Journal

Research Update

We just got back from Cape Bird on the north side of Ross Island where there are fewer human impacts, and therefore is a great control site for our sampling. We found out we were going this morning and soon were flying out in a helicopter over the island.

A View of the Island

If I didn't realize I was in Antarctica yet, I do now. The helicopter ride to Cape Bird was only 18 minutes long, but we were able to see just how much ice is covering our little island.

Clouds up Mt. Erebus
Clouds roll up Mt. Erebus as we travel towards Cape Bird on a helicopter.

Clouds rolled up the ice as we passed by Mt. Erebus. Looking out against the vast white expanse, I was overcome by its beauty.

Sediment Scooping Time

Once we were at Cape Bird, we climbed up, away from the penguin rookery to collect sediment for our control samples. A control is something you can compare your variables to. There have not been any major spills or human impacts at Cape Bird, so it makes for a great sampling location.

Research team and control site
From left to right, Steve Sweet, Terry Palmer, Andrew Klein and Carl Green hike up the hill to take sediment samples at a control site.

Critical Thinking

Why would we collect sediments away from the penguin rookery (where penguins can be found) and instead climb up a hill to get our samples?

Find the Site, Collect the Sample

To collect our samples, Carl uses a GPSA Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system used to track the location or position of objects on the Earth’s surface. with pre-programmed locations in them. Once he identifies the site, Steve marks a square meter area and photographs it. Then Terry, Andrew and I measure the how deep it is to the unfrozen layer of sediment, the slope and collect sediment into a jar.

Carl Green, Steve Sweet and Andrew Klein collect control site samples
Carl Green, left, finds sampling sites, Steve Sweet, middle, photographs and collects data and Andrew Klein, right, collects sediment samples.

Penguin Time

Once we finished collecting our samples, we had enough time to enjoy the scenery. There were thousands of Adelie Penguins at the rookery.

Two Adelie penguins
Two Adelie Penguins relax in front of their rookery.

At the edge of the rookery was the end of a glacier. We decided to take a group photo with our matching B518 T-Shirts in front of the rookery and glacier!

Team B518
Team B518 poses by penguins and a glacier with matching shirts. From left to right: Terry Palmer, Carl Green, Michelle Brown, Steve Sweet and Andrew Klein.

Two Adelies
Two Adelie Penguins stand at the coast of Cape Bird.
It was fascinating to watch individual penguins and how they interacted in a colony. Some tried to steal rocks from others' nests, only to get bickered at. One mate carefully built a nest around a partner lying among rocks. I could have watched the penguins for a very long time!

Michelle Brown and Adelie
Michelle Brown poses in front of an Adelie Penguin as she waits for the helicopter.

Brought to you by...

Today's journal is brought to you by Mrs. Reneau's class at Flour Bluff Elementary School.

Brought to you by Mrs. Reneau's class.
Today's journal was brought to you by Mrs. Reneau's class at Flour Bluff ISD.

Details
Author
Michelle Brown
Date
Location
Cape Bird, Ross Island, Antarctica
Expedition
Human Impacts in Antarctica 2015
Weather Summary
Sunny
Temperature
10 F
Wind Speed
9 knots
Wind Chill
-3 F

View Comments

Comments

Tue, 11/17/2015 - 16:08

Olivia

Did the penguins do anything else that was unique or surprising to see?

Wed, 11/18/2015 - 00:24

Michelle Brown

status: 1Hi Olivia,
I'm so glad you asked this--I've been meaning to post a video of the
penguins to show just how interesting they are to watch! They do all sorts
of interesting things--they steal pebbles from each others' nests and then
squabble at each other, mates help build the nests, they eat snow, and make
loud calls to each other!

Mon, 11/30/2015 - 15:26

Michelle Brown

Hello Ibrahim,
I heard back from Terry regarding your question about sediment and organisms (question 3). Here is what Terry, the benthic ecologist on our team, said:

Many of the creatures that are affected the most are ones stuck in place on the sea floor that can’t get away. Many small crustaceans, clams, and worms fit into this category. In McMurdo, sponges don’t like sediment pollution because it smothers it.

