Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 02/22/2012 - 10:19

Dear Ms. Herrmann I am so amazed by your journal! Some of your pictures seem to be out of the pages of National Geographic, especially the lone penguin on the iceberg. You mentioned that you woke up early one morning to watch the sunrise, which made me think about how long each day is. I know the Southern Hemisphere is coming out of its Summer, and I was wondering when the sun rises and sets, and if it is similar to the "Midnight Sun," of Scandinavia and Alaska. I remember when I traveled to Norway, the sun barely went down, and it was a strange experience to have trouble getting to sleep because it was too bright. Is there a similar effect in Antarctica this time of year or recently? I also enjoyed seeing the pictures of Palmer Station. It is an incredible collection of buildings, and its sheer mass is amazing. How did it get built? It must have been very difficult to bring all of the building materials from the mainland to the station, especially with the limited space of the LMG. Is the station made out of converted steel shipping containers? The station looks to be of that material, and it would certainly make sense to use those, due to its standard size and easy travel. The logistics of having a large research station in one of the farthest corners of the earth is very interesting to me, and any information you have that can be passed on would be greatly appreciated! Have a good week, you are very missed here in LE! Sincerely, Walker Jordan

Nell Herrmann

Hi Walker,It's so great to hear from you! I certainly miss everyone in LE and am happy to hear from folks at home. I am having an incredible experience and am learning so much. I'll have even more to share once I get home.
I'm north of the Antarctic circle, so I get more daylight than people farther south. Right now sunrise is at about 5:50 and sunset is about about 9:10. I haven't had any trouble sleeping because I've been so busy each day! :)
Palmer Station is an interesting place. The buildings are actually quite nice inside with painted drywall, carpet, beautiful cabinetry and woodwork (the carpenter Ted is really talented), good plumbing and electricity. The water is seawater that's converted to freshwater through a reverse osmosis process. The buildings have metal siding, but as far as I can tell they aren't shipping containers. The buildings are multiple stories; the building where I sleep is 2 stories, for example. The LMG is about 240 (or so) feet long and actually has a large cargo hold. I'm sure the shipments of building materials came in several different installments; I will ask around. These are good questions! This station was built in 1968 on solid rock. There are two major buildings and three small ones, plus two large fuel tanks, a helicopter pad, and a dock.
I hope you have a good week too!
-Ms. Herrmann