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. I am onboard with Maureen Lynch, Oceanite and Stony Brook PhD candidate (soon to be doctor as of April 29, woo!), and two whale researchers with California Ocean Alliance from Duke University, Clara Bird and KC Bierlich. Together, we are referred to as "Team Science" and we act as pseudo staff members during the trip. The expedition staff consists of about twenty "blue shirts" including, kayak guides, adventure concierges, and naturalists. Hint: they wear blue shirts. These remarkable people are like the camp counselors of this (Antarctic) summer camp. They work tirelessly to make those ten days in Antarctica magical and then they turn around and do it again and again. Much like the naturalists on board, Team Science can provide insight on the natural wonders seen in Antarctica and also share our research activities. Antarctica remains a neutral collaboration among countries in the name of science under the Antarctic Treaty and so this is an important part of the experience. As so eloquently stated in the morning staff meeting: "We will go to Antarctica, see a lot of penguins, feed the people not the penguins, and then bring them home," and thus begun the hectic turnover of the ship. I have never even been on a cruise, but between the short time frame and the disorganization, the turn around is nothing short of miraculous. With two days ahead of us to cross the infamous Drake Passage before reaching Antarctica, Team Science is free to help with trip operations and entertainment including boot fitting and presentations.
Over the next two and a half days, we would become accustomed to the sounds of drawers thrashing and glass shattering in the dining room. In time we all learned to eat with our elbows on the tables, as sailors do, and to stumble with mild grace throughout the ship. My lone dramamine taken Thursday afternoon, which likely wore off by the time we actually hit the Drake, seemed to do just fine. Others, perhaps not so much. Each day we receive newspaper style recaps of our day with some handy facts and a word from our onboard photographer, Paul Goldstein. Paul is a much better writer than I, so I will include an excerpt from him as well...
A drawl from Paul: "Around every hour a rogue [wave] stuns into starboard, its concussion hemorrhaging throughout the stairwells and other deck capillaries. They shake and shock but do not break us. A crash of crockery, a shattering of glass and one or two cuts and bruises, but, critically the bow is still knifing through this storm at over 12 knots, dinner is being served, we're all still here, is that all you've got Neptune?"
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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 |