Aloha Ms. Anderson!
Yesterday, being international sea ice day, my students and I went to your website to review your excellent adventure so far. We are all very amazed that you and the crew have been able to stick through the fire at sea and are still very focused on the research mission. My students have lots of questions and after screening out the duplicates, I offer them to you in the hopes that you will be able to get back to us and respond. The questions below are from all six of my classes. I have lots of students, so here are lots of questions.
How many girls are onboard ship with you? Are there any lead scientists who are women?
Do you get claustrophobic on the ship? What was your last crossing of the Drake Passage like? How big were the waves? Did you get sea sick?
When the fire happened, did you think you were going to die? How did you and the other scientists calm yourselves in the face of such a challenge? When the fire happened, were you in the middle of the Drake Passage? How big were the waves when the fire was happening?
What do the rescue boats look like? Could you take a picture and show us? How do the rescue boats (that you use when you would have to abandon ship) stay floating when you are in the big waves? Has anyone on the ship had to abandon ship in the Drake Passage and what did they do when they were in the rescue boats?
How cold is the water where you are right now? How many hours of sunlight do you have? Have you seen any icebergs roll over yet? Has any scientist onboard been on an iceberg when it rolled over?
Are you seeing any ice algae yet? Does the place you are researching have an algae bloom like the Bering Sea does? Are they the same kinds of algae, or different? What about the zooplankton, same or different in the Southern Ocean compared to the Bering Sea?
If you took a polar bear and put it in Antarctica, would it live or die? If there is a problem with the number of Polar bears, why not put them in Antarctica? Has anyone ever taken Arctic species and put them in the Antarctic? What has happened if they did?
Are any scientists tagging seals? What kinds of seals are in the area that you are watching the ice melt? Why is the crabeater seal called crabeater, if it doesn't eat crabs? How do scientists tell the difference between a northern elephant seal and a southen elephant seal? Are they different species or the same animal? Where do all the animals that live on Antarctica in the summer, go in the winter?
Can you fish from the boat? Do any of the scientists or crew fish for fun when they are off duty? What kinds of fish are in your area? Do any fishing boats go to where you are doing research and mess up what you are doing? Do you need a fishing license?
I hope everything is going well with you and the ship. My students and I feel there is a great similarity between what you are doing in the Southern Ocean now, and what I did in the Bering Sea in April and May. We will be watching your mission with GREAT interest.
Let us know if the scientists have any questions for us too! Thank you so much for all your hard work and dedication to science. You and the scientists and the crew all ROCK!!
Mrs. Prevenas and students