So many people have come up with great questions for me. I thought maybe the best place to start would be with the basics.
Who?
Polar TREC teacher Denise Hardoy, Dr. Anne Todgham(Lead Scientist), Grad Students Amanda Frazier and Andrew Naslund, and Post Doc Milica Mandic
Who am I going with? I will be part of expedition B-207. I would like to introduce you to the team. From left to right...Myself, Dr. Anne Todgham(Primary Investigator), Grad students Amanda Frazier and Andrew Naslund, and Post Doc Milica Mandic. I got to meet them all this past May at U.C. Davis. They are already deployed and have been working hard setting up and starting the investigations. I am really looking forward to working closely with them all. They have already helped me a lot to prepare. I can't wait to join the team.
What?
Trematomus pennellii Photo by Dr. Anne Todgham
This is one of the Antarctic fish that we will be studying. Its scientific name is Trematomus pennellii. Our divers will be collecting eggs for us to study. We will look at how they respond to projected changes in their ocean environment- specifically temperature and pH. Dr. Todgham is interested in how they handle multiple stressors and prioritize functions like growth and development.
Where?
I will be departing from San Fransisco International Airport for a 16 hour flight to Auckland, New Zealand. The next leg of my journey is a short one hour hop down to Christchurch at the southern tip of New Zealand. I will be there for two days while the United States Antarctic Program issues me my extreme cold weather gear and I go through cold weather and ice training. Then I will get on a C-130 airplane to fly about six hours to McMurdo Station, Antartica. It is on Ross Island in Western Antarctica. We land on a frozen strip of sea ice, then ride in a tractor kind of vehicle for an hour to get to the station.
When?
I get on the airplane October 10th, 2019. Wow. It's coming up so quickly. T-17 days! I only have 10 days of school left! So much to do, and so little time.
Why?
Mrs. Hardoy's class is ready to track her expedition.
This is my why. People have asked why in the world would I want to go all the way to Antarctica? Sure, there will be amazing once-in-a-lifetime experiences, but its more than that. I want my students to be able to see this expedition through my eyes. I want them to feel like they are there too. They will learn what real science looks like. They can participate in the project, use the actual data, and just maybe be inspired. I want them to understand that if I can go to the bottom of the Earth, they can do anything.
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