Thank you for asking such a great question!

Wed, 11/18/2015 - 12:22

Ibrahim

Hey team! I have several questions to ask listed below. 1. What is it that your team is hoping to find or accomplish by analyzing these sediment samples?
2. What is an ideal location to gather sediment samples and why?
3.Which Antarctic creatures are most affected by sediment pollution?

Wed, 11/18/2015 - 14:34

Susan

How can you tell where there are small human impacts vs large ones and what are varying effects human impact has on Cape Bird?

Thu, 11/19/2015 - 00:25

Michelle Brown

status: 1Hi Susan,
Thank you for such thoughtful questions! We can tell whether human impact
is small or large based on the amount of pollutants in the sediment sample.
We take samples from different locations in and around McMurdo Station, as
well as at control sites. Some locations have a higher level of pollutants
(trace metals, hydrocarbons, etc.) than others which indicate to us that
there is a larger human impact. Cape Bird is not often visited by humans,
so the impact of the area on humans is less. There is a helicopter landing
area and a shelter there, so there is some level of human impact, but since
people do not visit there often, it is much lower than in McMurdo Station,
where there are around 1000 people living and working in the summer.

Thu, 11/19/2015 - 00:25

Michelle Brown

status: 1Hi Ibrahim,
You have really great questions--thank you! Here are my responses:
1. Our team is hoping to better understand the level of human impact in
various locations in and around McMurdo Station by collecting the sediment
samples here. This is part of a long-term research project, so we are
looking for trends in pollutants over time.
2. Ideal locations to gather sediment samples are in places where there is
a lot of human activity--for example, near roads, fuel tanks, the
helicopter pad, and past areas of contamination like Winter Quarters Bay.
Also, we need to take samples in areas that are not heavily used, such as
Arrival Heights and control sites like Cape Bird. That way we can compare
the two and make sure we understand what our data is telling us.
3. Your third question is a great (and important) one! Let me ask Terry,
our benthic ecologist, that question and get back to you!

Fri, 11/20/2015 - 05:02

Theo springs s…

i have 2 questions : if you put 2 polar bears in the south pole what would happen. 2nd question : what would happen if a polar bear and a penguin mated what would it look like

Fri, 11/20/2015 - 05:02

Corrina Spring…

What type of penguins are you hoping to see?
Ps.Can you send pictures of the springs school period 1 penguins. Including mine. I would appreciate it.

Fri, 11/20/2015 - 05:03

Tifany Springs…

Do penguins always stay together?

Fri, 11/20/2015 - 05:03

Nichole Spring…

Did you get any Springs School penguins?

Which penguin did like to see the most?

Sat, 11/21/2015 - 03:32

Michelle Brown

status: 1Dear Nichole,
Yes! I have gotten every single penguin from the Springs Schools and have
taken photographs of them too! Hopefully you'll see one posted on a journal
soon, but I'll also be sure to email them to your teacher when I have
adequate internet!

Sat, 11/21/2015 - 03:32

Michelle Brown

status: 1Hi Tifany,
This is a great question--I'll try to answer as best as I can. From what I
have observed, the answer is no. Although penguins seem to stay together
most of the time in a rookery (a penguin colony), I have seen penguins
wander away to go swim on their own. Parents take turns sitting on a nest
for up to 12 days at a time. While one sits on the nest, the other one
feeds in the ocean!

Sat, 11/21/2015 - 03:32

Michelle Brown

status: 1Hi Corrina!
I would love to see Emperor Penguins, although I haven't yet. I was able to
see Adelie Penguins, which was very fun. Yes! I'll send pictures of your
penguins here in McMurdo Station! The internet is slow here, but I will do
it soon!

