My time at Palmer Station is coming to an end. The two weeks I’ve spent here have been a wonderful whirlwind. Not only have I been surrounded by amazing wildlife and beautiful glaciers, I have also met some truly incredible people. Among those is Dr. Amsler’s wife, Margaret Amsler, M.S., who everyone refers to fondly as “Maggie.” Maggie is, without a doubt, one of the coolest people I know. She is an accomplished diver, a role model for women in science and an all around great person.
Maggie on the zodiac
Maggie grew up in suburban Chicago and began SCUBA diving at age fourteen. “Like many kids at that time I was inspired by Jacques Cousteau,” she said. Her first dives were made in Wisconsin quarries and were usually accompanied by her parents, who she described as “patient and supportive.” The natural world has always been fascinating to Maggie. While we were talking, she remembered a day she thought covering the trees in her yard with peanut butter might be a good way to attract butterflies and moths. “It didn’t work,” she laughed, “but my parents were very tolerant of my experiments.”
Maggie preparing for a dive
Family vacations to the beach were also intriguing for Maggie who told me she recently rediscovered a seashell collection she’d made as a child. “Most of the shells in the collection are tiny!” she said with a smile. Interestingly enough, Maggie’s love for marine mollusks has come full circle; she is working with micromollusks at Palmer Station this year and has been, among other things, collecting Margarella antarctica for Julie’s ocean acidification experiment and for her own research. When I asked Maggie about what guided her career choice she said major influences were her “excitement about exploring the underwater world coupled with an appreciation for marine life.”
Maggie working in the aquarium
Maggie attended DePaul University in Chicago and during her sophomore, junior and senior years of college she worked at the John G. Shedd Aquarium one day a week. For her job, she’d don her SCUBA gear and head into the aquarium containing what was, at the time, the world’s largest indoor coral reef. She wore a microphone in the aquarium and answered questions asked by children and adults outside the tank. Maggie is still enthusiastic about sharing her extensive knowledge of marine organisms and gets a twinkle in her eye when she talks about the diversity of marine life at Palmer Station.
Maggie’s first trip to Antarctica happened after her senior year in college. Dr. Mary Alice McWhinnie, for whom the laboratory at Palmer Station is named, was Maggie’s undergraduate advisor at DePaul. Dr. McWhinnie met quarterly with Maggie to review her grades and plan her courses for each semester. Maggie said, “She would keep me in her office for hours, mostly talking about Antarctica.” Maggie and Dr. McWhinnie developed a rapport, and Maggie was invited to come to Palmer Station in 1980 as part of a team studying krill.
Maggie in McWhinnie Marine Science Center at Palmer Station
After college, Maggie pursued her master's degree and continued her Antarctic studies at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. She went later with her husband and fellow researcher, Chuck Amsler, to the University of California Santa Barbara, where she was a staff research associate. This is Maggie’s 21st year working at Palmer Station. Her first 12 were spent studying krill and subsequent years have been spent with Dr. Amsler and Dr. McClintock as a research assistant. When I asked Maggie to describe why Palmer Station is so special to her she said, “I love the natural environment and the social environment here. Both are conducive to science.” When I asked what she dislikes about Palmer she said with a laugh, “Leaving!”
Because of their numerous contributions to Antarctic science since 1980, Maggie and Chuck Amsler were honored in 2007 by the United States Board on Geographic Names with the designation of Amsler Island, approximately half a mile from Palmer Station. In doing so, they joined Dr. McClintock, who had a point of land near McMurdo Station named for him 1998.
Maggie and Chuck Amsler on Amsler Island
I have many high school students in Pennsylvania who dream of becoming marine biologists like Maggie. When I asked her what advice she can offer to students she said, “Do whatever you can to follow your interests. Even little things like taking accelerated classes can help.” Maggie has been great fun to work with during my time at Palmer Station and is an excellent teacher and role model. I'm so glad to know her.