4 February 2019 The Wormherders Fly High, Maybe To The Edge Of Life

Journal

Me at University Valley — Here is a photo taken by Dr. Adams of me in the highest and coldest of the Dry Valleys...University Valley. We collected soil samples wondering if we would find any life living in this extreme, harsh environment.

The one thing I have learned for sure about Antarctica, is that nothing is for sure. Our team had great plans today to get to Miers Valley to conduct our field science. This trip was on the schedule for last week while we were stranded for three days at F6 site. We arrived at the heliport to be informed that the winds were ripping fast at Miers and getting there with the helicopter was not possible. No problem, this is Antarctica. Plan B was for us to get to University Valley. It is a rarely visited place. It is one of the highest sites before getting on top of the Antarctic plateau. Dr. Adams and myself made the flight up there. It required about 90 minutes of flight time and a refuel at Marble Point. Just prior to landing, our pilot told us that the outside temperature was -16. Dr. Adams and I promptly popped our handwarmers and put them in our gloves. We had about one hour to collect our samples before the helicopter needed to leave. This was not a place to be stranded. We worked quickly.

Dr. Adams is collecting samples up here to answer the question of where is the extreme where life can exist here in Antarctica. He has other fellow scientists who are doing work with NASA and studying the possibility of life on Mars. I can see many similarities between life in University Valley and Mars. We will take our samples back to McMurdo to look for life. Stay tuned.

Adams, me, heli in University — Dr. Adams and myself in University Valley.

Dr. Adams flying — Dr. Adams buckled in as we climb into one of the highest and harshest of the Dry Valleys of Antarctica...University Valley.

A stop at Marble Point to refuel would be necessary due to the remoteness of University Valley.

Pilot — The pilot of our Bell 212 did a great job getting us up into the high, cold valley where we would sample.

We only have a short distance to climb from this location to reach University Valley.

Hurry to collect — There were two reasons why we needed to hurry to get our soil samples. First, the helicopter needed to leave soon. Second, it was so cold.

Cracking permafrost — Dr. Adams using a rock hammer with a sludge hammer to break the permafrost so a sample could be taken. Will life be found in this soil that has been frozen for maybe thousands of years?

Here is a 360° view of University Valley.

After we collected our samples, we hopped back into our helicopter and headed back down Taylor Valley. We landed at a site I have already discussed. This was the upper lobe of Lake Bonney. This was one of the experiments where nutrients were being added to the soil to test the reactions to the known life in the soil. We had treated that soil about two weeks ago. You can read about it in a past journal. It's the one where Topper also shows you how to prevent hypothermia. Matt Heddin has now returned, after this two-week waiting period, and is now ready to test the response to life in the soil. Check out Matt's cool video where he shows a tool he uses to suck air from the soil to measure how life is doing down there:

Rock — The rocks up here were some of the strangest I have seen yet. The wind does some great sculpting around here.

LIVE FROM ANTARCTICA

Join PolarTREC for a live event from McMurdo Station, Antarctica. The event will be held on Wednesday, 6 February 2019 with teacher Kevin Dickerson and the 2019 Dry Valleys EcosystemAn ecological community together with its environment, functioning as a unit. Study Team (the Wormherders). The one hour event starts at 11:30am Alaska Savings Time (12:30pm PST, 1:30pm MST, 2:30pm CST, 3:30pm EST). The event is free. Register here.

Details