I did make it back to Austin, Texas safe and sound. I had 3 excellent flights back to Austin that were all on time and ran smoothly. My students were very anxious to see me again after being gone for over a month and a half, so I went back to teach the very next day. That first morning back I was greeted with a huge banner, flowers, and many posters welcoming me back to Zilker Elementary. It was very sweet and I was very grateful! The local news came to my classroom later that day for interviews with both the kids and me. We were all very excited to share our experience with the Austin community. School just finished yesterday, so I finally found some time to sit down and write my final journal. I have really enjoyed this awesome experience and am truly grateful to everyone...
Today we had an opportunity to take a tour of the engine room. The tour was led by 3 of the 4 engineers, Dave (chief engineer), Richard (2nd assistant engineer), and Jerry (3rd assistant engineer).
The engine room is located in the very bottom of the ship. We were first taken down the stairs and into their office where we had a quick overview of the equipment and safety. Then we all put on protective headphones and headed into the very loud and colorful engine room. Check out all of these cool photos of the different equipment!
Richard shared some really interesting facts about the engine room.
4 Engine Room WOW Facts:• It has 14 miles of pipe, 500 miles of wire, 3,200 light bulbs, and 1,200 circuit breakers! • It has a total of 4 engines. When traveling...
I started my day a little later than most because I slept until 11:30 a.m.! I was in bed for close to 11 hours, but that is good because for the past couple of nights I had only gotten maybe a total of 5 hours of sleep. The boat was swaying more than normal due to higher waves, which had made sleeping more difficult. Although, we have had unusually excellent weather and seas, and the Palmer is very steady-so I am grateful.
At 1:00 in the afternoon we had our final fire/ safety drill. So, for the last time I took my lifejacket and immersion suit to the conference room on the 03 deck for the drill. Jenny, the Marine Project Coordinator, used this time for a small meeting where we all filled out our customs paperwork that is needed before returning to Chile.
10 minutes after the drill...
The webinar was a great success! I really enjoyed presenting my experiences to many students all over the US. The scientists were also very impressed with the level of questions that were asked by the students. I hope that everyone that participated enjoyed it as much as we did here on the ship.
I must express my gratitude--I want to thank everyone onboard the NBPalmer for a great experience. Especially all of the geo team, Ian, Larry, Julian, Peter, Marcy, Alan, Matt, Kevin, and Lauren for allowing me on this awesome learning experience, making me feel welcome, and for sharing their passion and enthusiasm for science! It has been a true pleasure and really given me a new spark and excitement for both doing science and teaching science! Thank you to all the teachers and students...
I asked Marcy, the UTIG cartographer this question."How do we start making maps of the seafloor?"
She started by telling me about multibeam swath bathymetry sonar maps. Bathymetry maps are topography maps of the land underwater. We are all used to seeing topography maps of landforms above sea level like mountains and plateaus, and these maps are very similar but they show the formations on the seafloor. The data for these maps is collected through sound or sonar. It works much the same way as your voice would echo if you yelled down a canyon. Sound is sent out at a certain frequency from instruments installed across the bottom of the ship. The sound travels through the water, hits the seafloor then bounces back to the ship. We record the time it takes for the echo to return...
The new and improved box dredge did find and collect many fossilized corals! Laura and Rhian (with lots of help from the marine technicians) were excited to have made the box dredge work so well for collecting fossil corals.
Photo By: Dann Blackwood
These fossilized corals were darker in color.
The success of the new box dredge motivated Laura and Rhian to attempt 2 more dredges a little further along the Shackleton Fracture Zone. After that, it was decided to begin our transit to a couple of small seamounts about 20 hours to our northwest.
We are now into the single digits until getting back to port in Punta Arenas, Chile. I am really missing my loving family and friends in Austin, TX and my wonderful students, so I am looking forward to seeing them soon.
We are using the Towcam to check out the seamounts that are located between the Antarctic and South American Continents. This seamount, that we are calling “Interim Seamount” because we do not know if it has a name, is south of 60 degrees. Our mapping has shown that it has a distinctive elongate shape. The Towcam took pictures for about 4 hours during the afternoon to reveal a very rocky and uneven seafloor. Some biology was seen in the form of crabs, corals and sponges. So, it was decided to use the box dredge in a reasonably flat area. The dredge collected basalt rocks and pebbles many of which had small fossilized corals attached to them, as well as shrimp, an isopod, sponges, and a few living corals.
