Natasja's Blog

• 05 Apr 2019 » Final blog

  Goodbye Antarctica: The rays of the morning sun saluted us as we departed Palmer Station. Already, I reminisced about my time at Palmer and how much I will miss it. For many of you who followed my blog regularly you...

• 04 Apr 2019 » Day one hundred twenty two

  Worries: It is because of the rapid warming rates here that the glacier behind Palmer Station has been receding so fast (see day 31). Thus, thanks to climate change I was able to work on a project studying climate change...

• 03 Apr 2019 » Day one hundred twenty one

  Fall has arrived: Fall is definitely here, bringing powdery snow and high winds. Yesterday I hiked up the glacier during a beautiful, calm, morning. There were no needs for spikes on the shoes as the fresh snow snowlayer provided a...

• 02 Apr 2019 » Day one hundred twenty

  Power on station: Palmer Station is powered by fuel. Yesterday I helped with the fuel transfer. But what kind of fuel is it? This station uses low-sulfur diesel. This type of fuel is less polluting than the high-sulfur type (e.g....

• 01 Apr 2019 » Day one hundred nineteen

  Fuel transfer - from ship to station: Today we transferred about 50,000 gallons of fuel from the ship to the station. Now the winterovers have enough fuel to last them through winter. Another fuel transfer will happen around October when...

• 31 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred eighteen

  Nature - Nothing is wasted: Antarctica is beautiful, but it is not an easy life for plants and animals. Penguins and seals have to watch for predators, such as the leopard seal.

• 30 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred seventeen

  Donna Patterson-Fraser and her giant petrel research: Donna’s study is the only long-term study of southern giant petrels. As the bird name implies it is a large bird. In fact, it is the largest bird in Antarctica, with a 6-foot...

• 29 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred sixteen

  Turnover: Turnover has started. The Gould has arrived with the winterovers (see also day 75), while we will soon depart Palmer Station. On Tuesday the exchange will happen: most of us who have been on station this summer will move...

• 28 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred fifteen

  The noble Sheathbill: There are many sheathbills that call Palmer Station home. They have truly made themselves home here - in fact, they may pass right by you on the boardwalk, or keep Kelly and me company as we are...

• 27 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred fourteen

  Facilities, Engineering, Maintenance and Construction: Palmer Station would not be able to operate without a dedicated crew of people who take care of the station. They are the Facilities, Engineering, Maintenance and Construction (FEMC) group. The station was built in...

• 26 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred thirteen

  Nitrogen fixation: How can ecosystems become more fertile? By the process of nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen fixation is a way by which atmospheric nitrogen (about 78% of the atmosphere is nitrogen) is converted into fertilizer by microbes! We humans figured out...

• 25 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred twelve

  Sun halo: Two days ago we enjoyed the scenery from zodiac, the beauty of the landscape enhanced by a circular halo around the sun. These halos are created because of sunlight interacting with tiny ice crystals in clouds at high...

• 24 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred eleven

  Shipwreck: Thirty years ago, on January 28, 1989, the ship the Bahia Paraiso ran aground near Palmer Station, with a 10 m tear in its hull. This year on January 28, commemorating the disaster, we watched footage of the event....

• 23 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred ten

  Moonlit landscape: The beauty of this place is simply astounding. Last night the moon rose over the glacier, bathing Arthur Harbour and the snow-covered landscape in a silvery glow.

• 22 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred nine

  Field season finale: Alas, the field season has come to an end. Snow is falling and is here to stay. It has been snowing a lot over the last few days. We found a break in the weather today, which...

• 21 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred eight

  A valiant final attempt: Another beautiful sunrise this morning, with some breaks in the clouds in the sky (despite my weather app prediction). This motivated me to go to Litchfield today for final carbon flux measurements and the take-down of...

• 20 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred seven

  A major challenge: One of the main challenges of working in Antarctica is, surprisingly, not the cold. However, it is related to the weather. For a few days now my weather app has predicted that today would be a pretty...

• 19 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred six

  Laboratory: Today I would like to acknowledge the science support given by Carolyn and Randy. Carolyn is the instrument technician and Randy is the lab supervisor at Palmer Station. However, they do so much more!

