Posted October 16, 2009 - 4:11am by Robert Harris
Have your classes follow PolarTREC Expeditions in the Arctic and Antarctic by creating posters.
Home. I arrived at RDU about 10:30PM Friday night. My husband and I hugged, my sons carried my luggage and my daughter did not let go of my hand for a long time. I slept for 2 days, awoke Monday morning and went to school. I met my advisory for the first time.
I met my classes. I talked about vertebrates and barrier islands. I packed for the beach trip. I went to Pine Knoll Shores, North Carolina for 4 days with 95 8th graders. We learned about shore ecology and about each other.
Upon returning to school, I learned that my classroom had been broken into and 7 computers stolen. My laptop, with all my PolarTREC expedition pictures was mysteriously left behind. (For the record, I had backed up my computer the Friday before. 
) So what did I do? I put my expedition training to work and made a movie! See "DA CSI 401" below. No, the thieves have not yet been identified.
Then the Durham Academy community lost one of our most loved members: Justin Straus passed away after a long struggle with cancer. Justin had been at DA since the third grade and we had been sharing his fight since then. You can read about the impact this very brave young man had on us and on cancer research at Duke University here.
Last weekend was Fall Break at DA. The Wards went to Western NC. We hiked up Hawksbill Mountain and down into Linville Gorge. We lay on the rocks in the sun and debated whether Duke Football would win enough games this year to get a bowl bid and, if so, where it would be played. We were especially thrilled when Fred opened his sleeping bag and we found 3 unmated (new, expensive, running) socks attached to the velcro hood closure that we could reunite with their mates atop the dryer at home.
Reentry friction, like when the space shuttle returns to Earth, is something that everyone who goes away for an extended period of time must content with. I wonder how the Canadian Coast Guard officers and crew are feeling right now, as they prepare to go back to the LSSL for another 5-weeks? How are the scientists and students readjusting? Most had planned a week off, and I can now understand why! A few had short turn-arounds and were headed back out into the field on other expeditions.
This past weekend was a long overdue time away with my family. NOW I am ready!
I am giving my first PolarTREC expedition talk to the Durham Academy Lower School on Oct 14th-- Cavaleo and I are ready!
Check out the video
[video]
So long for now from room 401, Durham Academy
Posted August 22, 2008 - 11:10am by Kristin Timm
Article advertising Gerty Ward's Live from IPY! event.
LSSL Ship's Log: 19082008
2209- Rosette secured on board. Underway to Kugluktuk, 485 nautical miles.
At 2210 on 19 Aug 2008, Third Mate Marian Punch piped, "We have finished work at the last science station. We are going home."
After 32 days at sea, we are coming home. We have seen and done some amazing things. I have experienced so many "firsts" that I cannot list them all.
Thank you to Rick Krishfield of WHOI who applied for a PolarTREC teacher, giving me the opportunity to join him on this expedition. Thank you to Rick, Will and Jim for allowing me to join them on the deck and on the ice. I can now rechain glass balls, thanks to Will and Jim.
Thank you to the officers and crew of the LSSL for taking the time to explain the ship and let me take their pictures, over and over. Thank you to the science team for patiently explaining oceanography, sometimes several times over, and for letting me photograph their every move.
For those of you who have never been to sea (that would include me, prior to this cruise), I offer a simulation of ship life that you can run at home.
How to Simulate Shipboard Life in your Home
(with my sincere thanks to Don Stortts, LSSL)
1. While running this simulation, lock all your friends and family outside. Communicate only by email received 1X a day and costs $2 each. Make your email address so long and complicated that only 1 in 5 emails gets to you. In the middle of the simulation, cut off all emails, telephone and TV for 10 days.
2. Surround yourself with 77 strangers who smell and talk funny, who snore and swear continuously and can beat you at crib with their eyes closed.
3. Unplug all radios and TVs. Remove all DVDs except every one you did not like that you have watched in the past 3 years. Discover that you now like the violent and horror genres.
4. Issue each person a radio and designate one person to be The Bridge. When ever you use any appliance, tool or vehicle, call the Bridge before, during and after operations. The Bridge must record each activity and the time in two different notebooks. Monitor all electrical appliances hourly by recording vital parameters (plugged in, light comes on, etc.) Test garage door while blowing loud horn all day on Sunday.
5. Work in 18-hour cycles. Sleep for only 4 hours at a time with all the lights on. Put bed on rocking table. Have a child come into your room and yell into your ear periodically. At random intervals, add or subtract an hour from the time. Be sure to add all extra hours on to the night shift.
6. Ensure that all rare wildlife sightings occur when you are in the shower.
7. Line the bottom of each doorway with two layers of bricks. Go up and down the stairs 4 times before each meal. Have a child slam doors at irregular intervals. Leave all the exterior doors open for no reason (especially effective during a winter simulation).
8. Any and all exercise is to be done in one room without windows. Repeatedly change the incline on your treadmill to simulate ship movement. Play concert DVDs at highest possible volume.
9. Food should be served at 0730, 1130 and 1630, with coffee breaks every 45 minutes in between. You may NOT eat between 1630 and 0730.
10. After the simulation had been completed, obsessively look at photos of every event. Realize that you have established a wonderful and special bond with the 78 other participants and you have memories and experiences that you will never, ever forget. Rejoice in the realization that you are *home* -- the simulation is over -- UNTIL NEXT YEAR!
A Simulation You Can Run At Home!
We have been here at 69N, 133W waiting for the fuel barge for the past 24 hours. It is late. While it is frustrating to have to wait, this situation reminds us that it is not worth getting worked up over something we cannot control. We use the time to catch up on data analysis and to pack.
Finally the barge arrives. While watching the fuel barge hook up might not be so fascinating under normal circumstances, we have been waiting for it, and it offers something new in the landscape.
The barge is tied up to the side of the ship
We take on approximately 2 million liters of fuel. It is delivered at 120 cubic liters per hour (1200 liters) and we took on 2 million liters. The fuel is piped in to the ship to the fuel manifold which diverts the flow to one of 14 tanks. Icebreakers need the extra weight of the fuel to break ice most efficiently. The bill? About $2 million Canadian.
Our incinerator has not been working so we also off-loaded our trash onto the barge. This required several sling trips. It was dirty, smelly work. Wow, 78 people sure do generate a lot of garbage!
Once we had finished fueling we began to steam north. I took this opportunity to.....
drive the ship! The LSSL is very responsive. It took me quite a while to learn to account for the wind and currents while staying on the course directed by the Third Mate. The wheel moves the rudder. Adjusting only about 10 degrees to the port and starboard was all that was needed to kept us on track. While I was at the helm, the engine speed was constant. Varying the propeller speed and the number of shafts turning is another way to control the ship's speed.
Will Ostrum also drove the ship. He is a far better driver than I.
So long for now from the helm of the Louis!
Getting fuel in the Arctic Ocean