The basalt did not surprise the geologists because this area is a relatively...
Time was short on the seamount so Rhian worked hard to ensure that every minute was spent sampling as many habitats as possible. During the 12 hour shift 4 dredges were brought up on deck with mixed results. Corals, rocks, bryozoa and hydroids. After the dredging sites the scientists on the next shift decided to send down the towcam for a second look at the seafloor. The images were again spectacular allowing the next few dredges to target the best sites. Now we have to hope that the weather holds so that we can keep sampling.
Many corals grow and live in the holes of the basalt rocks
The holes in the rock dredge are too large to capture small corals, so, Taryn and Daniel made another net to line the inside of the chain net on the rock dredge.
The first attempt with...
I am afraid that it is getting easier and easier for me to sleep in until 11 in the morning. I don't know how I will adjust to my normal teaching schedule, which has me waking up at 5:45 in the morning; it will be a big and sleepy adjustment. The news from the night shift was that 2 rock dredges were completed using the new net and 1 box dredge. The 3 dredges collected a variety of fossilized corals that were mixed in with the sediment from the seafloor.
Dredged Sediment
Coral skeletons were picked out of this sediment.
Rhian and Laura decided that their work was completed on this seamount and it was time for one more deep CTD. The multibeam sonar images revealed a deeper section in the seafloor that went down to 4,405 meters. Again, we tied on Styrofoam cups to the...
Finally, YES-we got permission this afternoon for dredging and recording data in Chilean waters! Everybody is so excited and relieved by the news of our official Chilean permit. We now have until about lunchtime on Thursday to complete our science before starting our transit back into Punta Arenas. The Corals group got to work immediately with collecting multibeam sonar data for mapping the seafloor and a Towcam was put down for collecting images. The dredging will begin quickly after Laura and Rhian analyze the maps and images.
Part of my day was spent getting to know 2 members of our cruise a little better. I would like to introduce our 2 Argentine Observers, Laura and Carlos. They are both scientists that were asked to join our cruise as observers for the Argentine government...
Dr. Rhian Waller set the cruise record for 4 complete dredges in one 12- hour shift! She was a dredging machine during her shift, from midnight to midday. She did all 4 of her dredges on top of the seamount where the Towcam images showed the greatest amount of living corals. After Rhian's record setting shift was completed, Laura decided a Towcam of the seamount's slopes would be the next best step for her search of fossilized corals. She figured that if the living corals were located on top of the seamount then the dead ones would probably get washed down the sides with the currents. Her idea was correct; she collected many fossilized corals during 3 different dredges. These 3 dredges also collected many bryozoans and basalt rocks.
Many of the corals grow and live in the holes of...
I am afraid that it is getting easier and easier for me to sleep in until 11 in the morning. I don't know how I will adjust to my normal teaching schedule, which has me waking up at 5:45 in the morning; it will be a big and sleepy adjustment. The news from the night shift was that 2 rock dredges were completed using the new net and 1 box dredge. The 3 dredges collected a variety of fossilized corals that were mixed in with the sediment from the seafloor.
Rhian and Laura decided that their work was completed on this seamount and it was time for one more deep CTD. The multibeam sonar images revealed a deeper section in the seafloor that went down to 4,405 meters. Again, we tied on Styrofoam cups to the CTD. This time we added a bonus Styrofoam object, a big Styrofoam head! It...
The new and improved box dredge did find and collect many fossilized corals! Laura and Rhian were so excited to have finally found a way to collect the corals they knew were there.
These fossilized corals were covered in ferromanganese crusts, which made them much darker in color. Again, we collected many species but these were smaller in size than what was collected earlier at our Burdwood Bank sites.
The success of the new box dredge motivated Laura and Rhian to attempt 2 more dredges a little further along the Shackleton Fracture Zone. Unfortunately, only rocks and pebbles were collected. So, it was decided to begin our transit to a couple of small seamounts about 20 hours to our northwest. A previous cruise had collected fossilized corals in this area, so we are hoping to...
We actually ended up on top of a small seamount south of a big and predominant seamount called Sars Seamount. We want to dredge Sars Seamount but do not yet have permission from the Chilean government to dredge in their waters. While we await the permission we are using the Towcam to check out the smaller seamounts that are still located in Antarctic waters, which are all waters located below 60 degrees south and cannot be claimed by any nation. The Towcam took pictures for about 4 hours during the afternoon to reveal a very rocky and uneven seafloor. Some biology was seen in the form of crabs and some possible corals. So, it was decided to go ahead and give the box dredge a try. The dredge collected many basalt rocks and pebbles that had small fossilized corals attached to them, as...