• 18 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred five

  Rescue mission: We did a medical evacuation drill involving three teams: the Ocean Search and Rescue (OSAR), the Glacier Search and Rescue (GSAR) and the Trauma team.

• 17 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred four

  Hurricane winds: It had been a breezy day all day yesterday. The winds picked up even more in the evening. The weather station on my radio reported the following (see especially the last sentence):

• 16 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred three

  Gould departed on Pi day: Two days ago when we watched Christina Koch’s launch into space, we watched it with those who had recently arrived on the Gould (who had just finished a research cruise searching for whales). So, it...

• 15 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred two

  Seals around Palmer Station - Part IV: Today’s featured seals are of the Lobodontine tribe: the crabeater seal and the leopard seal. These two seal species share an interesting dental feature, their teeth are works of art!

• 14 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred one

  Pi day: It was a particularly exciting science day today and not just because it is March 14 or 3.14 (i.e., Pi day!). Christina Koch, a former research associate of Palmer Station, was a member of the three-person space team...

• 13 Mar 2019 » Day one hundred

  Highlights of Antarctica: Today is a special day - the one hundredth day of my field season. Therefore, I will share with you some of the highlights during my stay Antarctica. I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge...

• 12 Mar 2019 » Day ninety-nine

  The Gould returns: It is pretty impressive to watch a ship like the Gould reverse into position along the pier. The first thing to happen is to secure the ship with ropes attached to massive pillars on shore. The ship’s...

• 11 Mar 2019 » Day ninety-eight

  An adventurous day: Initially I was going to write more about the cool seals in the area. However, today we had an amazing time watching wildlife while in the field that I would rather share that with you in today’s...

• 10 Mar 2019 » Day ninety-seven

  Seals around Palmer Station - part III: The Antarctic Fur Seal is a very charismatic animal. In fact its latin name is Arctocephalus gazella, implying its grace in the water. Of all the seals around Palmer Station, these are the...

• 09 Mar 2019 » Day ninety-six

  Seals around Palmer Station - part II: There are gigantic seals around Palmer: the Southern Elephant seals. They are the next largest marine mammal after cetaceans (dolphins, whales and porpoises). The Southern Elephant seals are larger than their northern hemisphere...

• 08 Mar 2019 » Day ninety-five

  Seals around Palmer Station - part I: There are two types of seals in Antarctica: most of them are true seals (also called earless seals - note: they do have ears, but they are not visible) and there is only...

• 07 Mar 2019 » Day ninety-four

  Riggers: Meet Levi Littrel and Andy White - two professionals that build and maintain towers and antennae on station. They were trained to operate on tall structures, to look for weaknesses and ensure that the towers are in good condition....

• 06 Mar 2019 » Day ninety-three

  HMS Protector: Today a few of us visited the HMS Protector, a British Royal Navy ice patrol ship. Her mission is: “To provide a UK sovereign presence in the British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands and...

• 05 Mar 2019 » Day ninety-two

  Southern Giant Petrels: Large, graceful fliers in the Palmer area includes the Southern Giant Petrel. These beautiful birds are in the “tubenose” order, the Procellariiformes. The tubes on the top of the beak help the seabirds excrete salts - an...

• 04 Mar 2019 » Day ninety-one

  Radio watch: Today I volunteered to do the radio watch. For safety reasons all boats communicate with Palmer Station regarding where they are leaving from and when they arrive at a destination. Additionally, all boats need to check in every...

• 03 Mar 2019 » Day ninety

  Antarctica: food for the soul A few days ago my aunt Annemieke passed away in her sleep. It was a shock to me. Although I had not known her very well, I had always admired Annemieke: her fierce independence and...

• 02 Mar 2019 » Day eighty-nine

  Photosynthesis: Photosynthesis is the process whereby plants use the energy from the light and make energy “bars” in the form of carbohydrates. Thus, plants are able to use solar energy and store it! They make these energy packets from CO2...

• 01 Mar 2019 » Day eighty-eight

  Glacier: The retreat of the glacier in the last 60 years or so has made my current research possible, because I am using the newly exposed soil in my experiment. What the glacier also makes possible is to have solitude....

