CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND-- We had fairly windy weather the whole time we were out, but were left tent-bound by a storm that lasted about three days. This was the coldest time out on the ice... {Read More »}

CAMP WINTER, ANTARCTICA-- What can I say about a place named Camp Winter? Of all names, it is appropriate: desolate, cold and windy. It's mind boggling sometimes to think how remote we are, the eight of us, and what minimal buffer we have between us and the vast, cold ice sheet... {Read More »}

CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND-- We spent the first week or so in the deep field visiting GPS stations that were left out on the ice over-winter and setting out passive seismometers. Whillans Ice Stream behaves in a unique way – it slips twice a day in episodes that are linked to the tidal cycle... {Read More »}

ABOARD AN LC-130 EN ROUTE TO CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND-- It’s with a heavy heart that I climb aboard “Ivan the Terra” bus to get transported to Willy Field and off the Antarctic continent... {Read More »}

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 »}

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 »}

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 »}

SOUTH POLE STATION, ANTARCTICA-- The Basler plane we've been waiting for finally came, from McMurdo, and we were able to load it up and send it off to Camp Winter with cargo... {Read More »}

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 »}

SOUTH POLE STATION, ANTARCTICA-- South Pole is a constant construction site. The new station is still being finished up, but is very nice inside, sort of a cross between a high school building and space station... {Read More »}