20 December 2012 Trip Of A Lifetime

As my Antarctica adventure draws to an end, I'm left not only with sadness that the experience has concluded, but also an ememces amount of gratitude. Through the efforts of the PolarTREC organization and Dr. Samantha Hansen, my experiences superseded that of my childhood imagination. Not only was I able to participate first hand in seismological research, I was able to experience the culture of the most unexplored continent.

When we first arrived at McMurdo base I was surprised at the grandeur. I didn't expect to be living with roughly 200 of the world’s top scientists and 800 critical support staff members. The individuals I met during my stay were friendly, helpful and inquisitive. Like at home, dinner conversations often surrounded the day's work. It was fascinating to hear the marine biologists, glacialoloigist, climatologists and geologists speak of the newest discoveries. In addition, I also found it interesting to see how technologically advanced the base was. Not only did McMurdo have the most advanced scientific machinery, but also had the Internet and flat screen TV's!

Due to whether complications, sometimes we were left at the base with free time. I was surprised to find a Frisbee golf course on campus. Knowing I would be traveling to New Zealand after my research, I had brought my discs with me. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would have the opportunities to engage in one of my favorite activities in the most remote part of the world. During another day off, I was able to visit Scott's Discovery Hut. This was fascinating to me to see first hand the preserved hut and its contents of one of the continents first explorers.

Not all of the time spent in Antarctica was filed with leisure activities. The opportunity to install seismographs in the Trans Antarctic mountain range was spectacular as my learning experiences were constant. I found it intriguing to learn about the intricacies of the newest digital seismometers, in comparison to the analog ones of yesteryear. While in the field, I was able to experience temperatures recorded as low as -83. When people hear that I was exposed to temperatures that frigid, they often ask if I could feel the difference between temperatures such as -20, -50 and -83. I respond by telling them, that to the skin, cold was cold, however what was effected were my lungs. One extreme instance was when the helicopter was dropping our equipment and the blades created a snow cloud. Instantly, I felt as if the wind was knocked out of me. I had to calm myself and take shallow breaths, as it felt like my lungs were instantly freezing. Being from Michigan, I am used to cold whether, however the temperatures I experienced in Antarctica were ones that I will remember forever. One aspect of work that never got tiring was the helicopter flights to the most remote yet beautiful sights. I had never flown in a helicopter before, let alone through the most unexplored region in the world. The views from the helicopter and the ability to get to close to mountains truly amplified my experience.

The pinnacle of my experience took part on the way back from installing a seismometer when our helicopter pilot took us to a penguin rookery. He was able to land, and when we exited we were greeted by two ambassador penguins that allowed us to follow them into the rookery. Never having seen penguins in the wild, this opportunity was tantalizing. Approximately 10,000 penguins and their babies surrounded me. Luckily, I was able to capture this National Geographic like experience on video to share with others and to enjoy over and over again. Although this experience was not within the scope of my research, it will be my most cherished memory from this adventure.

For the individuals and my students that were following my journey, I truly hope my PolarTREC video journals were able to capture the splendor and scientific nature of my experiences. It has been a long awaited dream for me to visit Antarctica and I hope that my journey has inspired my students, the future scientists, to work towards their goals.