Antarctica Dry Valleys

LAKE SURVEY

2010-01-28T21:39:00.000-08:00

Part of our job as the "stream team" to survey the Lakes.....

...even when it's COLD....
( i am wearing Little Red AND BIG Red!)

.....Notice the RED nose.....

WEATHER

2010-01-28T13:24:00.000-08:00

Antarctica
is certainly a continent

of EXTREMES......

Extreme Beauty....

.......Extreme Cold

The first of the YEAR brought a cold snap with 30-80knott winds that disabled all communications...for days! Temperatures in my tent dropped to 10F....cold.

The streams froze ......And the sky was grey....
But like Colorado.... the sun has emerged again (it is SUMMER after all!)
And we are back in business.......more work to follow.......

NEW YEAR

2010-01-27T22:53:00.000-08:00

A New YEAR ...and a NEW Helicopter:

We received transport from our friends, the KIWIS,
in their new, pumped up helicopter
(they call it the Porsche of the Astars...)
I like to call it the: BLUE TIGER!

The BLUE TIGER takes us to the Wright Valley
...and the Onyx River......
Over what is called: Gargoyle Ridge:

One of the most exciting flights of my life.....

Project WISSARD-- Life under the ice

2009-12-20T12:30:00.000-08:00

Prof anxious to return to Antarctica for scientific mission

Priscu Research Group
John Priscu, second from right, is one of three leaders of a $10 million, six-year research project on the Whillans Ice Stream in Antarctica. Priscu, a Montana State University professor of environmental sciences, has pioneered the study of cold climates over the past 10 years. The 2009 field team for one of his projects included Tristy Vick, Andrew Baber, Priscu and Amy Chiuchiolo (our new friends!)

After more than 10 years of pushing the science of icy worlds, John Priscu has finally defrosted his critics.

Having just returned from Antarctica, Priscu restlessly halted long enough to talk about his latest and largest project so far — the $10 million Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling project, or WISSARD.

The three-pronged study will look at microorganisms that live in Lake Whillans, thousands of feet under the ice, as well as use a remote robot to explore the area between the ice sheets and the ocean.

It’s a big expedition. The six-year scientific mission, funded by the National Science Foundation, will involve 13 principal investigators, including Priscu, and nine institutions. Since Priscu helped develop the field of study, he is one of three leaders. He estimated that the logistics of moving people and equipment into the field will cost NSF another $40 million, a small chunk of the agency’s $9.5 billion 2009 budget.

“What’s neat about WISSARD is it’s actually an opportunity to crack through to those lakes and find out what’s in there,” said Dana Cruikshank of the National Science Foundation.

He noted that it’s like an international race, with the British and Russians pursuing the same goals, yet cooperative. He added that the research has big implications for climate science.

“We’ll get a better idea of how quickly the ice sheet is moving into the ocean,” Cruikshank said.

Piece of the pie

About $2.7 million of the $10 million will be directed to MSU’s piece of the puzzle, called GBASE, or GeomicroBiology of Antarctic Subglacial Environments.

Priscu said GBASE will be looking for novel organisms that have learned to survive for millions of years under the Antarctic ice sheet without sunlight.

“There has never been a sample from the bottom of an ice sheet collected for microorganisms,” Priscu said.

The other two acronym-loaded components of the project are LISSARD, Lake and Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling, and RAGES, Robotics Access to Grounding-Zones for Exploration.

LISSARD will take measurements from Lake Whillans, after drilling 2,300 feet through the ice to the water body. Scientists will measure water pressure and other variables to determine how often the lake fills and floods.

In RAGES, a robot will be lowered into the water to examine the area where the 100-mile long Whillans Ice Stream meets the Ross Ice Shelf to measure the stream’s velocity and how quickly it’s wearing away the ice.

“The U.S. project is by far the most integrated,” Priscu said.

Field work will begin next year, including the testing of the $4 million hot-water drill that has its own purifying system to insure that no contaminants enter the 1-foot drill holes.

Unlike Priscu, UC Santa Cruz professor Andy Fisher, an oceanographer, will be making his first trip to Antarctica as one of the researchers.

His project will be to examine how much geothermal heat from the earth is warming the base of the ice cap. The heat has never been measured before, leaving a gap in calculating about how fast the ice cap may melt.

Why go?

There are several reasons the research is important, Priscu said.

• The Antarctic ice sheet is half again as large as the United States. It contains 70 percent of the world’s fresh water. Should it melt, the Statue of Liberty would be waist-deep in water and many of the major metropolitan areas around the world would be underwater. The ice sheet produces so much water as it now melts that it rivals the Amazon River for contributing water and nutrients to the ocean.

• The ice sheets also harbor a record of the Earth’s climate. Air bubbles trapped in the ice go back 1 million years. The ice also reflects the sun’s heat away from Earth; if it were gone, the planet would be a warmer place.

• The cold environment also offers testing grounds for work on other planets, where ice may harbor extraterrestrial life. There’s also the possibility that newly discovered microorganisms might provide chemicals for medicines as well as insight into how they survive repeated freezing and thawing cycles.

“It’s like a last frontier of life,” Priscu said, “Instead of Antarctica being a big dead place, ice is an oasis for life.”

Walking the Glacier

2009-12-17T01:46:00.000-08:00

We had a trip over the glaciers via helicopter......

Now, let us go over the Glacier on foot ...we are hiking over Canada Glacier to Lake Bonney:

We start our Journey at Canada Stream (F1) and head up the drainage......

To reach the Glacier......

And hike OVER the Glacier........

( I am ON the glacier with McMurdo Sound in the distant background)

And get to the other side ......
Lake Bonney sits to our right......

and a warm meal waiting ......... Hope you enjoyed the trip!

WINGS -- Extraordinary Women

2009-12-15T02:46:00.000-08:00

iExplore! Your dream, your journey...Discover more about ethnobotany through WOD Rosita Arvigo, and more about life and science on the ice with WOD Birgit Sattler.

Follow our Flags Live in the Field!

WOD'08 Birgit Sattler takes Flag #21 down under as she researches radioactive fall-out and biomass distribution in the ice in Antarctica.

