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Archive for December, 2008


AGAP South: Population 42

AGAP-SOUTH CAMP, ANTARCTICA-- There are finally planes in the airspace of AGAP-South! We flew our first survey lines during the transit of scientists from Pole to our main camp. With the first flight, came the first observation of... {Read More »}



Going Camping in Antarctica

SOUTH POLE STATION, ANTARCTICA-- On December 12/13, I did the Antarctic survival training course, also called "Happy Camper." This course is a prerequisite for going off-base on unguided tours... {Read More »}



Creative Parenting by Penguins

CAPE ROYDS, ROSS ISLAND, ANTARCTICA-- The penguins at Cape Royds have been challenged in recent years by widely varying extremes of conditions, mostly having to do with how far they have to walk between colony and ocean. That’s a very big deal for them. With the arrival of the big icebergs... {Read More »}



The South Pole and Beyond

SUMMER CAMP, SOUTH POLE, ANTARCTICA-- So, perhaps I was a bit ahead of schedule when I referred to Friday as the Eve of Discovery. Since then, AGAP has been playing the waiting game... {Read More »}



Going Under the Ice!

SOUTH POLE STATION, ANTARCTICA-- The day I arrived at McMurdo I ran into Ron Hipschman and John Weller. They told me they were going to go to the "Penguin Ranch" the next day, and I got permission to go with them. I was very lucky!... {Read More »}



Rye Rover Rivals Real Rig

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- Eighth grade science students at Rye Middle School in Rye, New Hampshire, got into the act in Antarctica. Under the direction of their teacher Robin Ellwood, they built a submersible robotic camera that was launched in the Ross Sea... {Read More »}



On the Way to the South Pole

BETWEEN CAMP WINTER & SOUTH POLE, ANTARCTICA-- For three days straight now, we've been driving from Camp Winter to South Pole-- driving 24-hours a day, in shifts of 6 hours on, 6 hours off, with 2 hours for dinner. My body has weirdly adjusted to the schedule, with the offshoot that it's hard to tell what time of day it is, or what day it is, anymore... {Read More »}



One Month in the Deep Field, Part 5

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND-- For about a month, we worked every single day, taking turns cooking for each other (some meals more agreeable than others – there were some complaints about my dishes being too spicy!), sleeping in individual mountain tents... {Read More »}



Stars of the Ross Sea

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- In our webcast with John Weller recently, he showed some photos of a group of bat stars and close-up of the top of one of them. Bat stars are common sights on the bottom of Antarctic seas, clustering under holes and cracks in the ice where seals... {Read More »}



Made it to Antarctica

SOUTH POLE STATION, ANTARCTICA-- En route to Antarctica, I spent three days in Christchurch. The weather was nice - a few of the IceCubers played croquet next to the Botanical gardens. On Dec 9 we were scheduled to take a South African Hercules to McMurdo but ended up... {Read More »}