Human Impacts in Antarctica Journals
Reflections of a Journey of a Lifetime!
I have been back in the world that I know now for almost 30 days and on many days I contemplate how others whose paths I crossed are doing, what the latest storm was like, how the sea looks with the sea ice melted, or yearn for the solitude and relative simplicity of life almost 16,000 miles south of Houston. I had set out to fill in one of those “white spaces” in my mental map of the world and have since gained a better perspective. These “white spaces” are places that even your furthest imagination or multiple versions of Hollywood films and PBS documentaries cannot completely conjure up the full insight despite the best intentions.
I set out a year ago to possibly be part of something that had only been a dream- Polar field work. I thought...
December 15, 2007, Christchurch , New ZealandPresent Conditions: Quite Balmy, nice breeze, warm (relative) drizzly weather; 22C.
Last night we returned to Christchurch from McMurdo. The C-17 that brought us back to the world north of 70 degrees south latitude included 68 other researchers and a few employees. Many of the Andrill scientists and some of their equipment came with us. We arrived in Christchurch, cleared customs and returned our cold weather gear to the distribution center and set off for our hotels.
Our plane to carry us back to Christchurch
Polar Plunge!!
The night before we left Andrew, Terry, April and myself joined Addie (the diver) out at the dive hut near Armitage point to go for a polar plunge. Yes! I wanted to do this and I don’t think the others thought I...
December 10, 2007, MondayMcMurdo Station, Antarctica2:00pmHigh: +32F wind chill: +21FLow: +18F wind chill +7FWinds: S8- 12 knts; Station Pressure: 28.7800”Present Conditions: Partly cloudy, mild temperatures, prevailing low pressure system
Saturday we were supposed to fly out to Cape Bird to take a control set of soil samples and as a side benefit see the penguin rookeries. However, for a second time we were cancelled because of clouds hanging between an area known as the saddle, the pass between Mt. Erebus and Mt.Terror. Apparently NSF does not allow the helicopters to fly over water, so if the passage between the 2 mountains is clouded over the helicopters can not fly in that direction. Andrew was able to convince Marcus Horning to take April and myself out to his seal research...
December 10, 2007, MondayMcMurdo Station, Antarctica11:00pmHigh: +32F wind chill: +21FLow: +18F wind chill +7FWinds: S8- 12 knts; Station Pressure: 28.7800”Present Conditions: Partly cloudy, mild temperatures, prevailing low pressure system
A Day at the Beach!!On Monday we were finally able to fly out to Cape Bird. Cape Bird is on the edge of where the sea ice is breaking up. The beach area is a perfect nesting place for the Adelie penguin. We flew out to the cape in a helicopter- my first time in a helo. The flight was relatively short- about 45 minutes each way, just skimming over the top of the glaciers and the ridges of the mountains. The view was spectacular since the skies were clear and the sun to the east. Our purpose was to collect 12 soil samples that are the...
December 7, 2007, FridayMcMurdo Station, Antarctica
Special Edition to the Daily Journal: Meet the Station Doctor
This morning was the IPY broadcast and we were delayed from yesterday due to weather from going to Cape Evans. We have one last set of sediment samples to take but the penguins are the primary attraction. So today is the perfect chance to introduce you to the Chief Docter at McMurdo Station, Dr. Harry Owens.
Dr. Harry Owens
The story of Dr. Owen's.....
Dr. Owen's says he is based out of Oregon but that is just another place on the adventures of a lifetime. He was raised on a sheep ranch in Arizona with an aunt and uncle as well as in Los Angeles with his parents. In the 1960's he graduated form the St.Louis University School of Medicine and went to work...
December 3, 2007, ThursdayMcMurdo Station, Antarctica2:00pmHigh: +16F wind chill: +1FLow: +14F wind chill -2FWinds: E 11 knts; Station Pressure: 28.815”Present Conditions: mostly cloudy and overcast; flurries picking up to gusty and more snowfall
For the last two days we have been intensely collecting the remaining terrestrial samples around McMurdo. This meant that we were scrambling up scree slopes and back down, under pipelines, over pipelines, through tank yards, machine yards, lumber yards and hazardous waste yards.
Sampling in the snow...
We also collected samples in and around dormitories, multi-use buildings, along roadways, near the former nuclear power plant, and empty lands over any ridge that Terry said the GPS took us. What I found to be most out of sorts...
December 3, 2007, MondayMcMurdo Station, Antarctica11:00amHigh: +18F wind chill: +5FLow: +19F wind chill -3FWinds: E 8 knts; Station Pressure: 28.755”Present Conditions: mostly cloudy and overcast; light flurries picking up to gusty and more snowfall
Our testing is dependent on when the divers were available so on Saturday we collected the last of the marine samples at Transect 4, the control site. This site was to the west of Hut Point on the sea ice maybe 300 yards off the coast. The core samples were gravely but didn’t have the sponge spicules aka as furr balls from underwater sea cats that have been grooming themselves profusely. Seriously, that is what it looks like. So I imagine there are these seal size furry cats that’s live underwater. (JUST KIDDING!!) The marine...