Fellow WINGS in Antarctica (and Me an honorary member!)

Flag carrier Felicity Aston takes Flag #15 to the South Pole as she leads the Kaspersky Commonwealth Expedition, comprised of 8 women from around the globe.

WOD'07 Terrie Williams brings Flag #23 on the Weddell Seals Expedition of 2009 in Antarctica, studying how the seals dive in the sustained dark of the winter.

Check out our interactive Flag Report Program--first-person reports, trip write-ups, photos, and more from around the globe!

Enjoy the Fall '09 WINGS Newsletter! Learn about the 2010 awardees, various updates from the field (and office), and a conversation with Steffi Schwabe.

Meet the WINGS Fellows. Incredible women from around the world who are making strides in a vast array of fields.

Protecting Our Water Dr. Edie Widder introduces "Kilroy," the wireless marine ecosystem monitor.

For more information on these extraordinary women: http://www.wingsworldquest.org/

Global Warming

2009-12-12T01:26:00.000-08:00

Study Busts Antarctica's Chill On Global Warming

It turns out temperatures are rising on a large chunk of West Antarctica, with dark red showing the area that has warmed the most, according to new data. Scientists in Antarctica also report the Wilkins Ice Shelf may soon break apart.

NASA/ E. J. Steig

Antarctica was seemingly the only continent on Earth that had not been warming up, as far as scientists could tell. But now a new study finds that large parts of the southern continent have in fact been getting warmer.

Researchers are particularly interested in Antarctica's fate because the coastlines of the world would be obliterated if Antarctic ice melted away and raised global sea level.

The continent is so remote, scientists didn't put permanent weather stations there until 1957 — and even those were in just a few scattered places. Eric Steig at the University of Washington says that made it hard to take the continent's temperature.

"It's like having data in San Francisco and New York and trying to say something about Arizona," says Steig. "You really need some more information if you're going to say anything reasonable about Arizona."

Steig and his colleagues have done just that for Antarctica, taking the sparse temperature records of the past 50 years and combining them with satellite records that cover a much greater area, but don't go back so far in time. Combining those records, they now report that a big chunk of Antarctica — the western part of the continent — has in fact been warming up, like the rest of the world.

Temperatures have risen by about 1 degree near the equator to more than 5 degrees near the North Pole.

"It's much less than Arctic warming but it pretty much is on par with global average warming," Steig says.

Forecast: More Snow

Up to a point, Antarctic warming can actually reduce sea level. Warming there can take water out of the ocean and deposit it on the continent, in the form of increased snowfall. (We are currently some evidence of this as it is SNOWING........

"West Antarctica should be getting more precipitation along with this increased temperature. But I think the data to demonstrate that are not really available," Steig says.

In fact, the best data from Antarctica show that the continent is putting slightly more water into the ocean than it's taking out.

Re-Assuring Discovery

Previous studies have not found a warming trend in Antarctica. Steig's conclusion is therefore a shift, but it's not a total surprise.

"This one study should not cause anyone to suddenly get more worried. If they are taking it seriously already, then this should not make them change their view particularly," he says.

In fact, Arctic scientist Richard Alley at Penn State University says he finds the new information reassuring — in a way.

"The world looks a little more sensible to me than it did before," he says.

That's because many scientists expected that Antarctica should be warming up, along with the rest of the world. It was a bit of a mystery why it didn't seem to be doing so. And the consequence of warming Antarctic air is not cause for panic, Alley says.

"For now, most of the Antarctic is still so cold that it's very hard to melt it from above. The big question for Antarctic for the near future is what happens to the ocean," he says, "because the warm ocean waters can circulate under the floating extensions of Antarctica — the ice shelves."

And if warmer water melts those ice shelves, they'll release mountains of ice behind them into the ocean.

Scientists have already seen some dramatic changes to ice shelves on the Antarctic Peninsula, which juts toward South America and is warmer than the rest of the continent. The relatively small peninsula has been a major exception to the rule for Antarctica; it clearly has been heating up in recent decades. At least eight large ice shelves around the peninsula have melted away.

David Vaughan from the British Antarctic Survey is on the peninsula right now, keeping a worried eye on the Wilkins Ice Sheet. It was once larger than Connecticut but soon could be gone entirely.

"We landed on the ice shelf just two days ago — flimsy looking piece of ice — and that appears to be hanging on by the skin of its teeth," Vaughan says.

It could collapse any time in the next few weeks, he says.

"Not all of Wilkins will disappear overnight but a large part of it could," Vaughan says.

This ice sheet is already floating on the ocean, so when it melts it won't raise sea level. But it's a powerful reminder that change can come quickly — and dramatically — in this land of ice.

----by Richard Harris, January 21, 2009

Ice Core -- from Antarctica to Denver!

2009-12-09T04:09:00.000-08:00

At the Western edge of Lake Bonney, sits Taylor Glacier....

....and an ICE CORE sample:

This sample will find its way from Antarctica to DENVER, COLORADO!

The Snow and Ice Core Data Center and the National Ice Core Lab where scientists from our very own INSTAAR will study its composition and date the ice. They will measure and record temperature variations and atmospheric concentrations of CO2, methane and other greenhouse gases back to 420,000 years!

We were treated to a TASTE of this Glacier our first week in camp ....fresh water -- no treatment needed here!

DELICIOUS!

LDB -- The Long Duration Balloon

2009-12-04T17:28:00.000-08:00

The LDB program is now at the start of launch operations for the 2009-10 season!

Two large balloons with payloads (CREAM and SPB) and five small balloons with payloads (BARREL) are to be flown this season.

(1) CREAM (Cosmic Ray Energetics and Mass) is designed to study the origins of cosmic rays, measuring their composition from protons to iron nuclei.
The goal is to observe cosmic-ray spectral features and/or abundance changes as a function of energy that might signify a limit to supernova acceleration.
To learn more, visit: http://cosmicray.umd.edu/cream

(2) SPB (Super Pressure Balloon) This seven-million-cubic-foot super-pressure balloon is the largest single-cell, super-pressure, fully-sealed balloon ever flown. When development ends, NASA will have a 22 million-cubic-foot balloon that can carry a one-ton instrument to an altitude of more than 110,000 feet, which is three to four times higher than passenger planes fly.