• 28 Feb 2019 » Day eighty-seven

  Thwaites Glacier and climate change: In yesterday’s entry I discussed a medical emergency aboard the Antarctic research vessel the Nathaniel Palmer. This ship was at Thwaites Glacier conducting climate change research, a project that is a joint effort between US...

• 27 Feb 2019 » Day eighty-six

  Medical emergencies: Within the last two weeks a marine technician aboard the other Antarctic research vessel chartered by the National Science Foundation, the Nathaniel Palmer, had to be evacuated. The ship was near Thwaites Glacier (more about that research tomorrow)...

• 26 Feb 2019 » Day eighty-five

  The Unexpected - snowflakes and plants: Today we went on plant reconnaissance with Mike Burns. We went to hitherto unexplored islands (at least for Kelly and I) in the Palmer area. We wanted to learn more about the different kinds...

• 25 Feb 2019 » Day eighty-four

  Cute moss plugs: Our field warming experiment has been underway since early January. We have been measuring carbon fluxes in our plots. These fluxes are generated by the community of plants and microbes. To better understand who the major plant...

• 24 Feb 2019 » Day eighty-three

  Antarctic lichens - part II: There are about 300 to 400 lichen species in Antarctica. The western Antarctic Peninsula, where Palmer Station is located, has the highest number of lichen species on the Antarctic continent. That is because this area...

• 23 Feb 2019 » Day eighty-two

  Antarctic lichens - part I: A lichen is comprised of a community of microbes helping each other out - this process of working together is called symbiosis. Lichens are comprised of fungi and photosynthetic partners, such as cyanobacteria or algae....

• 22 Feb 2019 » Day eighty-one

  Antarctic midge: Meet Antarctica’s only insect, which is found nowhere else on the planet: the Antarctic midge - Belgica antarctica. This also makes it the world’s southernmost insect! And…. This midge has no wings……

• 21 Feb 2019 » Day eighty

  The unexpected: During the Lubbock elementary school Skype session one of the students asked me what my favorite thing was in Antarctica. I had mentioned it was not anything specific. It had more to do with surprises - you never...

• 20 Feb 2019 » Day seventy-nine

  Boating: Probably one of the best things to be in research: independent. Early on before we had boating training, we were shuttled between Litchfield Island and Palmer Station. So, we were always dependent on others. This is no longer the...

• 19 Feb 2019 » Day seventy-eight

  Flat Stanley: Flat Stanley is a character from a book that gets flattened by a bulletin board. Because he is as flat as a sheet of paper, he is able to travel all around the world. A week or so...

• 18 Feb 2019 » Day seventy-seven

  Marine Technicians: The marine technicians (MTs) at Palmer Station effectively enable science. They: Schedule who takes what zodiac, solas or RHIBs (Rigid Hull Inflatable Boats) Ensure all these boats are operating well Assist the researchers with ocean sampling They teach...

• 17 Feb 2019 » Day seventy-six

  Civilization: Recently a colleague asked me when I was returning to civilization. I knew he meant to a place with more internet. But it made me question the words returning to civilization.

• 16 Feb 2019 » Day seventy-five

  Winter-over at Palmer Station: Interestingly, the people at Palmer Station who stay here for the winter months are referred to as winter-overs. The act of staying here is called wintering over - and not overwinter. I was curious as to...

• 15 Feb 2019 » Day seventy-four

  Waste management - keeping Antarctica pristine: Let me introduce you to Rob and Nándor who are ensuring that waste at Palmer Station is processed properly. Rob deals, as he stated to me, with the “tail end of science”. Any hazardous...

• 14 Feb 2019 » Day seventy-three

  Multi-tasking: Today I want to feature the research of Marissa Goerke, a research associate at Palmer Station. Marissa’s office is in the Terra Lab. The Terra Lab is uphill from the remainder of Palmer Station, thereby providing for a wider...

• 13 Feb 2019 » Day seventy-two

  Of moss and more moss: Things are never easy! In the field we are dealing with communities of plants - not individual species. So, how to interpret the carbon fluxes from the field to the different plants? By collecting samples...

• 12 Feb 2019 » Day seventy-one

  Another great Skype session! It was an exciting day today! Through Skype I met many kids from Northridge Elementary in Lubbock, TX. Thanks to their teachers Joanne Grothusen and Whitney Sarinana, the kids had been reading my blog and following...

