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SIMBA Antarctic Sea Ice

Devon asks... What is Drake's passage and why is it so bumpy and how bumpy is it?

Pete wants to know if you have any Hispanic scientists?

Weston wants to know how many hours of sleep do you get per day?

Lindsey...What's your favorite part of this experience? When you flush does everything go into the ocean? How about all of your trash?

Do you have roommates on the ship? Have you already posted a pic of your room- did we miss it? If not can you?

Fri, 11/30/2007 - 11:44

Sarah Anderson

Sorry it's taken me so long to answer these questions - been back home almost a month now and am still recovering! Devon - Drake's passage is the body of water between the tip of South American and Antarctica. It is so bumpy because winds and currents are very strong in the area due to the lack of land masses in the area. Antarctica is encircled by what is called the Southern ocean - really a convergence of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. The lack of land masses causes very strong winds and currents in the area. The biggest "bumps" we had were in the range of 20 to 30 feet. These were the biggest, not the average, though!!
Pete - we didn't have any Hispanic scientists on board, but some of the science support team members were hispanic. We were an international group, though, with scientists from the US, Canada, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
 Watson - the number of hours of sleep we got varied depending on the activities at the time. At the end when the scientists were finishing experiments and packing gear to be shipped back home some people went without any sleep. We also worked around the clock doing ice observations and data collection, so people slept at all times of the day!
Lindsey - my favorite part of the experience was interacting with so many interesting people and learning so much during my time on the ship. I really enjoy meeting new people and learning new things, so this was right up my alley! Flushing - yes, our liquid waste was dumped into the ocean! I'm not sure how much garbage we acculumlated; while in port the garbage was loaded off the ship and transported elsewhere for disposal. While at sea our garbage was burned.
Roommates - most people shared a room with one other person. The rooms each had their own bathroom so it was pretty comfortable. I was lucky and had my own room! I didn't post a picture of the rooms, but I will soon.
Thanks for all your questions, I know you are looking forward to sharing Mr. Beckendorf's adventure coming up!
Mrs. Anderson