(3) BARREL (Balloon Array for RBSP Relativistic Electron Losses) BARREL is a multiple long duration balloon (LDB) project that will study radiation belt electron losses during the RBSP mission. Each balloon payload will include a three-inch by three-inch NaI scintillator that measures X-rays produced by electrons as they interact with neutrals in Earth's atmosphere.
You can follow their progress at: http://barrel2009.blogspot.com/

LDB is planning to make their first attempt to launch the CREAM payload:

Wednesday, December 2 at 02:00 AM.

For launch updates go to the Balloon Launches web page under Science on the McMurdo Home Page:

http://intranet.mcmurdo.usap.gov/science/ldb/

After a successful launch, you can follow flight tracking on the CSBF Antarctic Operations Home Page:

http://www.csbf.nasa.gov/antarctica/ice0910.htm

Happy Tracking!

BLOOD FALLS

2009-12-03T02:35:00.000-08:00

At the Western edge of Lake Bonney is a feature called Blood Falls;
Here is what it looks like now.....

Here is what it will look like at high flow......

According to recent research, rust-stained Blood Falls contains evidence that microbes have survived in prehistoric seawater deep under ice for perhaps millions of years. The colony of microscopic life-forms may have been trapped when Antarctica's then advancing Taylor Glacier reached into the ocean 1.5 to 4 million years ago. Mikucki and colleagues captured and analyzed a bit of the extremely salty, iron-rich liquid—which seems to be concentrated seawater—fresh from Taylor Glacier. In the samples were tell-tale proteins apparently from microbes.

Since their capture millennia ago, the microbes seem to have been completely isolated. Under 1,300 feet (400 meters) of ice, they catch no sunlight, required for photosynthesis, and have no source of outside food. The only thing keeping the microbes alive, the study says, is their ability to generate energy from chemical reactions with sulfur and iron (remember these elements from our Periodic Table?)

Iron is one thing in abundance beneath Taylor Glacier. Ground out of rocks by the creeping glacier and further broken down by the microbes, the mineral gives Blood Falls its surprising red color. The water also carries the specific fingerprint of sulfate—a carryover from when the water was part of the ocean.

You can read more of the story: "Rust-Breathing Bacteria: Miracle Microbes?"

Trip to Lake Bonney - view from the sky

2009-12-02T01:41:00.000-08:00

Today I take you on a trip to Lake Bonney in the helicopter......

Welcome Aboard!

Marko Dimov is our pilot....

We leave Lake Fyrxell
and F6 -- our Home Base...
(can you see our ATV)

The Sea is to the East (right), the Glacier in front is called Commonwealth; we are headed WEST.......

Ahead is Canada Glacier -- the first of (4) Glaciers we will fly over....

We fly OVER Canada Glacier to Lake Hoare on the other side....
And proceed to fly OVER Suess Glacier ......

And then over Lacroix Glacier, to reach Priscu Stream......

And over our last Glacier, Matterhorn Glacier and Lake Bonney.....

Lake Bonney is surrounded on its Western end by (3) Glaciers:
Rhone Glacier, Taylor Glacier, and Calkin Glacier
We set down at Lake Bonney to sample and measure:
Lawson, Santa Fe, Lyons and BLOOD FALLS!

Stay tuned for more on BLOOD FALLS......

Lake Bonney Part2: ENDURANCE

2009-11-27T23:39:00.000-08:00

One of the other research projects being conducted on Lake Bonney (UNDER Lake Bonney, really) is called: ENDURANCE :

The Environmentally Non-Disturbing Under-ice Robotic Antarctic Explorer (ENDURANCE) robot probe is scheduled for some tough tests in the next few weeks. The goal is to help NASA explore the underwater environment of Europa, one of Jupiter's moons.

We were fortunate to meet up with this team as ENDURANCE was traveling UNDER Taylor Glacier to provide the FIRST EVER! images under a GLACIER -- watch for the NEWS STORY to come out shortly......

Lake Bonney

2009-11-23T01:59:00.000-08:00

Over the Glacier from Lake Hoare, sits Lake Bonney ....

and the remainder of our streams: Lawson, Priscu (named after researcher John Priscu), Lyons and Santa Fe. We will also visit Blood Falls (more on this later)....

We will have now visited our entire complement of Streams for the first time .....and will begin our rotation visiting each stream one time/week to collect water flow measurements and collect samples....

Below is our map of Taylor Valley -- consisting of Lake Fyrxell, Lake Bonney, and Lake Hoare -- can you find them? The red markers are the stream sites at each of the Lakes......

The Stream sites are named according to the Lake they drain. For example, F1 = Canada Stream. It is the first stream on Fyrxell and flows out of Canada Glacier. Our sites are named: F1, F2, F3, F4 ....F10; H1, H2; B1-B4 -- can you figure out which stream goes with which number??? (Test will come later...)

Here is the "team" ready to work:

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Wright Valley

2009-11-22T11:21:00.000-08:00

The helicopter drops us off in the Wright Valley ....

to open gaging on the Onyx RIVER!

The Onyx is the only official USGS RIVER in Antarctica (it has been said that the Kiwis RAFTED on this river!)

We arrived before the water is flowing in time to survey the location:

(Seth surveying)

And exchange the N2 tank and retrieve last year's data.

Here is what we can expect to come.......

"How does Wright Valley differ from Taylor Valley?"

The Wright Valley is different from Taylor Valley in the lack of snow, warm lake temperatures, unusual rock features, desiccated seal carcasses, and an almost complete lack of plant life.

Large differences in salinity and ionic composition of the lakes are related,in part, to how the lakes have responded to climatic changes through the Holocene. Chemical variations among streams are due, in part, to their geomorphological differences, the amount of water–rock interactions within their hyporheic zones, and the amount and composition of dust and soil blown onto the glacier surfaces.

Do you notice the differences in this picture?

While the streams in Taylor Valley drain to Lake Fyrxell; Onyx River drains to Lake Vanda in the Wright Valley.

Next stop, set of gages on Lake Bonney......

