SOUTH POLE, ANTARCTICA-- Several weeks ago, I explained how solar radiation is the main driver of the Earth's climate. When solar radiation passes through the atmosphere and makes its way towards Earth, it can get absorbed, reflected, refracted, or scattered. One of those substances in the atmosphere that can either absorb or scatter solar radiation are aerosols... {Read More »}

ABOARD THE RVIB N. B. PALMER, ON THE SOUTHERN OCEAN– Not only do we want to know about what type of phytoplankton grow close to icebergs but we also want to know how well they grow... {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 »}

MCMURDO STATION, ANTARCTICA-- After our full day of sea ice training, we headed back to McMurdo Station, with a steaming Mt. Erebus looming above us amid a picturesque swirling wispy sky. Yet what was in store was the highlight of the day. We found out that our next destination was an ice cave... {Read More »}