• 11 Feb 2019 » Day seventy

  Fraser’s Penguins: Penguins are fascinating! Palmer Station has long-term data on penguin populations. Back in the 1970s, Bill Fraser started to keep track of the numbers of Adélie penguins. These are the charismatic tuxedo penguins. At some point, new species...

• 10 Feb 2019 » Day sixty-nine

  Communication: Communication is key, not only for planning the fieldwork, but also for survival. While boating (including our trips to Litchfield Island) we always bring a radio and communicate to Palmer Station to let them know where you are, where...

• 09 Feb 2019 » Day sixty-eight

  Of moss and skuas: We collected small moss plugs for our experiment. Because Litchfield Island is an Antarctic specially protected area (ASPA), we are minimizing moss collections there. Instead, nearby islands have similar moss species, so we will collect many...

• 08 Feb 2019 » Day sixty-seven

  The moss chamber: We are measuring carbon fluxes in the field. The problem is: we do not know the contribution of various plants (and microbes) to those fluxes. To learn more about the individual plants, we will be taking measurements...

• 07 Feb 2019 » Day sixty-six

  Sample transport to Gould: Today was a busy day packing our samples. The Gould will carry our samples back to Punta Arenas. Alicia had many samples frozen at -80 oC, so far colder than a regular freezer at home (which...

• 06 Feb 2019 » Day sixty-five

  Gould arrived - perfect labwork day: The Laurence M. Gould research vessel arrived today. For the last 5 weeks or so this research vessel has helped scientists sample ocean water & marine phytoplankton (the ocean’s “plants”) and zooplankton (e.g. krill,...

• 05 Feb 2019 » Day sixty-four

  Halfway: Today marks the day halfway between when Kelly and I left Lubbock and when we will (or plan to) arrive back in Lubbock. Weirdly enough, even though we have seven more weeks of fieldwork, I start to feel the...

• 04 Feb 2019 » Day sixty-three

  Whales and krill (again!): We know whales here eat a lot of krill. They sometimes catch the krill using a technique called bubble-net feeding. In essence they create a curtain of bubbles in circular fashion and they trap the krill...

• 03 Feb 2019 » Day sixty-two

  More about whales and krill: So how do researchers find krill? This is an important question as they are such an important food source for pretty much anything larger than they are. Krill are found using bioacoustics. In essence they...

• 02 Feb 2019 » Day sixty-one

  A story of whales and krill: The last two weeks numerous humpback whales have been sighted near Palmer Station. On day 46 I mentioned that about 2 million of these majestic creatures had been killed. Humans can have such a...

• 01 Feb 2019 » Day sixty

  Skua-proofing: You may remember that on day 39 skuas had pulled out some of our incubation cores in the control plots. Skuas are very, very curious! More recently we installed colorful resin strips in the soil that help us determine...

• 31 Jan 2019 » Day fifty-nine

  Favorite site: Today we took carbon flux measurements on Litchfield Island. We measure how much CO2 the plants are taking up (through photosynthesis) and we measure how much CO2 is leaving the ecosystem (at least the ecosystem within the collar...

• 30 Jan 2019 » Day fifty-eight

  Cool fish: There are several research groups at Palmer Station. One of the groups is led by Dr. Debbie Steinberg from the College of William & Mary, Virginia Institute of Marine Science. They study the role of zooplankton in the...

• 29 Jan 2019 » Day fifty-seven

  Food at Palmer Station: A hearty thank you (pun intended!) to chef Francis and sous-chef Derrick for creating the culinary feasts on station. As you can see they are most serious about their work (no, seriously, they are!).

• 28 Jan 2019 » Day fifty-six

  Icebergs and icefloes: There are different kinds of ice floating in the waters surrounding Palmer station (more about land ice later). The largest ones are called icebergs. These beauties can be seriously huge. Where do they come from? These may...

• 27 Jan 2019 » Day fifty-five

  The receding glacier: The glacier behind Palmer Station has been receding about 10 meters per year on average (see day 51). The glacier covers most of Anvers Island. From Palmer Station we have nice view of the glacier across Arthur...