Science Friday - SCINI!

2009-11-20T09:29:00.000-08:00

What is SCINI?

SCINI stands for Submersible Capable of under Ice Navigation and Imaging. She is an underwater robot specifically built to complete science missions beneath the frozen surface of the ocean in Antarctica.

The remotely operated vehicle SCINI cruises over the seafloor
under the ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica.

SCINI is a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) which means that a tether to the surface allows the pilot to see what she sees through her camera “eyes” and control where she “swims” with her five thrusters.

A test mission at MBARI in Monterey Bay, California. You can see the lighted camera dome on the left, and thrusters to move SCINI up/down, left/right, and forward/back arrayed down her body.

The pilot uses a joystick that looks suspiciously like a video game controller (because it is one) and views the world on a computer flat screen that shows not only the seafloor around SCINI but also the vehicle status array and engineering diagnostics.

The central screen is the views from the cameras, the screen on the left is the engineering screen, and the screen on the right is the navigation screen.

SCINI finds her way around in the ocean using an integrated South Star navigation system that has been developed in partnership with Desert Star Systems. This wireless array allows us to extend the accuracy of GPS beneath the water where satellite signals cannot penetrate. And, what is SCINI finding her way towards? That is what the scientists decide, and this year SCINI will be diving deeper and in more remote locations, in order to describe Antarctic seafloor communities that have never before been seen by human eyes.

SCINI found this unidentified octocoral species at 190 m depth under the McMurdo Ice Shelf.

For more information on the SCINI project visit: http://scini2009.mlml.calstate.edu

Wright Valley --stand by

2009-11-19T01:42:00.000-08:00

Our trip to the Wright Valley (via Helicopter)........
delayed due to Katabatic wind

Sketch of the generation of Katabatic Winds

A katabatic wind, from the Greek word katabatikos meaning "going downhill", is the technical name for a drainage wind, a wind that carries high density air from a higher elevation down a slope under the force of gravity. Such winds are sometimes also called fall winds.

Katabatic wind in Antarctica

Katabatic winds are most commonly found blowing out from the large and elevated ice sheets of Antarctica and Greenland. The buildup of high density cold air over the ice sheets and the elevation of the ice sheets brings into play enormous gravitational energy, propelling the winds well over hurricane force.^[1] In Greenland these winds are called Piteraq and are most intense whenever a low pressure area approaches the coast.

Helos will be cleared and we will be off....

List of streamgages shown on the map:

Site number	Stream
14	Onyx River at Lake Vanda Weir
15	Onyx River at Lower Wright Weir

So, what makes the streams and valleys different from one another......

Stay tuned.......and we will see you in the Wright Valley!

Streams in Taylor Valley

2009-11-18T02:55:00.000-08:00

We have been spending the last days preparing to gage the following streams:

List of streamgages shown on the map:

Site Number	Stream
1	Canada Stream
2	Huey Creek
3	Lost Seal Stream
4	Aiken Creek
5	Von Guerard Stream
6	Crescent Stream
7	Delta Stream
8	Green Creek
9	Andersen Creek
10	House Stream
11	Priscu Stream
12	Santa Fe Stream
13	Commonwealth Stream
16	Lawson Creek
17	Harnish Creek
19	Lyons Creek
20	Harnish Creek Tributary

Can you find them all on the map?

According to the USGS, Stream-gaging consists of the following Streamflow Data:

1. Stage - which is the height of the water surface above a reference elevation.

2. Discharge - the measurement of cross-sectional area and the velocity of the flowing water.

• We use a pgymy meter to measure the velocity of the water. A Pgymy meter consists of a spinning set of 'cups' that rotate in the water and spin around to measure the water speed.

Other measurements we make at the streams are for water quality:

pH, Anions, Cations, Nutrients and Dissolved O2. We are interested in the amount and type of ions (ie Ca2+, K+,Na+, Cl-, HCO3-,SO3-)

Find the elements that form these ions on the Periodic Table:

We are off to the Wright Valley to gage the streams there........

Home Base .....Part 2: We Have Arrived!

2009-11-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

Our scheduled Helo drop was turned into a hike over the Glacier -- and it was well worth it!

Our day started out ominous.....

But once we rounded Canada Glacier - the skies cleared.....

And we had a glorious day...

And we arrived home.....Lake Fyrxell (F6)

And the work began.......I chopped the lake ice to melt for drinking water....

Chopping ice and 'picking glacier berries' will be our supply of water for drinking and cooking. No other place on the planet can you drink straight from the Glacier!

We are off to open Stream Gauges:

F1 (Canada Stream)
F2 (Huey)
F3(Lost Seal)
F4(McKnight)
F5 (Aiken)
F6 (Von Guerard)
F7(Harnish)
F8(Crescent)
and F10(Delta)......

More on Stream Gauging, Water Sampling and Surveying to come......

Delayed Due to Snow!

2009-11-15T11:52:00.000-08:00

Around 98% of Antarctica is covered with ice. The Dry Valleys region is the largest area on the continent NOT covered by ice.

Located in the mountains by McMurdo Sound, on the part closest to New Zealand, the Valleys receive the equivalent of 10cm of water per year in the form of snow.

However, this year, we will most likely surpass that average .......our departure to Lake Fyrxell and F6 was delayed due to SNOW!

This delay gave us time to catch up on email, do some research and REST UP for the next day's adventure! Stay tuned for our journey to Lake Fyrxell .........

In the meantime, here are some Facts On the Dry Valleys.........

There are (3) Large Valleys that make up the Dry Valleys:

Taylor,

Wright,

and Victoria

The Valleys are about 80-100km long, 8-10km wide and 3km deep.

For comparison, how far is it from Boulder to Ft. Collins?

The Surface of the valleys include: gravel floors with large expanses of bedrock. The bedrock consists of Precambrian metamorphic rock of the Koettliz Group (OK -- now you have some HOMEWORK!)

It is thought that the valley landscape is due to glacial erosion.

Next..... A WORD ON GLACIERS

Glaciers of the McMurdo Dry Valleys are fundamental to the hydrology and biology of the Dry Valleys because they are the only significant source of water.

