"THANK YOU!" to all who joined the DOM team's first webinar today. It was so wonderful for us to hear your voices, read you questions, and share our experiences with you. Your participation made the early webinar time (6am in Antarctica) well worth it for the whole DOM team. I was very excited that we were able to coordinate communication between the DOM teams at McMurdo and Lake Fryxell- it was cool to have the field and the lab team sharing our ideas with all of you during the same webinar. I encourage you all to post your unanswered questions from the webinar, or questions that popped into your head after the webinar was over, to the Ask the Team section of the DOM PolarTREC page. The DOM team really enjoys your questions and the challenge of answering them concisely and completely. To the students, teachers, and administration of the South Whidbey School District- it made me so very happy to see so many of your names on the registration list. I really appreciate your support and the enthusiasm you exhibit for this expedition. It is a shame that Nature knocked the power out to the schools right before the webinar began. Please do not get discouraged- there is another webinar in January. In addition, I will visit as many classrooms as will have me when I return to the Island. In the meantime, I would love to hear from any or all of you- please post comments or questions to the Ask the Team section of the DOM page. Go Cougs! Go Falcons! Go Orcas! I think of you all often from down here in the great frozen South.
I cannot wait to talk with all of you all again when I return to the Island!
There are other PolarTREC teachers hosting webinars over the course of this week. Casey O'Hara is at the South Pole Station working with the IceCube project studying neutrinos. His webinar is on December 11th at 11am PST from the South Pole! Gary Wesche's webinar is on December 17th at 11am PST from McMurdo Station or Byrd Station. Register for their webinars and check out their journals! Heidi Roop, another PolarTREC teacher, is out at the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) where Internet communications are not that fabulous, so, unfortunately, she may not have an opportunity to host her own webinar. Michelle Cross has a couple webinars archived on the PolarTREC site.
PolarTRECer, Casey O'Hara
Gary, Sarah, Heidi
PolarTRECs participation with the DOM expedition is receiving recognition through other organizations, too! Dr. Birgit Sattler is a member of WINGS WorldQuest, a not-for-profit organization that recognizes, preserves, encourages, and supports the accomplishments of women explorers. Birgit brought a WINGS WorldQuest flag with her when she joined the DOM team. Over the course of the expedition, Birgit, the other women of the DOM team, and from other scientific Antarctic endeavors are taking their picture with the flag. Pictures and stories about the expedition are posted to the WINGS WorldQuest website, which now includes a link to PolarTREC. Thank you WINGS WorldQuest!
Birgit, Christine, Sarah, Barb, Heidi
Barb Monday, who is standing next to Heidi in the WINGS WorldQuest photo is keeping a blog while working with the McMurdo Dry Valleys Long Term Ecological Research (LTER) "Stream Team." Barb and the other two Stream Team members helped the DOM team learn how to use all the stream measuring equipment at the Canada Stream earlier this week. One last website to mention in this journal- Penguin Science. Jean Pennycook is an educator who works with a team of penguin researchers at Cape Royds on Ross Island, Antarctica. The Penguin Science website has beautiful pictures, great information, and excellent educational lessons. I am hoping to take a helicopter flight out to Cape Royds later this season to visit Jean and the penguins. Keep your fingers crossed that I make it out there- seeing penguins would just be the cherry on top of this treat of a trip!