Sun, 11/22/2015 - 00:34

Michelle Brown

status: 1Dear Theo,
You have very creative questions! I do not know what would happen if you
put two polar bears in the South Pole, but my guess is they would not
survive for very long--Polar Bears eat fish and other animals, and there is
no wildlife at the South Pole, only miles of ice. They might get into some
of the food we leave out at the South Pole though (which is left out since
there is nothing that can eat it!) In regards to a Polar Bear and Penguin
mating, it would not work out. Animals can only successfully mate if they
have the same number of chromosomes. When an animal reproduces, half of its
genes come from one parent and the other half comes from the other parent.
The genes then pair up and become our blueprints. Polar Bears and Penguins
have different numbers of chromosomes, so they would never be able to
successfully mate.

Thu, 12/03/2015 - 10:40

Zoe Currall

The landscape is so beautiful! But I shouldn't leave out the penguins! : > Penguins are CUTE! Plus there are a lot of them!

Tue, 11/24/2015 - 04:39

Corrina Spring…

Thank you were do you think you could find emperor penguins. My whole class is excited to see our penguins!!

Tue, 11/24/2015 - 04:39

Corrina Spring…

Thank you were do you think you could find emperor penguins. My whole class is excited to see our penguins!!

Tue, 11/24/2015 - 04:39

Nichole Spring…

Thank you for answering my question and have you ever seen a penguin hatching out of its egg?

Tue, 11/24/2015 - 04:40

Nichole Spring…

Thank you for answering my question and have you ever seen a penguin hatching out of its egg?

Thu, 12/03/2015 - 15:06

Michelle Brown

status: 1I agree Zoe! It sounds like you appreciate Antarctica.. you should consider
a degree in polar science one day!

Tue, 11/24/2015 - 04:43

Tifany Springs…

Thank you for answering my question.

Tue, 11/24/2015 - 04:47

Nichole Spring…

What was the animal that you enjoyed looking at the most?

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 07:42

Laura Leaman

Did your team see any of the penguins during the dive? Did you see any in the ob tube?

Sat, 11/14/2015 - 21:14

Michelle Brown

Dear Laura,Great question! Although we did see Adelie penguins at Cape Bird, we were not in the water--we saw them from land. We have not seen any penguins during the dives (I do not dive, but our benthic ecologist, Terry, does, and he has not seen any penguins where he dives.) I also haven't seen any penguins in the ob tube. The ob tube is located close to McMurdo Station. The penguin colonies are farther away. Although, there have been reports of seeing Emperor Penguins by the runway where planes take off!

Mon, 11/16/2015 - 05:28

Amelia L

What types of penguins have you seen

Mon, 11/16/2015 - 11:35

Samuel M.

What type of peguins did you and your team encounter on Cape Bird.

Wed, 11/25/2015 - 23:45

Michelle Brown

status: 1I'm happy you are excited to see your penguins--I'll be sure to ship them
to you once I get back! I heard there are some Emperor Penguins near the
ice runway. There are others along different areas of the coast, but I
haven't seen them yet.

Wed, 11/25/2015 - 23:45

Michelle Brown

status: 1Dear Nichole,
I have not seen a penguin hatching out of its egg. Right now the Adelies
have just started laying eggs. Their chicks won't hatch until December. I
love looking at all the animals, although I feel as though I could sit and
watch Adelie penguins squak at each other forever!

Mon, 11/16/2015 - 18:19

Michelle Brown

status: 1Hi Amelia,
I have only seen Adelie Penguins here. Apparently there are Emperor
Penguins around too, but I have yet to see any!

Mon, 11/16/2015 - 19:19

Michelle Brown

status: 1Hi Samuel,
We saw Adelie Penguins at Cape Bird! Thanks for asking!

Thu, 11/26/2015 - 11:17

Michelle Brown

Hi Nichole--it is my pleasure to answer your question! No, I haven't seen a penguin hatching out of its egg.. this usually happens in December and by that time we are done with our sediment samples.

Thu, 11/26/2015 - 11:19

Michelle Brown

Hi Nichole,Hmm.. this is a difficult question as I love looking at all the organisms here. I would say that sitting and watching Adelie Penguins interact is something I could do all day long!