Journal

Storm Here is a video of my hike above our Lake Fryxell Camp during an Antarctic storm. I also find (and show you) another seal mummy up on this climb.

Lost seal
I'm sure you 9th grade Biology students will love this picture. While on a hike along the shore of Lake Fryxell today, I came across this seal. We have found several other seal remains in the dry valleys, but this one seems to be the most intact. From its size, and its teeth, scientists here say it is a leopard seal. Leopard seals are the top of the marine food chain around here. Their size is comparable to a grizzly bear.

What's an Antarctic Polygon?

Polygon
Walking along a polygon. These cracks look like they are formed from running water. Not so.

Polygon
Look close and you can see cracks in the soil that look like past stream beds. Nope, they are polygons. Check out the 60-second video below to hear the explanation for how polygons form.

Shrimp gumbo
I offered to cook dinner tonight. Looking in the freezer in the hut, we found shrimp, chicken, and sausage. With a little improvisation, I ended up putting together a nice sized pot of gumbo.

Planning science in Lake Fryxell hut
Dr. Mark Salvatore (on the left) and Dr. Lee Stanish (on the right) are sharing with us their science they have been working on. They have taught me how they use satellite images to find places on the surface of the Earth where chlorophyl is present. Chlorophyl means there is photosynthesis going on there. They use those images from space to direct their places to hike to where they can find "mats" of microbial life.

Evening Hike Adventures

Stormy hike
I left for a hike this evening about 9pm and headed for the mountains behind our hut. I was in for a bit of adventure and discovery.

Granite
While on my hike this evening, I came upon this rock. If you look close you will see a little arch cut out of it. This is not soft sandstone. It is a harder granite / gneiss type of rock. I assume this hole has been drilled out of the rock by the strong katabatic winds coming off of the polar plateau.

Now, for the real mystery of the night...

Dead seal
I had been hiking up the mountain behind camp when I walked upon this guy. Yep, another dead seal. Not on the floor of the valley, but hundreds of feet up the side of the mountain.

Crabeater Seal
If you can zoom up at this seal's teeth, you will see they have notches in them. These are different from the leopard seal I showed you earlier. Those teeth were just smooth, sharp teeth. These notches in the teeth tells me this is a crabeater seal. Zoom up close to those teeth in the middle. They look like crab claws to me. How do you think this poor thing got hundreds of feet up this mountain side, about 25 miles away from the ocean?

Another Episode of "Freezin' Cool Antarctic Facts In 60 Seconds". Title of this episode: Sublimation

Details
Author
Kevin Dickerson
Date
Location
Seal Mummy on mountain above Lake Fryxell Camp
Expedition
Dry Valleys Ecosystem Study
Weather Summary
Cloudy, windy, with blowing snow.
Temperature
Low 20's
Wind Speed
20's
Wind Chill
Low teens

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Comments

Tue, 01/15/2019 - 17:45

9th grade student

Is there a way that you can check how long the seals have been there?

Tue, 01/15/2019 - 20:37

Kevin Dickerson

Hi. That is a complicated thing. Highly discussed among scientists here also. Some scientists say they could be up into the "thousands" of years old. Most agree at least "hundreds". Carbon dating is used, but the tricky thing about that is that the carbon is "recycled" carbon in many of the Antarctic ecosystems here, so it's still seems to be a little controversial. I don't think a day has gone by where I have not bumped into another seal mummy. That sounds like a great thing I should do a video lesson on. Thanks.

Tue, 01/22/2019 - 18:38

Ryatt

Were you expecting to find any mummy seals, or were you informed of any possibility of seeing mummified creatures beforehand? Are there any bacteria that eat away at the mummies, or is it solely the elements that are taking away their fur and flesh? Also, were you hiking alone, and does that go over well, as in that's allowed?

Tue, 01/22/2019 - 22:23

Kevin Dickerson

Great questions Ryatt. I just turned around here in the lab and asked Dr. Jeb Barratt who has even written proposals to do that exact study. The current answer according to Dr. Barratt is that no one knows for sure about the bacteria associated with these decomposing seals. That would be a great discovery for you to make in a few years when you get to college.

Tue, 01/22/2019 - 22:26

Kevin Dickerson

Related to your hiking question, yes, I have found several seal mummies while hiking "alone". I put that in quotes because whenever we leave our camp huts, we all carry radios. We give an estimated time of return, or when we will at least check-in, and the location we are hiking to. We really watch out for each other here.