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Pages and Posts Tagged ‘behind polar science’


Returning Home

LARAMIE, WYOMING-- During last week, the weather steadily turned from cold and overcast to warm and sunny. On the first day of good conditions we launched in the morning and captured a bear shortly thereafter... {Read More »}



Starting at the End of the Road

DEADHORSE, ALASKA-- When I began thinking about logistics for this project, one of the first questions I had was “How do you get to the Arctic?” I had done field work in wildnerness areas before, but nothing as remote as northern Alaska. For our first season on capturing polar bears... {Read More »}



The Stuck Drill Story

RECOVERY LAKES, ANTARCTICA-- Leaving site 5! Today we are finally on the move again, after a prolonged stay at our science stop at site 5 in the middle of the Recovery Lakes area. We were delayed after our ice core drill was stuck 90m down in the hole Lou was drilling... {Read More »}



The Courage to Question

OFFSHORE NEW HARBOR CAMP, ANTARCTICA-- There’s something weird about staking bamboo flags into Antarctic sea ice. Plunging the remnants of a regal plant into an environment so different from its own rings untrue. The natural wonder of bamboo’s fortitude against majestic Antarctic landscapes gives me pause. It’s only then that the reality of my situation strikes me... {Read More »}



Our Scientific Process

OFFSHORE NEW HARBOR CAMP, ANTARCTICA-- In this video dispatch, Dr. Marvin Speece, professor of geophysical engineering at Montana Tech and co-Principal Investigator of the Offshore New Harbor Project, discusses how our expedition collects scientific data... {Read More »}



Two Kiwi Drillers

OFFSHORE NEW HARBOR CAMP, ANTARCTICA-- To me the cornerstone of any true friendship is the belief in someone’s integrity. Sometimes I will go years without gaining a true friend. Other times, I’ll just get lucky and stumble upon a few God-sent souls that say what they mean... {Read More »}



Waylaid On Our Way to Antarctica

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND (EN ROUTE TO ANTARCTICA)-- The Exploratorium Ice Stories team of Mary Miller, Lisa Strong-Aufhauser and Ron Hipschman are cooling our jets in Christchurch, New Zealand, and itching to get to the ice. We’re treading the same ground as thousands of other Antarctic-bound souls... {Read More »}



So, You Want to Be a Penguin Researcher?

CAPE ROYDS, ROSS ISLAND, ANTARCTICA-- What is required? I’ve been asked many a time. Well, there is the usual sort of thing, like learning as much as possible in school about science and math, getting a good understanding about how the universe works, including the process of evolution... {Read More »}



Life on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet

WHILLANS ICE STREAM, ANTARCTICA-- In this audio dispatch, I describe our first week in our field camp on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Hear about our research on lakes under the glaciers and get a slice of life as a remote polar scientist... {Read More »}



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... {Read More »}