For the first week or so in Antarctica, our time has been spent at McMurdo Base, getting ready for our field research. Sometime this week, we are scheduled to fly to WAIS Divide, about 3.5 hours from…
Each winter, temperatures in the Antarctic drop so low that the top of the ocean freezes into a solid mass of ice about 2m (6 feet) thick! This is called Sea Ice, and it pushes up against continental…
I saw my first penguins today!
They were even cuter than I could have imagined.
I was out on the Sea Ice with my instructor, Ned Corkran, learning how to survey for cracks in the ice that could…
Yesterday, my teammate Tiffany got selected from a lottery to participate in a field trip to the site of a historic plane crash in the McMurdo Sound. Tiffany is a college student, about one week away…
PolarConnect with Yamini and the team!
Join us for this real-time PolarConnect webinar (web seminar) from Antarctica! Yamini Bala and her team have worked hard to schedule a webinar before they even…
Has anyone seen my Tuesday, December 2, 2014?
This day seems to have disappeared.
I don't know where I put it. I know I can be forgetful sometimes, but I've never misplaced a whole day before!
It'…
My morning began bright and early today! My roommate woke up with jet lag at 2am and powered up her computer to check Facebook. Mistaking the warm golden glow of her laptop screen for the dawning…
For those who work at McMurdo Base, weekends are a one-day affair. Except for holidays and special occasions, when arrangements are made for extra time off, the typical work week at McMurdo runs from…
We're here!
I'm excited to report that Rachel and I arrived on time and in one piece (each!) at Christchurch, New Zealand, after a relatively uneventful series of flights.
We were met by a USAP (…
Our flight lands at 5:30pm, and we are shuttled to the "Chalet," or the main office, where we sit through a series of 4 Powerpoint lectures, all filled with abbreviations, acronyms, and the names of…
McMurdo or Bust!
“Well, THAT was interesting!”
I announced this to everyone and no one (since no one could hear me) upon returning to my seat from the ‘facilities.' As it happens, the facilities on…
It's happening. It's really happening.
As the first of five flight segments takes off, there is only one thought in my mind.
I can't believe I'm going to Antarctica!
Antarctica?!?
Antarctica.
I'…