The Towcam has had 2 successful journeys to the seafloor today. The first Towcam was early in the morning in about 400 meters of water. It is lowered about 5 meters from the seafloor and then slowly towed forward by the ship. The camera then takes 1 photo every 10 seconds, which produces about 1,000 to 2,000 photos of the seafloor.
The photos that were captured reveled a variety of sea life in its natural habitat, which has never been observed before. The seafloor was muddy sediment with various drop stones scattered about. Many rocks were covered in marine life, like urchins, sea stars, sponges, and corals. The seafloor also had a wide variety of life on it; there were so many sea urchins and starfish. It was very exciting to know that corals were in our location, and now we...
The Otter trawl did successful bring up a variety of marine life, including a lot of fish, shrimp, and starfish, but very little coral.
A CTD was planned for immediately after the Otter trawl, but it was having some electronic problems, so it was postponed until those were fixed. The two Electronics Techs, Kevin and Victor, worked quickly to exchange parts and had the CTD working a couple of hours later. Tina was very excited because she was going to get her opportunity for a deep, over 4,000 meters, CTD. If you remember from the beginning of the trip, a CTD was done in about 2,000 meters of water, but Tina's main goal was to do one in over 4,000 meters of water. A CTD collects 12 different water samples at 12 specific depths in the water column, and then that water is analyzed...
Today was basically a transit day to Elephant Island. On our way to Elephant Island, we did finally travel beyond the latitude of 60 degrees south, which means we are now in Antarctic waters! We should be arriving at Elephant Island at about 9:00 in the morning, and the corals group plans on getting straight to work with a Blake trawl. My shift will start during the middle of their trawl, so I am excited about sharing that news with you tomorrow.
This afternoon another presentation was given, this time by the chief scientist, Ian. His talk was titled, Rocks, Ice, and Water, The Antarctic Ice Sheet and its Future. He focused on the differences between west and east Antarctica, the formation of Gondwanaland, the changes, if any in the mass of the ice sheet of west Antarctica, and the...
I arrived for my watch shift to find a Blake trawl in the process of being dragged along the bottom of the seafloor.
I was told that just minutes before the wire tension had spiked to over 18,000 and everyone feared that another trawl had broken off the wire. Finally, all the wire was pulled back on the boat, and the Blake trawl was not on the end. The second and last Blake trawl had been pulled off and left on the seafloor. The mood and confidence on the boat took a decline.
We still had other equipment to use, 1 otter trawl and 2 basket dredges. These final pieces of equipment are not usually as effective as a Blake trawl for collecting corals along the seafloor, but they are better than nothing. The corals group had to...
The basket dredge that was completed early this morning, about 1:00 a.m., only brought up pebbles that were identified as drop stones. The corals group was still searching for a good way to collect the corals that they knew were on the seafloor. Next, they again tried the Towcam, but unfortunately a problem occurred once placed into the cold Antarctic water. Later the in afternoon, the otter trawl was used in shallower water, at about 400 meters.
The otter trawl was quite successful! It collected a wide variety of marine life, starfish, sea cucumbers, fish, sea spiders, sea urchins, sponges, and CORALS! It did not collect a massive amount of corals, and none were fossilized but it was a great start! Rhian was very happy to add to her collection of living corals.
The final...
Look, we spend our day decorating Styrofoam cups!
Well, not really the whole day, maybe just 30 minutes after all the important research was done. It was fun to zone out and color for a while. We will put all the cups on the CTD, which goes to the seafloor and takes in water samples at different depths, and as the CTD and cups go deeper they will encounter more pressure. What do you think will happen to the cups, and why? Will they look the same or different, and why? Please feel free to submit your answers to me in the Ask Mrs. Pena section.
The science that was collected today was all about seismic data. We conducted seismic data through the night and for most of the day until 8:00 p.m. Actually, the final seismic data was collected to gather more information for a possible...
Check it out!!
