Submitted by Anonymous on Mon, 09/24/2007 - 05:12
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SIMBA Antarctic Sea Ice

Can you describe what it is like going through the Straits of Magellan and what you see?

Now that you are doing science what is a day like on board the ship?

What do you do for fun on the ship?

How did you get interested in Polartrec?

Dr. Ackley, what are the pro's and con's of living in San Antonio vs the Upper Conneticut River Valley of New England?

 

Thu, 09/27/2007 - 08:23

Sarah Anderson

Thanks for taking the time to send some questions our way...the Strait of Magellan was wide and smooth, often with mountains on both sides. There is very little habitation or development that you can see from the water, though we did spot a very large house on a mountain in the "middle of nowhere. The people who live there must get around by boat.
What is a day like? Well, that depends! My day started at 4:30 A.M. today...my job first thing was to do ice observations and record the activities of the science party got on the ice around 7:45. Every event is carefully recorded with date, time, latitude, longitude, etc. so the scientists can go back later and have accurate records. Throughout the morning I also recorded the weather conditions. Today was really pretty - bright sunshine reflecting off the snow this morning.
Later in the day I helped wash plastic bottles and buckets (rinse three times with DI water, then a rinse in a dilute HCl solution) - not just your run of the mill dish washing event here. The buckets and bottles are being used to analyze the biology in the ice - there are healthy algae colonies in sea ice that are the basis of the food chain here.
Throughout the day the science party was analyzing water and ice samples collected this morning. We are taking quite a few ice cores, some are cut and analyzed here, some are put in the freezer and will be shipped home. I had some time to work on writing my journal and answering my email. Its 10:45 now, at midnight I'll go out with the ice party for a three hour ice station. So...My day started at 4:30 AM and it will end at about the same time tomorrow! Good thing we've had plenty of time to rest before we hit the ice!
What do we do for fun? The ship is very comfortable and there are quite a few things we can do for fun. One of the best things is the tv lounge - big comfy recliners and hundreds of DVDs and videos to watch. No tv stations in this part of the world! I've also been reading...lots of books in the ship library - some books for research, but mostly for fun. Its a lot of fun just spending time talking with everyone on board...the science party alone is from four different countries, so we've had fun comparing notes about life in our corner of the world. We played a lot of foosball early in the trip too.
How did I get interested in PolarTREC? I actually got involved with PolarTREC after I had been selected to be a part of this expedition. They pretty much "adoptetd" me, and have provided a lot of support and opportunities for outreach.
Pros and Cons...Professor Ackley was delighted to hear from you...here is his response:
Pros of living in San Antonio – great Mexican food, an ethnically diverse culture, good weather 9 months of the year, and it’s where my wife lives! The three very hot months in San Antonio are the three months of good weather in the Connecticut River Valley, so I get 9 months of good weather instead of just 3.
Cons of living in San Antonio – In the city the natural beauty is not the same as the upper valley. There is no fall foliage, and there is a lot of traffic, but we have a nice house in a semi-rural area, so it’s not so bad.
I have many friends in the Upper Valley that I don’t get to see very often and they don’t seem inclined to visit me in San Antonio!
It’s nice to hear from you.
Thanks for your questions, please write again!Sarah Anderson and Steve Ackley