Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 02/07/2014 - 13:50

Hello! I'm writing to congratulate you on such an amazing opportunity, and to ask a few questions, if I may :)

For one thing, I'm curious about safety procedures. What specific safety procedures do you need to follow in weather that is so cold, especially given both your greater goals and your goals on a day-to-day basis? (It's pretty cold here, but it looks way colder there!)

Also, I'm curious to know if you've found anything that you weren't expecting yet - anything at all, whether concerning the weather, the marine life and other wildlife, your research findings, etc.

Good luck! I look forward to hearing your response (as well as continuing to follow the website!)

Best wishes (and hoping you have lots of hot cocoa handy,)

Madison S.

Glenn Clark

Hi Madison. Thanks for the questions. I have been told it is cold andsnowy in NNY. It is actually not much colder hear so far, with the
exception of the wind. We have excellent cold weather gear however. We
have scheduled and unscheduled drills to prepare for the worst. All must
assemble I the "muster room" with appropriate gear and a ditch bag. In
terms of wildlife the penguins (mainly Adelie) and crabeater seals were
common place during our ice crossing. We have seen 1 leopard seal, 4
humpbacks, orcas and some minke whales. It is early in the cruise
however and the MMO is excited about what we may see as we will be
heading to uncharted regions. We did a few biological dredges for coral
and a few plankton samples. (see photos)Presently the specimens are
being processed. The PI's for biology are excited and have seen some
things they have NEVER seen before ,which makes it interesting! Hope
these answers help. I will be doing some journals on the specimens later
in the voyage. The coffee is hot and the food is great!Keep the
questions coming. My daughter will be an incoming freshman at SLU next
year!