Again, during my marine mammal watch, 2 humpback whales came by the port (left) side of the ship and then looped around to follow us. These 2 whales stayed a safe enough distance away that we did not need to shut down the seismic equipment, which was great for everybody. The geophysics group only has until tomorrow at midnight to finish all their research before they turn the command over to the corals group. We did our last dredge this morning in an area Ian called skinny seamount. Our final dredge did produce great results. It was a very full dredge that collected many andesites and dacties. The scientists were very satisfied with their final collection of rocks. We are currently collecting seismic image and magnetics data as we travel to the west toward...
I did see a real whale during my marine mammal watch today at 2:00 in the afternoon. I believe it was a humpback whale because of its humped dorsal fin and fluke shaped body. It was first spotted by one of the mates in front of the boat, and then I saw it when it swam past the starboard (right) side of the ship. I got a really good view because the whale came up for air and showed his entire back, it was so cool! The whale then came around the back of the boat and followed us for a while. We were collecting seismic data during this time, so we shut down the data collecting instruments until the whale got bored with us and moved on. Everybody on board the ship was very excited to see our first whale-so AWESOME!
About 40 minutes after our last whale sighting, we put the seismic equipment...
Oh yes, scientists love Twister!
The Twister Tournament was voluntary, but 23 people signed up, including 2 out of the 4 Principle Investigators and the Chief Scientist. We started playing this afternoon; it was very fun and funny! Sad to say but I did lose my game to Laura, one of the Principle Investigators for the corals group.
Our game was fun and competitive. Laura is really good! A loser’s bracket is scheduled for tomorrow. I am looking forward to redeeming myself.
The science news for the day started off very good. The dredge that started very early in the morning collected many rocks. They decided to keep 2 different types of rocks, 3 different igneous rocks and 1 sedimentary rock. Check out these rocks in the photo gallery! The igneous rocks were again andesites,...
While I was in deep sleep another dredge was completed, at about 6:00 in the morning it reached the back deck. I did get all the information about the dredge once I arrived for my watch shift at noon. The dredge had collected 3 more big igneous rocks that Alan thinks might fall in the range between a dacite and an andesite. The collection of more rocks from the seafloor is always an exciting addition to the research. During my watch shift, Matt was busy cutting rocks from the previous dredges into small rectangles using a wet rock saw.
The small samples of the rocks will then be transported to Cardiff where they will be made into thin sections to be looked at under special microscopes and be used for further investigations. I also took part in creating the small...
Today was a very busy day! We actually completed 2 dredges during my watch shift and we started a trawl just about 30 minutes before the end of my watch. We are currently at the top of a seamount that is about 75 miles off the coast of South Georgia. That is correct, South Georgia is an island. We all were very excited to see land off in the distance. At the top of the seamount the depth is only 852 meters. It is almost strange to see the water depth so shallow after being in deeper waters for about a week. The 8th dredge was done this afternoon, 3 more igneous rocks were kept for Alan and Matt to sledgehammer and saw.
This evening the 9th dredge was done on the same seamount, but on a different side. It brought up a full bag of rocks, many appearing useful at...
Last night I did go to sleep during a trawl that was occurring in about the same location as the previous dredge. Although, this trawl had a very tragic ending, it actually broke off the wire and was left on the seafloor. The wire that was dragging the trawl along the seafloor did show a quick spike in tension and that is when the trawl broke off. It was very sad news to everybody to loss such a vital piece of equipment. Thank goodness that Rhian and Laura are so intelligent and organized because they did bring a back-up Blake trawl. The marine techs did replace the missing parts and tested the wire and winch for future trawls and dredges.
This afternoon was spent surveying more of the Scotia Sea as we traveled to the west. As we collected data, Ian noticed an escarpment, and...
Dredge #6 was back on deck early this morning, at about 8:00. Unfortunately, the dredge did not bring many rocks up with it. So, the few rocks were cleaned and set aside for further observation and Kate found a few small sponges clinging to rocks that she kept for her research. We then started traveling back to the north to gather more data on the sea floor in hopes of finding an excellent dredge site. One of the forms of data we are collecting involves using a magnetometer, which measures the magnetic direction of the volcanic rocks in the seafloor. Peter Barker had observed magnetic anomalies in this area during his previous research in the late 1970s, and our data is confirming his findings. We did have some added entertainment today by celebrating the birthday of Kevin; he is...
Early this morning the fifth dredge was pulled onto our ship's back deck. It was again full of rocks! The 2 different types of igneous rocks that were collected are called dacites and volcaniclastic breccias or ignimbrites.
