A Brief History of The Week

Hi All,
The past few days have been busy, with the normal end of winter frenzy involving cleaning/tasking/reports and trying to tie all the loose ends up, and then, all of the sudden, there's an emergency.

On Tuesday, 9/4, I got up a bit early and went down to BIO to get a cup of joe and write a little bit before work. However, things changed when I opened my email and found out that we were going to be getting an unexpected visit from the Nathaniel B. Palmer, which had left Puenta Arenas on 1 September bound for a two month cruise in support of a science project called SIMBA ( a great acronym: Sea Ice Mass Balance in Antarctica).

Enroute to their destination in the vicinity of the Bellinghausen Sea, the expedition took a turn for the worse as there was a fire in one of the science labs. Thankfully, no one was actually in the lab when the fire started, and no injuries occurred as a direct result of the fire or the containment of it. The vessel was going to carry on with the cruise, but needed to stop here at Palmer to refill their SCBA's and get a few things that had been forgotten or had not otherwise made it onto the boat.
When the ship arrived, Arthur Harbor was packed with ice, and as the NBP isn't able to actually dock at our pier because of its draft, the captain tried to break up some of the sea ice so that a Zodiac boat could attempt to make it into the vicinity of our sea water intake, which was not a good choice for a landing area. The picture above shows what they were dealing with, and a rubber Zodiac is not a good vehicle for breaking through ice when it's 6"-9" inches thick. Anyway, eventually the NBP came into Hero Inlet to break up the ice next to the pier, and then the crew released the "Cajun Cruncher", which is a steel-hulled boat that looks like a mini-NBP. After some serious effort, the Cruncher made it to the Palmer pier, and the SCBA's were passed up, along with the first new faces we've seen in 2 months.

I met the Marine Projects Coordinator (MPC) from the vessel, and after hauling all of the SCBA's up to the Dive Shack where the compressor is located, I assisted with the compressor, and then Stian gave me a list of some additional science supplies they would like to get for the boat. That done, there was then alot of conversation about what had happened and what was going to happen in terms of the rest of the voyage. It became apparent that the air quality aboard the boat was not good. So the SIMBA cruise was put on hold as a judgment was made regarding whether or not they should continue. Meantime, the scientists and crew came here on station and we all got to hang out together. On Friday night we had what is known down here as "Cross Town Pizza", and the NBP provided us with fresh lettuce and tomatoes and we all pitched in to make pizzas and dine together. I got to see a few folks who I haven't seen in years, and met a few people who I had heard about but had never actually met. It's a small world here in the USAP, and it's always good to see and meet folks for the first time or see and catch up with people who you haven't seen in years.

Long story short, because of health/safety issues, the SIMBA cruise was postponed and the NBP left yesterday to head back to PA. In such an enclosed air space, where the soot from the fire got into everything/everyone (including all of the servers on board), and the crew is breathing this in all day, the ship needs a thorough cleaning before it can carry on with the cruise. The cruise will be attenuated, but when it gets to PA a cleaning crew will be waiting to come aboard and get the boat ready to carry on with the expedition.

In a way, the unscheduled arrival of the NBP was a dry run for the scheduled arrival of the Laurence M. Gould on 17 September, that being the boat that will carry me and most of my fellow winter-overs back to Puenta Arenas and the rest of the world. I can't wait.

One last note, we finally decided upon our Official Palmer Station Winter 2007 picture. It's been a good winter.

All of the Time

I had meant to post alot more than just a title to this post, but it's been a very busy few days, and I'll just start another post. However, thanks to Station Leader Eric Pohlman for this beautiful picture of the last full moon over the station taken from the roof of the GWR building.

Antarctic Cuisine

Ah...Cooking. In Antarctica.

You work with what you have, and though there aren't always the freshest ingredients to work with down here, it's possible to create some seriously delicious dishes.

Antarctic cuisine has had its ebbs and flows, from OAE (Old Antarctic Explorers) who brought food down here in the form of lots and lots of canned goods, to those who consumed seals and penguins, to the ones who brought dogs down here to help them get around by sled and then ate them.

Yesterday, with help from Diane (who in my humble opinion is one of the Best Antarctic Chefs ever), I made one of my favorite Thai dishes, called Larb. Those of you who know me well know that I love to cook this dish, and though the name rhymes with lard, Larb (or Larp) is a very refreshing, light meal that I learned how to make in Thailand, back in 2003.

