Journal

Late Night Hike

Last night was going to be my only night in the field in Antarctica so I stayed up late and took a hike along the shore of Lake Hoare to the Seuss GlacierA mass of ice that persists for many years and notably deforms and flows under the influence of gravity.. It was a beautiful walk and an impressive glacier. I returned to camp early this morning and only had a short night's sleep but it was totally worth it.

Seuss Glacier and Lake Hoare
The Seuss glacier comes off of the Asgard Mountains at the west end of Lake Hoare.

Canceled Flight

When I woke up this morning I found out that the weather in McMurdo had reached Condition 2 and there would be no flights today. That means we get to spend a second night at Lake Hoare. We need to get back to the lab to process samples but I am happy to spend another night here at Lake Hoare. Canceled flights and shifting schedules are just part of the normal routine here in Antarctica. We are completely at the mercy of the weather.

Tent at Lake Hoare Camp
My tent at Lake Hoare Camp. A great view to wake up to.

Seuss and the Defile

With the extra time at Lake Hoare we decided to take a hike up to some large ventifacts. Ventifacts are stones that have been shaped and eroded by wind and windblown sand. We took the same route I walked last night but we continued past the Seuss glacier through the Defile which is narrow gap between the end of the glacier and the talus slope on the other side.

Wormherders at the Defile
Josh Heward, Andy Thompson, Scott George and Byron Adams stand in the Defile. The Defile is the gap between the Seuss glacier and the mountains to the south.

Penguins and Seals in the Dry Valleys

While on the trail we found a freshly dead Adelie penguin, some additional penguin bones, and two seal mummies. Some of the penguins and seals that mistakenly wander up into the dry valleys don't make it back out. This penguin became food for a South Polar Skua that has been picking at the frozen carcass. We found feathers scattered along the shore of the lake leading up to the dead penguin. It is possible that the skua chased the penguin and hastened its death.

The seal mummies are sometimes thousands of years old. The two seals we found today were both in the lake; one of the seals was partially in and the other was completely submerged. The dead bodies of the seals act like fertilizer in the water allowing organisms to live and grow in the area right around the carcass. There were visible algal blooms in the area right around the seals.

Microorganism Bloom in Lake Hoare
The dead seal on the edge of Lake Hoare provides needed nutrients for microorganisms. The red lines in the water are the result of huge numbers of microorganisms growing in stream channels. The microorganisms are supported by the nutrients washing into the water from the seal.

Ventifacts

The ventifacts are about 500 meters above the Defile. A steep climb up the slope and we reached a big basin with several huge boulders scattered around. These granite boulders have been sandblasted by the wind into unusual shapes. The rocks stood as monuments to the strong winds of Antarctica. It was cold and windy in the basin with the ventifact so it felt nice to descend back down the slope and return to the shore of Lake Hoare where the winds were a little more calm.

Climbing to the Ventifacts
The team climbs the talus slope towards the ventifacts.

Ventifact in Taylor Valley
The team on a large ventifact in Taylor Valley. This boulder has been wildly shaped by the wind.

The hike to the ventifacts and back was about 7.5 hours, we returned just in time for an amazing lasagna dinner prepared by the camp managers Rae Spain and Renee Noffke. After dinner and cleanup we played a couple of games and then everyone headed off to bed. What a great place to be stuck with a weather delay.

Seuss Glacier
Josh Heward stands at the terminus of the Seuss glacier.

Details
Author
Joshua Heward
Date
Expedition
Tough Tardigrades
Weather Summary
Cloudy and windy
Temperature
2 C / 35 F
Wind Speed
10 Knots

View Comments

Comments

Sat, 01/14/2017 - 06:22

Gary Raham

Josh,I'm a science writer for the North Forty News in Wellington, CO. I've enjoyed scanning your blog and intend writing a short article for the February paper about the work of MCM LTER in Antarctica. How did you initially get interested in the project?

Sat, 01/14/2017 - 15:31

Susan Steiner

Hi Josh! I have been following your journals and sharing them with my AP Enviro Science class.. We are big fans of tardigrades!Say hello to Rae, she was working helo logistics at Toolik when I was there in 2012, I loved hunting for bird's nests with her!
That ventifact is wonderful. I especially love the picture of the giant landscape as you all climbed toward the ventifacts. Keep up the great journals!

Sat, 01/14/2017 - 20:56

Mari Heward

These pictures are amazing! That boulder is something else. Wow.

Mon, 01/16/2017 - 15:43

Joshua Heward

Hi Gary,I had worked previously with one of the principal investigators on this project, Byron Adams. A few years ago I helped him on a project surveying the biodiversity of tardigrades across the LTER network in North America. I first learned about PolarTREC and became interested in the MCM LTER at that time. I am a big fan of long term research activities and think it is the best way to do ecological research. I enjoy my involvement in programs like PolarTREC because it allows me to find ways to better incorporate current research into my teaching and design learning activities that are authentic for my students.

Mon, 01/16/2017 - 15:52

Joshua Heward

Hi Susan,Rae is the best, I will say hello for you. It is neat to see the effects of aeolian transport firsthand with these large ventifacts. Antarctica is full of giant landscapes. It is an amazing place.