The dacites are similar to the andesites that were collected yesterday but the dacties contain more silicates. The volcaniclastic breccias or ignimbrites are theorized to have formed from a volcano's pyroclastic flow that settled and hardened. Lauren described these rocks as looking similar to sedimentary rocks because they contain visible pieces of sediment. They actually contain volcanic ash sediment, which can resemble a sedimentary rock but is still classified as an igneous rock.
Due to the finding of these types of rocks, the geophysics group...
Sunny & Beautiful! Bar. 987.9, Rel. Humidity 80.2%
Look at this beautiful day in the Scotia Sea!
Okay, I really didn't get sunburned, but with few clouds and no wind the sun was an excellent feeling on my face!
First, let me give you the news on the dredge from late last night. Just as I was headed to my cabin we discovered that the dredge was stuck on the seafloor. The captain had to move the ship around for a couple of hours until the dredge finally dislodged from whatever has holding it. This morning, I was informed that the dredge brought up many rocks. Some of the rocks were tossed back into the sea because they did not relate to our research, but 2 main types were kept for further investigation. Tina was excited about these black rounded rocks called Ferromanganese nodules. They are mainly made of iron and manganese...
Yes, today I saw penguins! They were spotted on an iceberg off in the distance. They looked like small black dots on the ice, but the use of binoculars confirmed that they were indeed penguins.
I was hoping to see more wildlife during my 1- hour marine mammal watch in the Ice Tower, but I only saw more beautiful icebergs. It is better for the scientists if we do not observe marine mammals because then the seismic air guns must be stopped, which would mean the stoppage in seismic data of the seafloor. The seismic data creates images of the seafloor along with any sediment covering.
This data helps the geophysics determine the best location to dredge. We are now in the process of doing a dredge. The depth of the seafloor at our location is 2,558 meters, and we are slowly pulling...
Actually, the trawl was mainly full of rocks, but useless rocks. The rocks are useless for geophysics research, but the mate, John, used a rock saw to make beautiful pieces of art with them.
The rocks are useless for research because they are considered "drop stones." They dropped off an iceberg that could have carried them from anywhere, so they are not originally from the area that was trawled. The drop stones are easy to identify because they are highly eroded and weathered from the water and ice, making them smooth and rounded. We want to dredge up rocks that are jagged and rough from the actual seafloor. Also found in the trawl were a couple of sea stars and sea cucumbers.
We are now traveling about 50 miles south from Starfish Seamount to waypoint 12,...
As I walked into the dry lab this morning everybody was talking about all the icebergs they saw earlier that morning. I looked out of the porthole and there were 3 of them floating on the horizon.
My afternoon was spent doing my normal duties, watch log and ping editing. Matt, my watch log partner, was busy trying to bust up the rocks found earlier in one of the trawls. He was attempting to use a sledgehammer to break apart a big rock known as a basalt pillow. The basalt pillow was so hard that he was having trouble both breaking it and keeping it still. Josef, a marine tech, helped Matt by using a drill down the middle of the rock to break it into more manageable pieces. A piece of the basalt will be sent to Florida State University because they keep an archive of all the...
I was sent to the Ice Tower today at 1400, don't worry I was not in trouble. I was just doing my 1-hour marine mammal watch because the ship was running seismic data. I did not observe any marine mammals during my watch, and actually no marine mammals were observed during the entire watch time, about 5 hours.
I am also happy to report that we never encountered the predicted storm last night. So, I had an excellent night of sleep with some of the calmest seas thus far.
Scheduled for tomorrow morning about 9:00 is our first dredge. I will get all the news on it when I arrive for my watch shift at noon.
Sorry, flash is not available.
I had to get up a little earlier this morning for Marine Mammal Training. Jenny trained about 15 of us to be marine mammal observers. When the boat is collecting seismic information a person is needed to stand watch for marine mammals, mostly whales, because they are sometimes attracted to the instruments that are towed behind the boat. We each signed up for a daily 1-hour shift. I signed up for the 14:00- 15:00 shift. The watch takes place in both the bridge and the ice tower. The bridge is located on the 05 deck; the highest deck onboard, and the ice tower is a small room above the bridge that requires the use of a ladder. Both places are full of windows so you can get a full 360-degree view of the sea. We are also provided with a special pair of binoculars during this watch....