November 29, 2007
A Special Edition Journal Entry...
A History of Antarctic Exploration
The Geography course that I teach branches into both the natural and the social sciences. History is but one of those parts of the social sciences. The history of Antarctic exploration is one based on not just the spirit of human fortitude and invisibility but also on the quest to seek out and to find out more about the world around us among the unexplored, unchartered, unclaimed lands teeming with new discoveries from the smallest of bacterias to the greatest of marine species. The area around McMurdo on Ross Island was the staging ground for many of the expeditions inland to find the South Pole and to penetrate this frozen landmass. Therefore, the social science person in...
This is a look at what went into living in Antarctica and preparing for an expedition in the early decades of the 20th Century. As I looked around the Terra Nova Hut at Cape Evans and the Discovery Hut at Hut Point at McMurdo, (which I can see from my dorm room window just across Winter Quarter's Bay), I saw many "things" that I used to see in my grandparents houses. What is intriguing is that things were left just as the explorers had left them. Carcasses of penguins, dogs, seal blubber, seals, food boxes, clothing, tools and implements for surviving in these harsh conditions are all frozen in time due to the extreme dryness and lack of pilfering visitors and technological change with the times. When I look at the dates of the expeditions during the Heroic Age, to me it...
November 30, 2007, FridayMcMurdo Station, Antarctica11:00amHigh: +19F wind chill: +9FLow: +19F wind chill -3FWinds: E 8 knts; Station Pressure: 28.930”Present Conditions: overcast; light flurries picking up to gusty and more snowfall
Thursday afternoon we began collecting samples of the terrestrial environment. If you have read the previous postings, I spoke about the Antarctic Treaty. Recall that the treaty ensures the protection of the Antarctic environment. Environmental principals govern all Antarctic activities (Article 3). Activities should be planned and conducted to limit adverse impacts Activities be regularly monitored. Cooperation should occur in the planning and conduct of activities and sharing of information (Article 6)
One of the predominate goals of the...
November 30, 2007, FridayMcMurdo Station, Antarctica
Special Edition to the Daily Journal: Meet the Team
April Gossmann
I would like to introduce you to the members of the B-518 Environmental Monitoring Team who are part of this project this year. The PI (Principal Investigator) is Dr. Chuck Kennicutt. He is well known down here for his research and discoveries. However, he is back at College Station and has left this year’s data collection in the hands of the rest of the people you saw on the front page for the project.
The newest member of this project is April Gossmann. April is young enough to have been one of my students just a few years ago! April is from Mesquite, Texas and attended Poteet High School. She was on the drill team and a member of peer...
November 28, 2007, Wednesday
McMurdo Station, Antarctica9:45pmHigh: +27F wind chill: +27FLow: +10F wind chill -4FWinds: E 7-12 knts; Station Pressure: 28.910”Present Conditions: partly cloudySunset: February 20, 2008
Adelie Penguin! Isn't he adorable?
But he was totally lost without a map! Survival was not promising... BUT the reason for our study and my opportunity is to protect this land that he lives in so on with the events of the last 2 days....
Since Monday we have been at the dive hut watching the divers collect sediment cores and marine species from the three sample sites. These cores are then sectioned apart between what Terry can use and what Steve can use for their respective testing. I packaged up the marine creatures for Steve to puree into a liquid “chum”...
November 25, 2007, ThursdayMcMurdo Station, Antarctica10:30pmHigh: +28F wind chill: +18FLow: +18F wind chill +5FFWinds: SE 10-15 knts; Station Pressure: 28.800”Present Conditions: overcast with occasional light snowNext Sunset: February 20, 2008
This overview includes the past couple of days. Saturday, Nov. 24, was the official observance of Thanksgiving. This allowed station employees to enjoy 2 days off for holiday.
On Thursday, we collected the first set of marine samples from transect 1 in Winter Quarters Harbor. The harbor was named as such because it was where Scott wintered over the ships that were brought in for exploration. They brought the ships into the harbor and allowed them to be moored in with the sea ice to hold them over for the winter season. This...
November 22, 2007, ThursdayMcMurdo Station, Antarctica8:00pmHigh: +23F wind chill: +12 FLow: +12F wind chill –4FWinds: S 12-20 knts; gusts to 35kntsStation Pressure: 28.880”Present Conditions: Low pressure system moving on shore; 2-4 in of blowing snow expected through the night; Storm expected to continue through tomorrow.Sunset: February 20, 2008
This post is coming a couple days late as we have had a very busy week of training and I am trying to resolve the last of this constant drainage and congestion with the help of some sleep causing antihistamines. The good thing is I think they are working.
Happy Camper School:
On Tuesday and Wednesday I participated in the required extreme weather training also known as Happy Camper School. Class began at the Science Support Center from...
