Submitted by Anonymous on Fri, 11/09/2012 - 08:45
Forums
Antarctic Sub Glacial Lake and Stream Studies

Just wanted to say hi! We have enjoyed reading your journal so far!

We have a few questions...

Have you seen any penguins yet? or whales?

What type food do you eat?

What interesting things did you learn in the survival training?

Have you adjusted to the cold?

How has the cold air affected you? is it hard to breathe?

We miss you!

PS... We got the hightest class average on the Chapter 17 Test! (89)

Austin McCarthy says he misses you.

Fri, 11/09/2012 - 11:42

Mike LeBaron

I guys! How's it going. I'm happy to hear that you are doing well and keeping the scores up.About your questions:
No I haven't seen any penguins or whales yet. I'm actually quite a ways from the open ocean, so penguins have to travel quite a ways to get here. Lots of ice, no water.
The food is good - there is a wide variety and we even get fresh salads made with lettuce that is grown here in greenhouses! Last night for dinner we had either scallops, or roast beef, or a curry. Deserts include cheesecake, cookies, ice cream (very popular in the antarctic). My biggest worry is that I'll gain weight! I'll do a posting on food in a day or two.
In survival training we learned that the main things you do to stay alive if the weather breaks down is to keep hydrated and make a shelter that gets you out of the wind . It sounds simple, but when you're out on the flat sea ice you have to build the shelter from either snow blocks or have a tent that you can put up quickly. When it's very cold and the wind is blowing at 30 mph it makes it a LOT harder.
Hydration is also challenging. Water is made by melting snow and ice on a camp stove, so you have to get the stove going first, collect the ice in a pot, and then wait for it to melt. Once it's melted, you need to keep it from freezing again. I was keeping a water bottle inside my super-duty coat and the water was still freezing at the bottom of the bottle.
So far the air hasn't been all that cold. It's stayed around 10-15 degrees farenheit since I've been here. The hardest thing is that if you have your face covered to protect against the wind, when you breathe out the moisture in your breath freezes on beards and glasses. Glasses are the worst because then you can't see. As long as I wear reasonable clothes I'm really comfortable - in fact, I'm often too warm rather than too cold. This morning when I walked outside to breakfast (oatmeal and fruit by the way) I was just wearing jeans with light long-johns under them, a t-shirt and long-sleeved top and a down vest. I also had a hat and light gloves on and I was perfectly comfortable. It was 7 degrees at the time and the wind was under 10 mph.
Hi Austin - I miss you and the rest of the class too.
Mr. LeBaron