• 26 Jan 2019 » Day fifty-four

  Surrounded by wildlife: Today we went to Litchfield. The day started out great. First we were greeted by a friendly young female crabeater seal who had come ashore near the area where the zodiacs are launched into the water. We...

• 25 Jan 2019 » Day fifty-three

  Skyping with a school in Flagstaff: Today was particularly special. We skyped with the Sinagua Middle School in Flagstaff. The three of us, Kelly, Alicia and I, answered questions from students in 6th grade in Ms. Kathryn Wertz’s class. Kathryn...

• 24 Jan 2019 » Day fifty-two

  Antarctic peatbanks and climate change: Today I am featuring climate research using peatbank cores by Dr. Zicheng Yu from Lehigh University. Zicheng took the photos shown in today’s blog. His team also includes Zhengyu Xia (PhD student) and Dr. Dulcinea...

• 23 Jan 2019 » Day fifty-one

  Chronosequence: We implemented a warming experiment (using open-top chambers) along a chronosequence. A chronosequence is essentially a series of sites that have certain things in common, such as climate, parent material (e.g. in our case it is the glacial till...

• 22 Jan 2019 » Day fifty

  Do chambers raise temperatures? We just made a few observations today to see how the chambers are doing. We do continuously monitor soil temperatures at 2 cm depth in each plot, but these data have not been analyzed yet.

• 21 Jan 2019 » Day forty-nine

  Collecting field incubation samples: Alicia and Kelly collected a set of soil samples from the site closest to the glacier (thank you both for the photos!). These were soil samples that had remained in the soil for two weeks and...

• 20 Jan 2019 » Day forty-eight

  Palmer Station - part II: In part I yesterday I discussed amenities from the BIO building. Today I will give you a virtual tour of the other main building - the GWR building. GWR stands for Gym, Warehouse and Recreation....

• 19 Jan 2019 » Day forty-seven

  Palmer Station - part I: Palmer station is one of three US research stations in Antarctica. With the capacity to house up to 44 people, it is also the smallest station in Antarctica. Palmer is the only US station above...

• 18 Jan 2019 » Day forty-six

  Humpback whales: Today our group went aboard the cruiseship Zaandam to give presentations about the science on station. We had a great time and met many wonderful people.

• 17 Jan 2019 » Day forty-five

  Boat Operator Training: Today we continued our training, but this time on a Zodiac. The first part of the training was done ashore. We learned that our Zodiac has a 60 horsepower Yamaha engine. Zodiacs also consist of multiple air...

• 16 Jan 2019 » Day forty-four

  Competent Crew Training (and rescue!): There are many people at Palmer Station that volunteer to help with research. The marine ecosystem is what many researchers at Palmer Station focus on, so volunteers need to learn how to operate (or help...

• 15 Jan 2019 » Day forty-three

  Stepping back: It has been superbusy the last several weeks: finding sites, getting pre-treatment measurements, setting up the warming experiment, then more measurements, starting field and lab incubations, and so on. What I find though is that it has surprisingly...

• 14 Jan 2019 » Day forty-two

  Outreach! At Palmer Station we love what we do. In my case, it is my climate change research. One way to share my excitement about my research is by talking to students at schools in Lubbock, TX, and in Flagstaff,...

• 13 Jan 2019 » Day forty-one

  Rec boating: Recreational boating is a great way to explore the Palmer area. Rec boating occurs when people have some time off from work or research. So rec boating usually occurs in the evenings or on Sundays. And what a...

• 12 Jan 2019 » Day forty

  Plant productivity gradient: It may seem somewhat suprising that there are plants in Antarctica, so far south and far away from other continents.

• 11 Jan 2019 » Day thirty-nine

  Skua sabotage: It started out sunny and promising! We headed to Litchfield to check on our plots. Best commute in the world: beautiful blue skies, seals on ice floes and the breathtaking scenery (Thanks Dave and Carolyn for taking us...

• 10 Jan 2019 » Day thirty-eight

  Penguins: In the Palmer area the most common true Antarctic penguin species is the Adélie penguin. These handsome penguins are the focus of the book Fraser’s Penguins. Unfortunately, because of rapid warming on the Peninsula, the population size has plummeted...