Understanding the glacial events and meltwater runoff is the key to understanding the Dry Valley ecosystem.

Of all forms of mass loss, sublimation accounts for 70% of total glacial mass loss. What is sublimation?

The Dry Valley Glaciers are classified as polar glaciers. Polar Glaciers mean their interior and basal temperature are well below freezing and the glacier is frozen to the ground underneath (thus the glacier is not advancing much).

The climate of the Dry Valleys is that of a cold desert. Average air temperature is -20C and the warmest summer months (Oct-Feb) 1.4C.

Solar radiation is the important driving force for the hydrological and biological systems in the Dry Valleys. It influences sublimation, heating of the soils and air, and providing energy for photosynthesis by the microbial communities.

Solar radiation levels were 84-117 W/m2 in 1994. In 2007, the average was 208 W/m2.

What would be some possible outcomes of increased solar radiation?

Next Field Camp .... F6 (Our Home Base)

2009-11-12T21:07:00.000-08:00

We are on the move again.....

Due to the storm (fierce winds) the helicopters are not flying so we will be HIKING OVER CANADA GLACIER to our next field camp (F6) on Lake Fryxell.

DID YOU KNOW: Glaciers currently cover about 10% of the world’s land area and contain 75% of the world’s freshwater. Although they are most prevalent in polar regions like Antarctica and Greenland, they can be found on nearly every continent.

F6 on Lake Fyrxell will serve as our HOME BASE for most of our time in the Dry Valleys (with Lake Hoare our 'weekend' home). Most of our testing supplies have been dropped here so we will gather up all of our supplies, set up camp and open our 'temporary lab' to run our water samples.

We will visit: 3 of our stream sites today---including LOST SEAL.

For the story of the Lost Seal, check out: http://www.mcmlter.org/lostseal/ You can also check out the book from the Boulder Public Library!

Science Friday - PENGUINS!

2009-11-12T16:28:00.000-08:00

Did you know that there are SEVENTEEN species of penguins?
Of the 17 species of penguins, only four breed on the Antarctic continent itself: the Adelie, the Emperor, the Chinstrap and the Gentoo penguins. Most other species are found within the subantarctic regions which includes many coastal islands. Penguins are also found as far north as the Galapagos Islands, straddling the Equator.

Jean Pennycook has been tracking the Adelie penguins on Cape Royds for 8 seasons.....you can see her penguins LIVE on PENGUIN CAM: http://thistle.org/pcam/

Feature Penguin:
Adelie

Population:	2.5 million pairs
Location:	Antarctic region
Size:	About 30 inches tall
Weight:	11 pounds
Diet:	Fish, krill, & other small crustaceans
Nests:	Circle mounds of small stones

Also check out the great PENGUIN fun at: www.penguinscience.com/classroom_home.php

Penguins Marching into Your Classroom

We wanted to know how climate change is affecting the penguins. We traveled with Dr. David Ainley, on of the most respected penguin researchers in the world. And this is our story.........

Penguins Helped and Hurt by Changing Climate

We take off by helicopter from America's main research base in Antarctica (McMurdo Station) toward Cape Royds, where exactly 101 years ago, in 1908, scientists started studying the local penguin colony. It takes only 20 minutes to get there, but it's one of the most spectacular trips of my life. The Earth is blinding white in every direction. We pass a white wall of mountains off to the left (Dry Valleys) and, on the right, an active volcano with steam curling out of the vent (Mt. Erebus).

Then the helicopter drops us in a small clearing. We climb a snowy ridge, and there at the top are thousands of noisy penguins. They're crowded together on a mound of black volcanic rock, and they're squawking and cooing their hearts out.

These penguins are called Adelies. They look like emperors, which were showcased in the hit movie March of the Penguins. Only Adelies aren't as big — they barely come up to my thighs. Most are milling around; some are flopped on their stomachs on nests which they make out of stones. There are fuzzy chicks that look like toys.

Our guide is Dr. David Ainley. He says he loves studying Adelie penguins, partly because they're so out there. Literally.

"There's no bushes here; they don't dig burrows. They just sit out here in full view and they don't really care if we're around. They have no secrets," Ainley says.

It's surprising to hear him talk this way, because researchers don't usually ascribe human emotions to animals. But when Ainley talks about these penguins, it sounds like he's talking about friends.

"Penguins have no self-doubt," Ainley says, adding sheepishly: "Which I have lots of, for myself. "They are good examples of how we all should live. They're the epitome of the word dauntless," Ainley says.

These Adelies dive up to 400 feet, dodging giant ice floes the size of cars which bash around in the surf. Some of the penguins are already coming back, shooting straight out of the water like a circus trick. Ainley says they can leap nine or ten feet, popping out of the water like corks.

Finding Answers

Scientists say penguins are providing some of the first clues of how global warming is changing the planet. And Ainley has come up with evidence by asking very basic questions: Is this penguin colony growing or shrinking? Are the penguins finding plenty of fish to eat or are they hungry? To get the answers, Ainley arms himself with a syringe loaded with tiny computer identification chips. Then he and his colleagues grab a penguin and hoist it like a squirming dog.

"We put them under our arm and hold them tightly. They're extremely strong. They're very aggressive, and they're very territorial," Ainley says. "And they definitely aren't used to being touched ... They don't even want to be touched by another penguin."

Still, the researchers inject a chip in every angry penguin's shoulder. Then they take a computerized scale, which looks like a rubber mat, and they place it on the path so the penguins cross it. This system lets Ainley track all kinds of information. For instance, what time does each penguin go fishing and when does it come back? How much weight does the penguin gain or lose?

An Unpredictable Future

Scientists have been doing similar studies in other parts of Antarctica. They've plotted their findings against the climate. The results are striking. During the past few decades, as climate patterns in some parts of the continent have changed dramatically, Adelies in some regions have almost disappeared. Their numbers have plunged 80 percent. But the Adelies where Ainley does his research are doing better than ever.

"These penguins are definitely being helped by climate change," Ainley says.

