6 February 2017 High Pressure, Low Temperature

Today's Journal

My head nods along like a bobble head through the last hours of the second day of orientation. Already I'm starting to feel my eyes glaze over during the next presentation as I feel my body attempting to physically process all of the information that I'm absorbing during the week. With each new task and every presentation I'm renewed with excitement about a different aspect of this adventure but I'm also acutely aware of the incredible pressure that now sits on my shoulders as a PolarTREC teacher. Not only am I responsible for being a fully collaborative member of my research team, but my main responsibility will be to disseminate information to the general public about the important research that is being done at the South Pole. I will be the voice for the IceCube Project at the NeutrinoAn elementary particle with zero charge and zero mass. An electrically neutral particle that is often emitted in the process of radioactive decay of nuclei. Neutrinos are difficult to detect, and their existence was postulated twenty years before the first one was actually discovered in the laboratory. Millions of neutrinos produced by nuclear reactions in the sun pass through your body every second without disturbing any atoms. ObservatoryA location used for observing terrestrial and/or celestial events. and the realization of my responsibility is just now becoming clear to me.

There is so much pressure to keep up with the science, make the outreach entertaining and informative, and give an accurate representation of all aspects of the expedition. I am excited to take this on, but apprehensive at the same time because I am uncertain of what the month in Antarctica will hold for me. There is so much that is unknown about the conditions at the South Pole as well as the potential for scientific discoveries. My hope is that I can inspire some interest in the IceCube Project and assist the team as a valuable member of their research project both scientifically and educationally.