• 09 Jan 2019 » Day thirty-seven

  Women in Science - Homeward Bound Program: Today we had the opportunity to come aboard a vessel that carries the participants of the Homeward Bound Program. There were 80 participants, all women the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and...

• 08 Jan 2019 » Day thirty-six

  Field incubation experiment completed! It was cold yesterday and again today. I wanted to toughen it out, but finally relented: I decided to mimic Kelly and Alicia and keep my hands warm in a creative way. There are three steps:...

• 07 Jan 2019 » Day thirty-five

  Litchfield incubation experiment: We set up the soil incubation experiment at Litchfield a similar way as we did for experimental plots in the backyard (see day 34). To get to Litchfield there is a short boat ride involved! We had...

• 06 Jan 2019 » Day thirty-four

  Alicia’s experiment: First, I would like to thank our Doc, Rich Harper, for spending his free day helping us. We worked about seven hours in the backyard today. It was really fun and he kept us entertained with many stories!...

• 05 Jan 2019 » Day thirty-three

  Leopard seals: A few days ago, on December 31, we had the rare opportunity to see not one, but two (!) leopard seals from our study site. These seals truly have perfected the art of dozing and relaxation, with the...

• 04 Jan 2019 » Day thirty-two

  Another team member: The research vessel that I had arrived on, the R/V Laurence Gould, brought a new team member: Alicia Purcell, a PhD student at the Center for Ecosystem Science and Society (Northern Arizona University). You can see Gentoo...

• 03 Jan 2019 » Day thirty-one

  The Marr Ice Piedmont glacier: The glacier that has retreated behind Palmer Station (located on Anvers Island) is called the Marr Ice Piedmont. Here I am standing on top of the glacier, with the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula behind...

• 02 Jan 2019 » Day thirty

  The Backyard area: Our main study site is the area between the Palmer Research Station and the glacier that has receded several hundred meters. It is known here as the “Backyard”.

• 01 Jan 2019 » Day twenty-nine

  Day two of pre-treatment measurements: We had some issues of condensation inside our small custom chamber. Condensation prevents some light from reaching the plants inside the chamber and so the plants do not photosynthesize as much. I learned today that...

• 31 Dec 2018 » Day twenty-eight

  Pre-treatment measurements: Today we made our very first set of carbon flux measurements. We placed a clear chamber onto the stainless steel collars that we had inserted into soil last week. This provides for a great seal - we do...

• 30 Dec 2018 » Day twenty-seven

  Mosses in Antarctica: Antarctica is a harsh but beautiful environment. Less than 1% of land in Antarctica is ice-free. Additionally, there are seasonal extremes in light conditions: from nearly sun all the time, to no sun at all! The photo...

• 29 Dec 2018 » Day twenty-six

  Palmer station: Palmer station is a United States research station on Anvers Island, just west of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was named after Nathaniel B. Palmer who was hunting seals and may have been the first American to see Antarctica...

• 28 Dec 2018 » Day twenty-five

  Plant productivity gradient completed: The day started out sunny and promising. We headed over to Litchfield Island to set up our fourth and final (highest plant productivity) site. This beautiful island requires a special permit, the Antarctic Conservation Act permit,...

• 27 Dec 2018 » Day twenty-four

  “Backyard” sites done: We had a very long day today. Most of the time was spent searching for suitable plots. Not too shallow, not too barren (some plants should be in there), not too rocky. Let alone that this whole...

• 26 Dec 2018 » Day twenty-three

  Mutual exchange of knowledge: Today was a great day - we had visitors from the RRS James Clark Ross. It is a marine research vessel of the British Antarctic Survey. Several people from the vessel visited Palmer Station and many...

• 25 Dec 2018 » Day twenty-two

  Christmas research: First, wishing you all a very merry Christmas or other Holiday that you are celebrating. Today was a merry day for us also. We would not be deterred today from finding a second suitable site. Armed with stainless...

• 24 Dec 2018 » Day twenty-one

  Christmas Eve: Today an art & craft group gathered to make gifts for the White Elephant gift exchange tomorrow. This means I was able to make a second drawing that I will add to the Christmas tree. This time I...