Ainley and other researchers think they know why. Most types of penguins go fishing only in open water, so they're all competing with each other to find food. But Adelies catch their fish by diving deep under the ice. In fact, they're just about the only penguin that can physically do that. So, when there's plenty of ice over the sea, Adelies hardly have any competition and they can get all the food they want.

Now the changing climate is shaking things up. In some areas where most of the ice has melted, Adelies can't survive. But Cape Royds used to have too much ice, and now it has just the right amount. So penguins here are doing great.

Ainley says here's the moral: Global warming is making life unpredictable. Early this year, he was studying another penguin colony, and a glacier was melting.

"There were huge rivers running off this glacier, running through the penguin colony, and the rivers were engulfing these penguin nests. And the penguins just kept collecting rocks to try to make their nests bigger, raise them up out of the water. And for many of them, they couldn't collect rocks fast enough. And so their eggs were just washed away," Ainley says.

Ainley's radio crackles, and we get word that our helicopter is arriving soon....

For more information on Dr. Ainley and his research:

http://www.penguinscience.com/current_sum.php

For More Penguin Stories and Penguin facts visit: www.penguinscience.com/classroom_home.php - or -

http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/Animals/CreatureFeature/Adelie-penguin

Keep Marching Penguins........

2 Glaciers - 2 Streams

2009-11-11T23:31:00.000-08:00

We visited 2 Glaciers today: Suess and Canada. There are streams from these glaciers that we will monitor for the season (House and Anderson otherwise know as H2 and H1, respectively)

Suess Glacier is at the West end of Lake Chad
Lake Chad (-77.633, 162.767) is a small lake lying east of the month of Suess Glacier in the Taylor Valley of Victoria Land. Charted and named by the British Antarctic Expedition under Scott, 1910-13, after the African lake of the same name. It is only about five meters southwest of Lake Hoare.

and Canada Glacier is at the East end of Lake Hoare
Lake Hoare is a lake about 4.2 km (2.6 miles) long between Lake Chad and Canada Glacier in Taylor Valley, Victoria Land. Its surface area measures 1.94 km² (0.75 sq.mi.). It was named by the 8th Victoria University of Wellington Antarctic Expedition (VUWAE), 1963-64, for physicist R.A. Hoare, a member of VUWAE that examined lakes in Taylor, Wright, and Victoria Valleys.

As you can see, everything is still FROZEN so there is no flow to monitor, but we changed the N2 tanks and swapped out the data recorders to guage the new season. The work has begun.......

Then and Now...

2009-11-11T22:54:00.000-08:00

Our Trip to Taylor Valley involved.....

Then....

Over McMurdo Sound...

Into Taylor Valley....

To land here:

And camp here.....

There is quite more snow in the Valley this year compared to last .......

View from the tent last year:

This is what is looks like THIS year:

We are headed off to check the first two of our many streams......

Deployment Day!

2009-11-10T02:01:00.000-08:00

Our trainings are complete, science cargo shipped, field gear and food rations packed and all team members present (Seth, Mike and Barbara) and we are ready to go!

We will begin our research at: Lake Hore, Lake Fryxell and Lake Bonney (Can you find them on the map?)

We are leaving the safety (and warm beds) of McMurdo behind .......

.....to venture ahead to the Glaciers, Streams and Lakes of the Dry Valleys.
Let the adventure begin!

We will miss the great research scientists and staff at Crary Lab but will keep them in our thoughts as we highlight their work (robotic explorers, phytoplankton, LBD balloons) in the coming blogs......

Gotta' run.........there's a helicopter to catch!

See you in the Dry Valleys!

Spotlight: Anne Dal Vera

2009-11-09T02:00:00.000-08:00

WOMEN ON THE ICE

Today we met Anne Dal Vera
--- member of the 1993 Women's Expedition to the South Pole

The triumphs and hardships of the four members of the American Women's Expedition (AWE) spring to life in this very personal account of their attempt to become the first all-female team to cross Antarctica on skis and to reach the South Pole on foot.

Although the women made history by reaching the Pole, illness and injury prevented them from completing a traverse of the continent. Throughout their journey, the women maintained radio contact with the expedition director in Chile, who relayed information back to the U.S. and Canada where thousands of school children followed the team's progress.

An American Womens Antarctic Expedition (AWE) arrived at the South Pole on skis in January 1993, covering 700 miles (1,100 kilometers) in 67 days.

Read their story:

Currently, Anne resides in Durango, Colorado. She is working with USAP in support of the LBD project (Long-Duration Ballooning). You can read more about the project at: http://www.scienceblog.com/community/older/2000/C/200002944.html)

What a difference 12 hrs makes......

2009-11-07T02:08:00.000-08:00

Have been watching the storm roll in from the south ........

Here is what it looked like THIS MORNING:

On the left, Black Island:
Black Island (78°7′S 166°8′E / 78.117°S 166.133°E) is an island in the Ross Archipelago immediately west of White Island. Discovered by the Discovery Expedition (1901–04) and so named for its lack of snow. On the northern tip of the island is the principal telecommunications downlink facility for the US Antarctic Programs McMurdo Station.

On the right, Mount Discovery
Mount Discovery is a conspicuous, isolated stratovolcano, lying at the head of McMurdo Sound and east of Koettlitz Glacier, overlooking the NW portion of the Ross Ice Shelf. Discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (1901-04) and named for their expedition ship Discovery.)

Here is what it looks like NOW:

Current Weather
11/08/2009
05:55:00 GMT

Temperature
-10°C 14°F

WindChill
-17.91°C -0.24°F

McMurdo Station Webcam
The McMurdo Station Webcam is set up on Crater Hill, about 305 meters (1,000 feet) in elevation. Crater Hill is behind McMurdo Station between "The Gap" and Middle Crater. The camera, used for weather observations and forecasts, overlooks the center of McMurdo Station with McMurdo Sound in the background. To the right is Winter Quarters Bay and Hut Point where Robert Scott's 1902 Discovery Hut still stands (not that you can SEE any of them!)

I am so thankful to be INSIDE!

Science Friday - Dry Valleys

2009-11-05T23:13:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Science Friday!
-- where we spotlight a different USAP project every week.
First up: where we are headed, of course!