At Mais Quiet Zone, on Khao Lak beach.

Mai owned a small, low-key resort with her husband, Gerard. In February 2003 I went to Thailand for the first time, and one night sitting at a table for dinner, I asked Mai what she would recommend. "Larp", she said. "Larp, of Chiang Mai. You may like it". I loved it, and asked her to show me how to make it.

Larp is a chicken or pork-based dish (or fish, if you want) that is, of course, made with liberal amounts of lemongrass, cilantro, fish sauce, and the addition of some spicy peppers, to taste. The trick is to mince the chicken or pork well so that the spices permeate it.

Every time that I make this dish I remember Mai and thank her for showing me such a great recipe. Every time I make it tastes slightly different. It's an ongoing experiment. Though we're out of fresh cilantro and lemongrass until the boat gets here on the 17th, it tasted great, and was devoured at our station BBQ. And no penguins, seals, or dogs had to be sacrificed to make it.

Just added at left: Palmer residents Sara Russell, Dr. Shawn Vainio, Dan Simas, Karen Malesky, and Bede McCormick hard at work making cookies and prepping garlic at last Saturday's House Mouse.

Lunar Eclipse

Yesterday morning we experienced a full lunar eclipse here at Palmer Station. It was also visible in California and some of the other Western states, but most interesting was that it was fully visible at Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. At left is a photo taken here at Palmer of the waxing eclipse, and below is a series taken at the Pole itself.
Nota Bene: On 9/11/2007, there will be a partial eclipse of the sun.

BIG EYE

BIG EYE=insomnia.
must. get. sleep.
will. update. soon.

However, before I fall asleep, here's a picture that's a candidate for our official Palmer Station winter-over pic. We may do a re-shoot, as the mountains in the background didn't turn out the way we had envisioned. Goodnight.

Sea Ice

Had alot of snow last weekend, which assisted with the development of lots of sea ice surrounding Anvers Island and Palmer. If conditions stay calm and cold for a week or so, we may actually be able to ski to some of the local islands if the ice gets thick enough. At left is a recent satellite image showing about 5K of ice in front of Palmer.

Good Day Sunshine

This was how the sun and sky and sea looked at around 1400 this afternoon. Something about the quality of the light just captured my eye, especially after we've had numerous overcast/ windy/snowy days here lately. Arthur Harbor is full of pancake ice, which is kind of a precursor for building up a sturdy sea ice layer which you could actually walk on if it got thick enough. I'd like to hold your hand and walk on ice over to Torgerson Island one of these days, but I'm not holding my breath as the ice hasn't built up that deep for quite awhile, and I'm not a fan of extreme cold water immersion.

A synopsis of current events:

• All of the octopi in the garden except one ( who I will from now on refer to as "Lovely Rita") have succumbed to whatever it is (anemone, disease, hunger, water temperature?) that suddenly started claiming them a few weeks back. I tried feeding them and rescued the biggest one from an anemone, but the attrition rate has been cruel.
• Lovely Rita hasn't taken food in five days...
• My hair is growing back pretty fast. But I might just shave it all off again. It's an easy thing to wake up, get out of bed just wash my face/bare scalp, brush my toofs, and walk out the door.
  
• I wake up at around 0330 most hard days/nights lately, then try to fall back to sleep. I'm only sleeping, or trying to sleep. Usually I succeed in falling back to sleep, but last night I didn't and all I wanted was a nap today.
  
• All day.
• TRAUMA TEAM: ANTARCTICA ~~~~Yesterday our excellent physician, Dr. Shawn Vainio, MD, demonstrated proper techniques for stitching wounds, and then we got to practice sewing up wounds inflicted upon a nice piece of mahi mahi. It was fascinating, and another thing that will help out for nursing school.
• LOST is still one of the best shows EVER, at least here at Palmer Station.
• I have been asked and have agreed to stay here until October. I thought that I would be leaving on the first boat, which arrives approximately 17 September, but I was asked to stay on to help. My contract runs through October anyway.
  
• So. I'll be here, (there,) and (everywhere) until I re-deploy.
  

Pictured below is the boat that will be carrying all of us back to Puenta Arenas, the Laurence M. Gould., sitting at dry dock in Pt. Fourchon, LA. Basically, they pimped our boat for the ride home.