0 Comments
With three unsuccessful days for measuring, one penguin count in the books, and only two excursion days left, we were feeling pretty antsy. We are at the whim of a tourist cruise, which operates under the priority of giving the people who paid an arm and a leg the best trip ever. We are also at the whim of a continent bent on changing our plans. The scientists getting a free ride are less important and Antarctica couldn't care less about the weather requirements of my measly equipment. We were feeling pretty desperate.
Some days felt more like a vacation than work. After my first count on the morning of Christmas Eve, we took a zodiac cruise through Fournier Bay. Since there were no landings, there were no penguins to count and nothing to measure. It was team whale's turn for some science. Us penguin counters got to enjoy the whale watching and icebergs for twice as long as the guests. Perks. This was one of those times where we stepped in as staff to act as interpretive guides for the guests while the adventure concierges drove the zodiacs. It was incredible and humbling to see humpbacks and massive icebergs up close.
Antarctica is hard to get to and as a result...not many people go. The lucky few will either reside on government run science bases for a period of time or take a cruise for vacation. So, you may have read about the tourist trip or short science residencies in East Antarctica (like Mark and Schuyler in my lab group), but it's a little different to be a researcher on board a tourist cruise. And let me say, we have it pretty good here in the Antarctic Peninsula aboard the RCGS Resolute.
Three of the most common penguin species on the Antarctic Peninsula: left to right-Gentoo, Chinstrap, Adelie It is Christmas Eve and our first day of official landings! We make our first stop at Danco Island (pinned on the map). Danco has a large Gentoo penguin colony that spreads up and over a large hill. This site required Mo and I to tag team the count. Climate change has affected the Peninsula with unusual amounts of precipitation. As a result, this location had way more snow than it normally would at this point in the season. That made the decision to leave the
First sights on Antarctica! "It's an expedition, not a cruise!" A mantra. A deflection. An excuse to feel cool? We first heard the words from our fearless expedition leader, Boris, as we discarded our entire itinerary on day one of excursions. After laying out a spectacular and ambitious plan for five days of landings and zodiac cruises along the Antarctic Peninsula the night before, the agenda was immediately thwarted by ice and weather. A common occurrence in Antarctica. Shocker. Boris is able to expertly work the crowd by conveying adventure to the guests and presenting plans B, C, and D. It feels fake to use words like, "expedition," on a fancy 146 passenger, Lloyds 1AS Ice Class (the highest class), Scandinavian cruise vessel equipped with windows capable of 180 degree views on nearly all decks, a fitness center, jacuzzi, and four course meals. In some ways, it is just a buzz word used for guests to feel better about the thousands of dollars they spent to be there. The word is typically reserved for parties making a journey for the specific purpose of exploration, research, or war. In reality, however, every trip to Antarctica is a journey with a particular purpose and guaranteed adventure. Does that classify it as an expedition? Sure. View of Ushuaia from the stern of my new home for the next 10 days: The RCGS Resolute Thursday, December 20, 2018: The day is finally here and I am about to depart for Antarctica. A quick summary of how I got here: I am a geologist, recently converted planetary scientist in the making that is currently researching Antarctica from space. My project needs ground measurements that will benefit most of the polar science community...so, connections were used to get me down to the end of the world where, in addition to the ground data I will collect, I will be moonlighting as a penguin counter. Yes, you heard that right, and yes, life is pretty awesome. The penguin counters are part of an organization called, Oceanites, a non-profit organization founded in 1987 and conducting Antarctic site inventory since 1994. For the past 25 years, the Oceanites have "hitched" a ride on commercial Antarctic cruises to cover more ground on the peninsula and spread the word to guests. You can donate to this wonderful cause HERE.
My new travel buddy for the next month! Today is the day! I am sitting in the JFK airport in NYC right now waiting to board my flight to Sao Paulo, Brazil. I will have two stopovers in Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires, Argentina before reaching my final destination of Ushuaia, Argentina. I will be spending three nights in Ushuaia before boarding the Resolute, the fancy One Ocean Expedition cruise I will be hitching a ride on for ten days, on December 20, 2018. I will be crossing the famous Drake Passage during the winter solstice where it will be light for all 24 hours of the day.
What different landscapes exist on Mars and how do you tell the age of them?
Mars is like one giant arctic desert: barren, but extremely cold. Most of its surface is littered with impact craters which is how we can determine relative age on Mars. On Earth, we can see rock layers in carved out canyons or by digging into the ground. Generally, the layers on top are younger than the ones below. We can also perform more advanced dating techniques on Earth, such as radiometric dating. We can't do these things on Mars because we don't have physical samples and we haven't really dug below the surface...yet. We do know that impact craters would be younger than the rock that it impacted. We also know that because space junk has mostly stopped bombarding the planet and hit us with the larger ones first, areas with more craters and larger craters are usually older than areas with less and smaller craters. Finally, we can look at the erosion and deformation of the crater and its rim from space as well. We can use these relative ages to understand how old some of the other surfaces we see are. Other landscapes on Mars include large volcanic fields, massive dunes, networks of channels, glaciers, and two polar ice caps. |
About this blogEverything science, from lab work to field work and anything else important to me in the science community.
Science meI am currently a PhD student in the Planetary Exploration Lab at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, AZ. I received my Bs in Geology from St. Lawrence University and am interested in surface processes on Mars. My current research involves scaling the efficiency of image interpretation of geologic features in Antarctica. Archives |