Our NSF funded project is referred to as B-421-M Diane McKnight. Dr. McKnight, INSTAAR, University of Colorado, Boulder is the PI (Principal Investigator).

Stream Hydrology and Ecology

Numerous ephemeral streams link the glaciers and lakes within the dry valleys for 6 to 14 weeks during the austral summer. These glacial meltwater streams recharge the dry valley lakes and are important sources of nutrients to the lakes. The McMurdo LTER has in place an extensive network of gauging stations where streamflow is continuously measured throughout the austral summer. To quantitatively describe the relationship between climate and flow in the glacial meltwater streams that feed the lakes, streamflow measurements are being used in conjunction with data on climatic conditions to develop a watershed scale model of ecological dynamics in Taylor Valley. Additionally, detailed ecological and geomorphological characteristics of 16 stream sites have been mapped using a total station and GPS equipment, establishing permanent stream sites at which the ecological responses to increased streamflow can be monitored over long time scales.

Microbial mat and moss communities are often found within and along the margins of streams in the dry valleys. Of primary interest is determining the processes that control distribution, biomass, and productivity of these communities. Despite the extreme harshness of the environment, a total of 30 taxa of cyanobacteria and chlorophytes and 38 species of diatoms are present in dry valleys streams.

We will take one of these.....

to get from here....

across the sea ice, to here: The Dry Valleys

We will be spending most of our time in the Taylor Valley with some time in Wright Valley. There will be lots of information on each of the streams during the course of our deployment...stay tuned!

Next week: we talk with Jean Pennycook about the Penguins! You can check out Penguin Cam at: www.penguinscience.com

Cape Evans - Scott's Hut

2009-11-05T22:08:00.000-08:00

Cape Evans

Photograph by: Michael Hoffman, National Science Foundation

Original description: "Cape Evans, Ross Island. This site was chosen by Sir Robert Falcon Scott's Terra Nova expedition as the location where they would build their base in 1911. The roof of Scott's hut can be viewed in the center-right of the photo. This hut and other historic sites are maintained under the auspices of New Zealand's Antarctic Heritage Trust. Scott named the location in honor of his second in command, Lieutenant Edward Evans, Royal Navy. The Barne Glacier can be viewed in the background. "

Scott hut, Cape Evans

Scott's Hut
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Box of stores from Scott's 1910–12 expedition inside Scott's Hut.
Scott's Hut is a building located on the north shore of Cape Evans on Ross Island in Antarctica. It was erected in 1911 by the British Antarctic Expedition of 1910–1913 (also known as the Terra Nova Expedition) led by Robert Falcon Scott.
In selecting a base of operations for the 1910–1913 Expedition, Scott rejected the notion of re-occupying the hut he had built by McMurdo Sound during the Discovery Expedition of 1901–1904. This first hut was located at Hut Point, 20km south of Cape Evans. Two factors influenced this decision. One was that the hut was extremely cold for living quarters and the other was that Scott's ship, the Discovery, had been trapped by sea ice at Hut Point, a problem he hoped to avoid by establishing his new base further north.

For period photos of Scott, visit: http://donegal.uchicago.edu/antarctica/capeevans/old/index.html

Cape Royds Hut - built 1908

Shackleton's 1907-1909 Nimrod Expedition

Cape Royds is situated at the extreme west point of Ross Island overlooking McMurdo Sound.

The Hut at Cape Royds was built in 1908 for Shackleton's 1907-1909 "Nimrod" expedition. It was built away from the already existing and nearby Discovery Hut erected by Captain Scott in 1902 due to an agreement that Scott and Shackleton had.

Shackleton also agreed not to enter McMurdo Sound where Scott had built his hut or use the route to the Pole that Scott had pioneered on the earlier expedition (even though Shackleton was one of two other men who had accompanied Scott on his earlier South Pole attempt).

The plan had been to make a base at the Bay of Whales, but this was not possible due to impenetrable pack ice from a long stretch of ice shelf that had calved into the sea, Shackleton had to head into McMurdo Sound despite his promise to Scott. The Cape Royds hut is about 32km (20 miles) from Scott's Discovery Hut.

Construction of the specially designed prefabricated hut took about 10 days, with the insulation another three weeks. Propped up against the packing cases towards the left of this picture can be seen a spare wheel from the very first motor car to be taken to Antarctica - an Arrol-Johnston.

There was an overwintering party of 14 men, in December 1908 to January 1909 a 4-man party consisting of Shackleton, Adams, Wild and Marshall made an attempt on the South Pole, they came to within 97 miles (156 km) before accepting that while they could probably make it to the pole, there was virtually no chance of them managing to get back alive.

We were not able to voyager on to Shackleton's Hut at Cape Royds because the sea ice is already breaking! See image taken yesterday below:

Transportation and Travel

2009-11-05T22:07:00.001-08:00

I set out to walk to Cape Evans......

No, really........ How do you get around on the ice, you ask?

The above is called a DELTA -- origins to be uncovered..... it fits 9 passengers on each side in the back with 3 passengers in the front (including the driver) and YES you must go through driving school to be certified :)

Next stop.....Cape Evans!

Ice Caves

2009-11-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

On the journey past Scott Base (on our way to Cape Evans) we stop at ICE CAVES......

The ice cave entrance in the distance.

At the very edge of the Erebus Glacier Tongue, and about to walk into the glacier, we enter the ICE CAVE! This is where the Erebus Glacier, spilling off from Mt. Erebus, goes out to sea. Here, the icescape becomes an uplifted, gnarled jumble, very different than the relative flatness of the sea ice we have been driving on.

Entering the ice cave.

We slide in the entrance (like penguins) to emerge into an ICE chamber. Stalactite spikes of ice were hanging from the ceiling leading to an inner cave chamber. The light became a greenish-blue as light was filtered through the overhanging snow and ice (just like the quinzee).

Ethereal blue light in the crystal palace.

The main chamber.

Looking toward the back chamber.

makes me think of the ICE PALACE in Leadville......

