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Most Recent Dispatches


Casting Off the Lines

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND-- It is a quiet spring night in Christchurch, New Zealand. The air is filled with the heavy scent of the spring flowers. In twelve hours if the weather and aircraft cooperate we will take off for Antarctica...



It Takes a Lot to Get Here

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- This is my first official day at the main US research base in Antarctica: McMurdo Station. I am very excited to start bringing you the stories of POLENET science and what life is like as we do our work from one of the most remote places on the face of the planet...



From the Top of the Rock to the Bottom of the World

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK-- In New York City, fall is just beginning its descent into winter. Last night we sank below 40 degrees for the first time and back in my hometown of Columbus, Ohio, it’s beginning to snow. Each time I clutch my scarf a little tighter to protect me from the wind,...



Penguins in a Changing Climate

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- I've made it down to Antarctica for another season of studying how penguins are coping with global climate change. In this video, I introduce the work we are doing and give a preview of what I'll be reporting on over the next few months...



Journey to Our Field Camp

OFFSHORE NEW HARBOR CAMP, ANTARCTICA-- This video captures the energy and excitement of our traverse across the sea ice to the Offshore New Harbor Field Camp...



Don’t Fall in That Crack

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- Imagine yourself driving a snowmobile in bone-chilling cold, upon a windswept snowfield, in Antarctica, your body is weary and you look forward…



Journey to the South Pole

300KM FROM SOUTH POLE, ANTARCTICA-- The Norwegian-US Traverse, Year 2, Begins! We still haven't started on our big trip, (the actual traverse), but we are getting closer and closer! This seems amazing given how far we've come already...



The Real Antarctica

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- We have finally made it to McMurdo Station, our first Antarctic stop before our final destination: our remote field site on the Whillans Ice Stream. We’ve been preparing for this for months, but as I'm learning, our preparations are far from over...



Nights in Antarctica

OFFSHORE NEW HARBOR CAMP, ANTARCTICA-- The sea ice pops and cracks beneath our camp. They said the cold would make me sleep. But the sound is eerie entertainment that keeps my mind from slumber...



Sea Ice Training

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- The Hagglund awaited us as we prepared to depart for sea ice training. This was a requirement since our expedition is to be based on the ice that forms over the ocean of McMurdo Sound every austral winter. We had to learn how to identify cracks...