Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 02/22/2012 - 13:02
Forums
Seafloor Organisms and Changing Ocean Conditions in Antarctic

Hello Nell!

I’m sorry I haven’t posted a few comments or questions sooner - I’ve been quite busy with schoolwork. State College is still cloudy, cold, and rather mundane - I hope that the weather at Palmer Station is somewhat better or at least more exciting. On the topic of Ocean Bowl, we have been submitting questions to MIT and studying for nationals - we have yet to work on the policy briefing. Anyways, I have a few questions for you - I have yet to read the majority of your journals, so I hope that my questions haven’t already been answered. On to my questions:

What other terrestrial plants have you seen around the station besides Antarctic hair grass? Are there any terrestrial animals around the station? Have you used any marine technology/devices that might come up at nationals? Have you done any research or collaborated with any researchers at the station? Is the only method of communication/transportation to South America the LMG? If so, how often does it run back and forth for supplies and such? Have you obtained any interesting specimens you can bring back to show us?

Have fun!

  • Matthew
Thu, 02/23/2012 - 05:46

Nell Herrmann

Hi Matthew,No need to be sorry! I am happy to hear from you whenever and I understand that you have a really busy schedule right now.
I'll answer your questions in order. I've answered some in my journals already, but no worries! When you have time, you can go back and read them.
1) The only other vascular plant in Antarctica is *Colobanthus quintensis* (Antarctic pearlwort) and I haven't seen it. There are some mosses and lichens; I've seen those.
2) The only truly terrestrial animals here are small invertebrates (nematodes, mites, and springtails- a wingless sort of fly). I will be going out with a "bugger" (aka an entomologist) who studies the midges at some point soon and will be able to tell you more about those. I have seen all 3 species of penguins that live here, all 4 species of seals that live here, humpback whales and dusky sided dolphins. I've also seen many species of seabirds including several kinds of petrels, skuas, and albatrosses.
3) Yes, I've been collaborating mainly with Dr. Amsler's team on the ocean acidifcation project. I've also talked with a team of geologists and hope to go out in the field with a group of ornithologists soon. There is a group here from Rutgers who uses autonomous gliders to study phytoplankton. I think I may go out in the field with them next week. I'll be writing an entire journal about that soon.
4) The LMG is used to get people from Chile to the western Antarctic peninsula and back. It's also used for research in the Southern Ocean. It is possible to fly to the western Antarctic peninsula, but the closest landing strip is (I believe) on King George Island so that's not often done. People who go to McMurdo station typically fly to Christ Church, New Zealand and then catch another flight from there to McMurdo.
5) It seems like the LMG travels back and forth about every 3-5 weeks, but there is some variability in the schedule. (Depending on science schedules, etc.)
6) I don't have any type of collecting permit and, as you can imagine, there are some strict rules in place to preserve Antarctica. I'll be "collecting" via photography. When you have time, you really should scan back through my journals. I know you'd enjoy them! ;)
Take care and good luck with studying for OB. I'm so proud of you guys.
-Ms. Herrmann / Nell