Scott Base - our Kiwi neighbors to the south

2009-11-05T18:53:00.000-08:00

Scott Base

Nationality: New Zealand

Location: Scott Base is located at Pram Point on Ross Island (latitude South 77� 51� East 166� 46�), 838 miles (1353k) from the South Pole and one mile from McMurdo Station (US). It is managed by the New Zealand Antarctic Institute, Antarctica New Zealand

Scott Base

History:
Scott Base was constructed for New Zealand's participation in the International Geophysical Year and Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition and was officially opened on January 20 1957. Although designed for a life of only a few years, the value of Antarctic research was soon recognized and a base rebuilding program began in 1976. Today only one building of the original Scott Base remains, the TAE hut, which contains material recording New Zealand's involvement in Antarctica since 1957.

Information:
A clean and attractive collection of lime green buildings, which accommodates 10 winter-overs and up to 80 people in the summer. Most of its buildings are linked by all weather corridors. Compared to McMurdo Station (US), 1 mile away, Scott base looks trim and tidy.

Science:
Antarctica as a Global Barometer; The Southern Ocean; Life in Extreme Environments; Human Influences In/ On Antarctica; and The Connections between Antarctica and New Zealand.

Web Cam:
www.geocities.com/coldclimate/index.html

Website:
www.antarcticanz.govt.nz/

Wildlife:
King Penguins, Emperor Penguins, Adelie Penguins, Weddell Seals, Antarctic Skua

Pressure Ridges and Ice Caves

2009-11-05T18:44:00.001-08:00

A pressure ridge is formed where an ice sheet is broken and one piece rides over the other. The actual "pressure" is often provided by winds, storms or ocean currents that can be many miles distant acting on the edge of the ice sheet. So at the position of the pressure ridge itself, it can be eerily calm while huge forces are exerted through the ice itself. Such pressures are what threatened and destroyed some of the ships of the early polar explorers such as Shackleton's Endurance.

I saw the most amazing pressure ridge on a walk from McMurdo Station to Scott Base (operated by the kiwis). More on Scott Base......

Mt Erebus

2009-11-03T01:08:00.001-08:00

Mount Erebus

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mount Erebus volcano
Mount Erebus, 1972
Elevation	3,794 metres (12,448 ft) ^[1]
Location	Ross Island, Antarctica
Prominence	3,794 m (12,448 ft)^[1]Ranked 34th
Coordinates	77°32′S 167°10′E / 77.53°S 167.17°E / -77.53; 167.17Coordinates: 77°32′S 167°10′E / 77.53°S 167.17°E / -77.53; 167.17
Topo map	Ross Island C77190S1
Type	Stratovolcano
Age of rock	About 1,000,000 years
Last eruption	2008 (continuing)
First ascent	1908 by Edgeworth David and party^[2]
Easiest route	Basic snow & ice climb
Listing	Ultra

Mount Erebus in Antarctica is the southernmost historically active volcano on Earth.^[1] With a summit elevation of 3,794 metres (12,448 ft), it is located on Ross Island, which is also home to three inactive volcanoes, notably Mount Terror. Mount Erebus is part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, which includes over 160 active volcanoes.

For more information Mt. Erebus visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Erebus^]

We will be on to Cape Evans tomorrow.....more of Shackleton's adventure awaits........

Snow School ie "Happy Camper School"

2009-11-02T23:53:00.000-08:00

By far my favorite training has been "happy camper" school. We were brought out onto the Ross Island Ice Shelf and left with shovel, saw (what the heck do i do with a saw!) and our ECW (Extreme Weather Gear). Happy Camper, you say...it was indeed an experience!

We were instructed how to build a quinzee, a snow block wall, and a "trench" -- these are all shelters to get out of the weather and SURVIVE. We must have been successful as I have all my fingers and toes (plus my ears and nose!) It was a stunning night with Mt. Erebus "puffing" in the background. Stay tuned for more information on Mt. Erebus (because a volcano in Antarctica deserves its OWN blog!)

Trainings

2009-11-02T00:50:00.000-08:00

Trainings you say!

Antarctica is a continent of extremes....fire and ice. It is home to the southern most volcano, Mt Erebus.

In order to work in this environment safely, it requires a few trainings:

• Crary Lab Safety
• Environmental Field Brief
• Dry Valley (ASMA) Field Training - the Dry Valleys are a protected area, special permissions required.
• Protecting Antarctica's Environment
• Waste Management - this is a pristine continent - zero waste policy - yes, that means ship it ALL back.
• Communications - radio contact with MacOps
• Helo -- yes, this IS HELICOPTER training!
• Snow School - i built a QUINZEE (if you don't know what it is...see above)

Getting up to speed

2009-11-01T21:20:00.000-08:00

Before we can begin our data collection, or get out into the field, we must first prepare, prepare, prepare! This means logistically, physically and mentally.......ie lots of trainings!

Trainings like: Snow School, Comm Ops, Helo (yes, this is HELICOPTER) Waste Management, Field Safety, and more!

But, before we begin....let's look at ANTARCTICA!

What do you know about Antarctica?

Background on our journey

2009-11-01T20:21:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

Welcome to our journey to Antarctica ...specifically the region across the McMurdo Sound called the Dry Valleys. The McMurdo Dry Valleys (77°30'S 163°00'E) on the shore of McMurdo Sound, 2,200 miles (3,500 km) due south of New Zealand, form the largest relatively ice-free area (approximately 4,800 sq km) on the Antarctic continent. These ice-free areas of Antarctica display a sharp contrast to most other ecosystems in the world, which exist under far more moderate environmental conditions. The perennially ice-covered lakes, ephemeral streams and extensive areas of exposed soil within the McMurdo Dry Valleys are subject to low temperatures, limited precipitation and salt accumulation. The dry valleys represent a region where life approaches its environmental limits, and is an end-member in the spectrum of environments included in the LTER Network.

We are part of team headed by Dr. Diane McKnight from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Locally, we are know as "The Stream Team". Please visit:http://www.mcmlter.org/ for more information about our project, the LTER, and Dr. McKnight.

Deploying to Antarctica

2009-11-01T19:53:00.000-08:00

Greetings Fellow Travelers!

We are deploying from Camp Science Discovery and The University of Colorado in Boulder to Antarctica .....come join us!