ABOARD THE RVIB N. B. PALMER, ON THE SOUTHERN OCEAN– After a four day trek looking for other icebergs we might want to study, we came back to continue studying iceberg C18A... {Read More »}

ABOARD THE RVIB N. B. PALMER, ON THE SOUTHERN OCEAN-- We are all used to thinking of the ocean as blue. Sometimes greenish, if close to the coast, or brownish if a lot of sediments are delivered at a river’s mouth, but mostly it is blue; a clear blue close to coral reefs, a dark blue when seen from space or a grayish blue during a storm. Why is the ocean blue?... {Read More »}

ABOARD THE RVIB N. B. PALMER, ON THE SOUTHERN OCEAN– As most unicellular phytoplankton algae, diatoms usually reproduce by division. One cell becomes two after mitosis; the two new algae are called “daughter cells”. Once in a long while diatoms go through sexual reproduction. What brings this phenomenon? {Read More »}

ABOARD THE RVIB N. B. PALMER, ON THE SOUTHERN OCEAN-- After 4 days in transit we arrived at Clarence Island near the South Shetlands. It is too windy to test our new instruments here. So we turn northeast and after 8 more hours we arrive at the C18A iceberg... {Read More »}

ABOARD THE RVIB N. B. PALMER, ON THE SOUTHERN OCEAN-- Adios Punta Arenas, Chile. Hello Research Vessel and Ice Breaker, Nathaniel B. Palmer. We, the crew, support staff and scientists of the NBP Iceberg Cruise III, left port in Punta Arenas on March 6th to begin our 40-day cruise... {Read More »}

TAYLOR VALLEY, DRY VALLEYS, ANTARCTICA-- In this interview from in front of the Canada Glacier in Antarctica’s Taylor Valley, Hassan Basagic from Portland State University describes the essential role of polar glaciers in supporting the bare-bones ecosystems in the Dry Valleys... {Read More »}

LAKE HOARE, DRY VALLEYS, ANTARCTICA– After spending time at the South Pole, flying to Cape Royds and Black Island, and otherwise keeping ourselves busy with webcasts and scientist interviews in McMurdo, Lisa and I hopped on a helicopter out to the Dry Valleys for a couple of days of hiking and camping in the coldest, driest desert on Earth... {Read More »}

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- Last week, we shot footage of our colleague John Weller preparing to SCUBA dive under the ice. I felt a definite pang of regret that I wasn't joining him in the 28 degree water... {Read More »}

The Antarctic food web is the simplest on the planet, and krill are at its hub. {Read More »}

COLVILLE RIVER, ALASKA-- We awoke this morning to rain, wind, and 35˚ F temperatures. Immediately the remaining sampling lost most of its appeal, but we inhaled our coffee and oatmeal and staggered forth through the wet brush and tussock tundra... {Read More »}