted to be a dairy farmer in Kansas. I liked school. I sang in choirs, played the saxophone in band and the piano at home. I liked to water ski. I studied to be an elementary school teacher. I traveled as an exchange student to Norway in high school and Paraguay in college. I love to be at home around the dinner table with my family!!
Now I'm in Alaska headed to Antarctica. If this can be a part of my life, imagine where your life can take you!!!
I am going to the bottom of the Earth - WOW!!
Well, let's first correct that statement. There really isn't a top or bottom. The Earth has a north and a south. We are just so use to seeing the globes in our classrooms with the North Pole on the top. We don't really ever think of any other perspective. PERSPECTIVEThere is a word for us to focus on.
I'm here in Alaska at training for my expedition to Antarctica. Learning all about everything I will need to know when I leave in TEN months.Perspective... How am I going to remember all this information? Boy, I think I'll be easier on my students when I get back home next week... NOT!!!!
I went to dinner last night to an Italian restaurant in Alaska.Perspective... I didn't really think about all the world cultural influences here in...