CAPE ROYDS, ROSS ISLAND, ANTARCTICA-- First time this has happened, but I was sitting today for a spell just to watch the penguins here at Cape Royds and the only sound was that of the blood going through my ears... {Read More »}

PENGUIN RANCH, MCMURDO SOUND, ANTARCTICA-- (By Ron Hipschman) At the Penguin Ranch, the scientists not only observe the penguins above the ice, but also below the ice. They do this with the "observation tube". Anchored above a hole in the sea ice is a tube... {Read More »}

CAPE ROYDS, ROSS ISLAND, ANTARCTICA-- We’ve made three trips, by helicopter, to Beaufort Island this season. Usually we can’t do this until the end of the season, because the McMurdo helos don’t fly over open water and a ship is not available until the end. It’s a 40 minute helo ride and a 6 hour boat ride. This year, though, fast ice extends out to Beaufort... {Read More »}

CAPE ROYDS, ROSS ISLAND, ANTARCTICA-- Most of the time while we are working with penguins in Antarctica, we are in the field at Cape Royds. We live in a tent and sleep on the ground near the breeding colony and it is a magical place for me. As far as we can see in any direction... {Read More »}

CAPE ROYDS, ROSS ISLAND, ANTARCTICA-- Not all of our work is in the field; some requires time in a lab and long hours working with a stereoscope. One of the questions we are trying to answer is what do the penguins eat? In previous times researchers would sacrifice a penguin and examine their stomach contents... {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 »}

CAPE ROYDS, ROSS ISLAND, ANTARCTICA– The major trust of our project is to quantify the vital rates of Adélie Penguins in their changing world, as global climate change proceeds. Vital rates means such things as age of first breeding, proportion of years in which they breed... {Read More »}

CAPE ROYDS, ROSS ISLAND, ANTARCTICA-- This season, Jean came down to McMurdo Station a few weeks early with the idea of setting up a time-lapse camera at Cape Royds to record the complete cycle of colony formation as penguins returned from their wintering area... {Read More »}

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... {Read More »}

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