Sif Island
The ice in Antarctica is melting. There were multiple stories in the news yesterday about ponds forming in the land ice- thanks to Emily and Pedro via Alex for the links to the stories in…
Bio Sonar
In 1977, it snowed in Miami, Elvis died, scientists used bacteria in a lab to make insulin via gene cloning, Apple II computers and Atari systems went on sale, I turned 2, and the first…
Take a close look at the diagram below, which was produced by the British Antarctic Survey to show how a multibeam works. This is the primary tool we use on the ship to collect information about the…
Topography of the Seafloor
Prior to my participation in this expedition, I can't say that I had ever thought about bathymetry, or the study of the shape of the seafloor. While land topography, with…
Brittle Star
For someone who is a biologist at heart, there hasn’t been a lot of life to study onboard this ship. I’ve learned a lot about sediment and the ways it is collected and processed, and I’…
Ice Rafted Debris
By far, the best place on the ship to work is the aft control room. It offers eight large windows that look out over the water so you can watch the ice or keep your eye on the…
Ch-Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
There are many challenges that present themselves when scientists are thinking about exploring Thwaites - both when you study the glacier from the land-side and when you approach…
Seals Part III - The Weddells
The Weddell seals we encountered on our seal-tagging expedition were smaller, longer-haired, and far cuter than the southern elephant seals. Two of these…
With a Little Help From the Seals Part II
It isn't easy to restrain a southern elephant seal. They are by far the largest carnivore on the planet - males are more than six times bigger than a polar…
With a Little Help from the Seals
While the Thwaites Offshore Research (THOR) project is focused on seafloor mapping at the edge of the glacier, there are seven other teams of scientists exploring…
Our amazing cooks made us this great big cake for Valentine's Day.
Santi Munevar cuts a piece of the Valentine's Day cake made by the cooks on the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer icebreaker
Glaciers 101
I am down here as a participant in the Thwaites Offshore Research, or THOR, project. THOR scientists are investigating drivers of glacier, ocean, and climate change using information…