NOT! The trawl was actually extremely full! I could not believe my eyes this morning when I went into the dry lab and saw the numerous bins full of corals.
Also, the wet lab still had many more buckets that still needed to be cleaned off and sorted. They hit the corals jackpot! Laura and Rhian were so excited that the trawl had brought up so many alive and fossilized corals. Also, in the trawl were numerous sponges that Kate was happy to collect for her research.
I helped out by sorting the smaller corals into 3 different species. Tina showed me the basic ways to identify the 3 different species according to their particular physical properties, and then it was fun to help out and get my hands dirty.
Laura and Rhian had planned another trawl but the wind became very...
I woke up around 6:30 in the morning to a gentle rocking motion of the ship. It was a very slow and soft motion that actually allowed me to return to sleep quite quickly. I was able to get ready for the day without too much trouble, but I was a little worried about how I would react as the waves increased. My anxiety helped me decide to drink some ginger tea and take a ginger pill with my lunch. Ginger is said to help alleviate minor motion sickness and help with digestion, so I wanted to try to prevent any sickness before it started. Today was the day of meetings on the ship; the meetings were on a variety of topics, like back deck safety, entire crew introductions, technology, and training to collect the specimens for the Corals Group. The Corals Group’s training was very...
I actually got some much-needed sleep my first night aboard the Palmer. Marcy and I are again rooming together. Most of the science crew has cabins on deck 1, but we are the only science crewmembers on deck 2. It has a surprising amount of space and will work as my new home for 37 days (room photo in the photo gallery). Last night we were set to leave the port at 12 noon, but the time keeps getting pushed back and is now set at 2000. We are all anxious and ready to start our adventure and even more important, the research. I was assigned my working schedule last night, my shift is from 12 noon until 12 midnight. This shift is hopefully the best for observing and helping with the most interesting research! Most people on board have spent their last couple of hours before setting...
Today I actually got to go on board the ship, the Palmer. It is magnificent! Tomorrow I will actually move onto the ship to stay, but today we just went onboard for a couple of hours. The remained of the day was spend seeing the last couple tourist spots in Puenta Arenas and getting everything else ready to take with us on the boat. We did a lot of walking around town and had a very nice last full day on land.
Check out all the sights in Puenta Arenas in the photo gallery.
We got into Puenta Arenas yesterday, Monday, in the afternoon. We were taken straight to our hotel, Jose Nogueira Hotel. It is a very beautiful place inside and out.
After getting our luggage all settled, we took a little walk around the town and had some dinner. Here are some of the sights in Puenta Arenas.
Seven of us went to dinner together at a little restaurant with a variety of meals. One person ordered a meal that is considered the “nachos” of Puenta Arenas. It has French fries instead of chips and includes cut up hot dogs—weird!
All of us were ready for bed after our big dinner. The next morning we had a scheduled appointment to get all of our ECW- Extreme Cold Weather gear at 8:30. It was only a short walk to the clothing...
I made it though the long flight to Santiago, Chile. Most of the flight was spent reading, sleeping, or listening to my iPod. As we exited the plane we were met my Jimmy, an AGUNSA agent, who helped us through customs. He was great because he showed us to the “secret” shorter lines and had others to help with our luggage. The research group we met in Dallas from Woods Hole was immediately catching a connecting flight to Puenta Arenas, Chile. So, we said good-bye for a day to them. Left in Santiago with me were Marcy and Kevin.
Both Marcy and Kevin are with the group from the University of Texas. After the airport we took a bus taxi to our hotel, the Hotel Montecarlo.
The 3 of us prepared with maps of Santiago headed out in search of a yummy lunch and...
My husband, Marc, is driving me to the airport in Austin, Texas. I was very ready to start my trip.
Now, I have just completed the first leg of my journey to Chile. I am only in Dallas, TX, but at least it has finally begun. All the packing and preparation was filled with excitement and anxiety. Check me out entering the airport with all my luggage.
My emotions have started to settle down now that the trip has actually started. I am currently sitting at the DFW airport waiting for other members in the research team to arrive. They are coming from all over the United States, including Hawaii. I am very excited to meet them. We will on be on a 9 hour and 30 minute flight to Santiago, Chile, which is scheduled to leave at 9:30 tonight but is now delayed until 10:30...
This is where Ms. Pena will be posting journals about her expedition in the Drake Passage. If you have questions, you can post them in the Ask the Team section.
Check back frequently and join the expedition!