Joni and her GPS
Joni uses GPS to find a sampling site. Notice the large antenna coming out of her backpack!
Is Joni looking for aliens? Is she a ghostbuster? Is she trying to find coins in the dirt or teleport herself into space? No! She is trying to find a specific location to collect sediment from! Now that the weather is getting warmer and the snow and ice are starting to melt, it is time to collect sediment samples on the ground.
Let the computer decide
Before we go out and sample sites, the computer picks random points for us to sample. Andrew Klein created a program that places hexagons over a map of McMurdo Station, focusing on areas that humans have disturbed. Each hexagon covers an area of 25 meters and fits the geography of McMurdo well. The computer is programmed to choose over 250 random sampling sites within each of the hexagons. Some hexagons are specifically chosen because they are suspected of having a higher frequency of spills. These are called intensive sites. The computer provides an exact latitude and longitude point for each site and then we use GPS to find that point and get a sample.
A GIS (Geographic Information System) program on the computer allows Andrew Klein to plot 250 random sampling sites in order to collect sediments.
A pattern of hexagons cover a map of McMurdo Station to randomly select sampling sites.
Sampling Time
Yesterday we headed out for our first big day of sediment sampling. We covered the area by hut point. Although it was a beautiful day, collecting samples is hard work! We had to climb up and down steep hills to get to the correct random point that was mapped out for us. Once the GPS verified that we were at the correct spot, we laid down a 1 meter by 1 meter plot and collected sediment from inside the area. We successfully collected 21 samples in a little over three hours--only 229 to go!
Steve Sweet shows the sampling points at Hut Point that we needed to collect sediment from.
Andrew Klein and Steve Sweet watch Joni Kincaid find a sampling site using GPS. Wisdom has taught the research team to not follow the person with GPS since they occasionally wander in circles.
I had a chance to find some sampling sites using the GPS. I have to say, I felt like a legitimate scientist since I was carrying around the giant GPS backpack and hiking up and down volcanic hills amidst a sea of ice. To get to the correct sampling point, a scientist always needs to know which way North is while following an arrow on the GPS' screen. Sometimes I got confused, which resulted in me walking in circles!
Michelle Brown tries her hand at using GPS to locate a sediment site. Some wandering was involved.
Steve Sweet relaxes in the snow while waiting for the next sampling location to be found.
Questions
What are some ways that you could remember which way North is? Which methods work better in the U.S. rather than Antarctica? Explain why.
Math Connections
It took us three hours to collect 21 samples. We still have 229 more samples to collect. Estimate how long this will take us.
Cool Careers in Antarctica
Meet Freija Descamps.
Meet Freija Descamps! Freija is a scientist who has just returned from the South Pole, working on a project called IceCube. IceCube is a neutrino detector. Freija is currently a research assistant at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, but originally studied in Gent, Belgium. Freija always wanted to study Astrophysics as a child, since she loves stars and physics. She was excited when she was offered a job helping out at the IceCube project. When I met Freija, she said she was a little "toasty". This is Antarctic lingo that applies to someone who has just wintered over. Wintering over is when you stay in Antarctica through the winter, when there is no daylight. Freija said her most memorable experience in Antarctica was getting to see the aurorae (green streaks of light in the night sky, caused by solar radiation interacting with the magnetic field).