• 23 Dec 2018 » Day twenty

  Inclement weather: Alas, when the snow moved horizontal past my window I knew we would not be able to go outside. We still need to find two other two sites in the Palmer Backyard (as the deglaciated area behind Palmer...

• 22 Dec 2018 » Day nineteen

  Protocols written: It was a foggy/rainy/snowy day. A great day for indoor activity. I wrote up the protocols to use in the field regarding how to measure carbon fluxes. The protocols will help in standardizing our measurements. Standardization is good...

• 21 Dec 2018 » Day eighteen

  Instruments in working order: We have two LI-COR instruments (an older and a recent model) that measure carbon fluxes. We wanted to make sure the two instruments were measuring similarly. A big thanks to the LI-COR company, particularly Doug Lynch,...

• 20 Dec 2018 » Day seventeen

  A good start of the day: Last night three of us (Keri, PJ and I) stayed up until the early hours of the morning. We were hoping to catch the “green flash” - A phenomenon when there is a green...

• 19 Dec 2018 » Day sixteen

  Successes:

• 18 Dec 2018 » Day fifteen

  Chamber prep: Today we worked on prepping the materials that secure the chamber to the ground. To secure the chamber we have one metal wire rope that loops around the chamber. This loop contains 4 nails in cardinal directions that...

• 17 Dec 2018 » Day fourteen

  Safety training: Safety is one of the top priorities at Palmer Station. Today Kelly and I had Island Survival Training. We learned what is in the boat bag and the three survival bins, each set of three bins strategically placed...

• 16 Dec 2018 » Day thirteen

  Cruisin’:

• 15 Dec 2018 » Day twelve

  Litchfield Island:

• 14 Dec 2018 » Day eleven

  At Palmer: At Palmer Station I have a desk upstairs where my window overlooks the pier. This provides me with a different perspective of the ship that I have called home for the last few days.

• 13 Dec 2018 » Day ten

  Neumayer channel: Wow. I just do not know where to start. We went through the Neumayer channel which leads towards Palmer Station. I honestly think pictures speak louder than words. Enjoy the last stretch of our voyage by sea:

• 12 Dec 2018 » Day nine

  Fog - and more fog: It sure was a foggy day. Not much to see. So, today is a great opportunity to share with you the research that is done on Cape Shirreff (see day 8 blog).

• 11 Dec 2018 » Day eight

  Cape Shirreff: Today we were helping scientists set up camp at Cape Shirreff on Livingston Island. The camp is a US operated field station. The scientists are spending four months here. We had a rare treat: the view of mountains...

• 10 Dec 2018 » Day seven

  The Drake Passage - day two: Today the sea was a lot calmer (yay!). Several of us enjoyed being out on deck. Today I saw Cape petrels, Antarctic Petrel, Blackbrowed albatross, and Southern fulmar, the occasional white-chinned petrel and giant...

• 09 Dec 2018 » Day six

  The Drake Passage - day one: We are lucky - if we had left earlier as had originally been planned, the crossing would have been worse. Nevertheless, the ship is heaving, pitching and rolling sideways as it is going onward....

• 08 Dec 2018 » Day five

  Our first full day at Sea: The first stretch of our journey is smooth. There are a few albatrosses around as well as dolphins. The black-and-white Commerson’s dolphins are the first marine mammals that we sighted.

• 07 Dec 2018 » Day four

  Let the Journey begin: Today we depart for Antarctica. The journey will take four days, including two days on the infamous Drake Passage. This area is known to have the roughest seas in the world. Hopefully our ship, the RV...

• 06 Dec 2018 » Day three

  One more day in Punta Arenas: Our departure had been delayed - We were supposed to have left at 8 am this morning. Instead, Bruce, Kelly, Mark (an engineer) and I went for a walk along the beach. The weather...

• 05 Dec 2018 » Day two

  Our equipment has arrived safely on the vessel: Many months ago, back in August, Kelly and I sent many boxes filled with scientific equipment to California. They have made their way to Punta Arenas, Chile. Today they were finally loaded...

• 04 Dec 2018 » Day one

  Headed for an adventure: Punta Arenas is a small town with a lot of history. This includes Sir Ernest Shackleton’s favorite bar. Sir Ernest is known for bringing his crew safely back home after their ship the Endurance got stuck...