MondayMcMurdo Station, Antarctica10:00pmHigh; 23F wind chill: +12 FLow: +12F wind chill –4FWinds: E 7-15 kntsStation Pressure: 29.190”Present Conditions: Snowing with 8-10in. of ground coverSunset: February 20, 2008
I am sitting on a table in the laundry room writing this and watching it snow!! winter has arrived but it is summer time here. There will definitely be a white Thanksgiving this next weekend.
Since arriving on Friday we have had a series of training sessions and McMurdo logistics meetings to attend. Sunday is not a workday for station employees so Andrew, Steve and Terry have been spending time getting computer programs set up. Sunday was a beautiful day, rather warm in the low 20’s, to go out exploring. Periodically throughout the week various researchers present...
At 1pm today we had our appointment at the Clothing Distribution Center, also known as the CDC. When I hear CDC I keep thinking of the Center for Disease Control in Atlanta. These layers prevent most anything getting near your skin but I don’t know about dangerous pathogens.
All of the layers issued. Depending on the assigment one receives the red or the tan coat.
The 5 layers of clothes are designed to remove moisture, keep in warmth and block wind make for some very warm layers if it is not very cold. However, we will be testing these out within the next 12 hours. We were issued extreme cold weather clothing based on what we would be doing out in the field and where we would be going. We were given 6 pairs of huge...
McMurdo Weather Conditions
1900hrs. Mostly cloudy; winds E 7-12ktsHigh: +23F wind chill 0FLow: +10F wind chill -4F Station Pressure: 29.080"
McMurdo Bound!
We reported to the CDC at 3:30AM to dress and prepare for departure around 5am. After a debriefing, security clearance, passport check, weigh in, and luggage distribution we were ready to go. We boarded a C-17 and made ourselves comfortable in the seating section of the cargo plane. After a 5 hour flight we landed on the Ross Ice Shelf on an ice runway.
The flight and the glimpses out the door windows exceeded my expectations. I have seen pictures but I had to see it with my own eyes. The peaks of the mountains rising above the clouds, quiet and undisturbed in their pristine beauty sparkled against a clear deep blue sky...
Wednesday, November 12-14, 2007
Christchurch, New Zealand
I have one more flight left to get to McMurdo! We have taken 4 flights to get this far! At the end of last week I finished getting my students ready for my absence. Julia has the Geo2 students and Sandy has the Geo1 and everything will be great! On Friday, I started the day off with a surprise bon voyage celebration from the school and the whole day continued like that. I was packed and ready to go on Saturday and didn’t leave until Monday morning. I decided to cook a modified Thanksgiving dinner for everyone since I usually cooked and my Mom declared that if I was not going to be here then she was not going to have dinner at her house. Sunday I cooked dinner, graded the last papers that were turned in and wrote college...
Students from several of the classrooms at PinOak MS and Bellaire HS had lots of questions and were more then a bit surprised at how much someone has to wear in the summer time in Antarctica. This is one of my classes watching Anna M. take a picture with me. Ann Sledge, our Executive Principal, came out to see the extreme cold weather gear and bring me a flag with all of the schools that are following along. Everyone involved in this picture is named Ann- hhmm? wonder if that means anything? Anna confirmed that the coat was warm enough for those chilly days on the BHS 3rd floor.
Ann Linsley & Anna Meyerson
The past few days and the upcoming ones have become even busier then I think I could realize. Lollie (she is on the Oden Expedition leaving after me), had a set of extreme cold weather clothing sent to us to show our students and our schools following with us. It was definitely not what they expected- much bulkier, heavier and hotter then they anticipated. And then there were the bunnie boots.... It gave them an opportunity to be even more a part of this with me.
Lollie and I were part of the Sally Ride Science festival last weekend. We were able to talk to quite a few teachers in elementary and middle school who brought their students out to discover science fields at Rice University.
Everything is moving along pretty fast. This weekend is set aside to plan and produce...
In the few months that have passed since I was awarded this amazing opportunity I have been getting ready for the big adventure. I have gone to Texas A&M to meet with Steve Sweet, Andrew Klein and Chuck Kennicutt about the project and data collection that we will be doing. I thought it might be helpful to get in better shape and have spent the summer working out with my trainer, Brandon, and gaining lots of muscle that I never new could exist and losing lots of extra me. Since school began this year, I have had the opportunity to speak to our area science teachers about IPY and PolarTREC and encourage their participation. In addition, I have presented at geography conferences and will be working with Lollie (she is going out on the Oden) at the Sally Ride Science conference for...
March 25, 2007
Believe it or not, winter does exist and it lasts longer then 10 days! It is March 24th and there are several feet of snow. The temperature tonight is supposed to be -25F!!! I have never been in weather that cold and the -18F last night gave my cheeks a nice red chill so tonight will be another new adventure. Fairbanks and the PolarTREC orientation have been an excellent introduction to this amazing adventure that I am going to be telling you about for the next several months.
On the banks of the Chena River, Fairbanks, Alaska
Just to give you an idea of the extreme changes in March, I left Houston on the 21st when it was 85F and arrived in Fairbanks when it was -10F. A 95 degree temperature change in 7 hours. Below is the coastal area of Galveston the night I...