Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 12/01/2009 - 09:12
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Antarctic Undersea ROV 09

Hello I am Taylor Swarthout from Mr.Colunio's sciences class over at Corning Free Academy.I was wondering why you guys go up there and explore underneath the ice.i know it is a reallycool experiment to be able to go up there and work with real scientist.Do you guys do that alll day or do you have some free time to do other things.Are yuo able to call your family when you miss them or get homesick? Do you sleep well, because you said it was light up there and it stays light all 24 hours.It was be reallly cool exploring the ice and seeing all the magnifican creatures under the ice. Also has Skinny brok,er yet from going to fart down under the ice? I can't believce it can go down 1,000 feet below the ice thats a lot. I hope you can come back and teach us more about your cool apportunity you have.I am really into this kind of stuff now. I always wanted to know what it was like underneath the ice in antartica. I hope you have fun and be home before Christmas. I know your days are a day ahead of ours thats so cool on how that works. HAVE FUN!!!!!

Tue, 12/01/2009 - 19:39

Michele Cross

Hey Taylor!
You sound pretty excited!! I love it!! Dr. Kim has always wondered what lives on the floor under the ice in Antarctica, but before SCINI, there was no way to get there to see. Yes, we work all day up to 14-15 hours), every day (yes, that means weekends), so I don't have much time to do other things. I still hope to be able to make it out to Scott Base (Kiwi base), get a tour of Discovery Hut, hike to the top of Observation Hill and perhaps go out to the pressure ridge by Scott Base. Let's hope! 
I try to call my mom and dad at least once week. I even called them from the satellite phone in the field. Can you believe that my dad didn't recognize my voice?!?! LOL!! It's OK because I know our voices sound funny over the satellite phone. I've also spoken with my brother, niece and nephew and a few friends. Even though I love it here, it sometimes helps to hear their voices as I miss them all...and my cats, too!!
Sleep...because I have an inside room, I have no windows so that makes it seem like nighttime. There are 5 of us in the room so that can be a problem when we all work different hours. I slept pretty well in the field but had to use my neck gaiter as an eye mask. I am tired though...some nights I sleep better than others.
SCINI has had a couple of minor things happen like the tether off the back of her flooding and getting moisture in the LED lights on the bottom. Her one camera wasn't "talking" yesterday but that was because of a loose connection. All in all, she's been pretty reliable! (Are you guys joining our webinar next Tuesday at 2 pm???)
I'd love to come back to CFA to do another presentation!! And, I'm so glad that you find this fascinating. Maybe one day I'll be reading your journals from down here and looking at your pictures. Now THAT would be cool!
 Mrs. Cross