Countdown

Someone wrote this on the community whiteboard a couple of days ago, and ain't it funny and the truth. We're all ready to leave Antarctica and head north to warmer climes and see familiar (and perhaps unfamiliar) faces, perhaps spending some time lounging around on a warm beach or hiking through a forest somewhere. We're expecting the LMG to arrive here on the 18th or so, depending on the ice conditions, and then we'll have a week of turnover with the summer folks and then it's buh-bye.

Tonight we had our last Saturday dinner together, and as I do every Saturday evening I hosted "Science Happy Hour". The bar here at Palmer is self-serve, but on Saturday nights I get to play bartender and serve up some adult beverages in the galley, while our chef, Diane, makes some great appetizers. Usually I try to have a theme of some sort for the occasion, so tonight I decided to whip up some Pisco Sours, which is a traditional Chilean beverage consisting of Pisco, lemon juice, sugar, egg whites, and bitters. Since we'll be back in Chile in a couple of weeks, it seemed like a good idea, plus we made sushi tonight, and Piscos are a light beverage which went well with it. The sushi was incredibly tasty, and reminded me of my favorite sushi restaurant back in San Luis Obispo, Tsurugi's.
We also have a pool going, to see who can guess what time of day the LMG will call us when it gets close to arrival. Usually they call about an hour or two before arriving in here. I chose 11:00...

Penguin Extinction

Here is a link to an article I found on MSNBC earlier today. Bill Fraser, the Principal Investigator (PI) interviewed for this story, left Palmer shortly before I arrived in March, but it was his research I was supporting when I was weighing giant petrel chicks last April/May out on Humble Island. When I arrived here there were still some Gentoo and Adelie penguins to be seen, and occasionally they would even come onto station and hang around the pier. But as Dr. Fraser attests, the local penguin population is quickly dying out as a result of global climate change. The Adelie penguins at left, appearing to bow in homage to the skua, may be a thing of the past here at Palmer within eight years.

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.

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.

Palmer Station Weather

First I have to say that the weather here at Palmer this winter has been so mild (in comparison to other stations I've worked at) that it never really felt like there was much to write about. We've had maybe two "major" storm events so far this winter, and then this morning when I woke up I could hear the wind howling outside, and realized that I wouldn't be going boating today. Sure enough, we've got winds gusting up to about 50 MPH (back in April we had gusts up to 90 MPH!) and lots of snow. I was almost knocked to the ground by the wind while walking from my dorm to the BIO building. No boating today, as the winds need to be <20 MPH.

Temperatures here in the winter are almost always below freezing (though currently it's a balmy 0.5C) but nothing too intolerable in comparison to Pole or McMurdo. Even when taking windchill into account I haven't experienced anything here like some of the temperatures at those stations, where it can get mind-numbingly and dangerously COLD. Mother Nature is serious trying to kill you at Pole, and without lots of warm layers and an abundance of caution, frostnip or bite is always waiting for you. Here, the greatest cold danger is falling out of one of the Zodiac boats into the sea, where the water temperature is actually slightly below freezing, and it feels like you're being stabbed with one million tiny knives. Panic quickly sets in, and you can't get out of the water fast enough.

One fact about Palmer Station and the Antarctic Peninsula in general is that the temperature has risen 3C over the last fifty years as a consequence of global climate change. The peninsula is truly becoming the "banana belt" of the continent. Here is a link to a good article about what's happening to the Marrs Piedmont glacier directly behind Palmer as a result of the increase in average yearly temperatures. As I look out of my office window some days to witness the glacier calving, I can't help but wonder if there will be any of it left in 100 years. Or if humanity will still be in Antarctica.

Post Easter Seals

Hi All,
It's been a busy past few days, even though we had a two day weekend. We normally work six 9-hour days per week, but the first weekend of every month we get a two day weekend to recuperate, and do fun stuff like island hopping or just taking naps. On Saturday a group of us took a Zodiac over to Old Palmer Station, which was built in 1965 to house the Navy personnel who were assigned to build the "new" Palmer Station where I currently reside. Our station was completed in 1968. All that's left of Old Palmer is the foundation and bits of debris, and the only inhabitants there are fur seals and lots of skuas. We walked around the ruins for a bit, then walked down towards Arthur Harbor to see the ice arch pictured below.

When I first came here to Palmer in 2000, the area immediately behind the arch was covered by the Marr glacier that you can see in the left background. It's since receded approximately 400 yards, and you can now boat on water and walk on ground which was covered over by a massive layer of ice just seven years ago. To me this is an amazing, first hand example of the effects of climate change. It's having a very profound effect on the glaciers, ice shelves, and wildlife all along the Antarctic Peninsula.
After leaving Old Palmer, we decided to ride out to Hermit Island, which is a really good place for seeing whales and other critters. However, on the way we spotted a group of seabirds congregating in and above the waters about 1 kilometer from station. We headed that way to see what the commotion was all about, and were amazed to see yet another Leopard seal attack! We floated around for a bit to watch the Lep devour its meal, and then headed on to Hermit Island, where we walked around for awhile and saw lots of seals, including a Weddell Seal which was kind enough to pause for a few photos on Easter Day.

Giant Petrel Chicks and The Grizzly of the Antarctic

The past couple of days have been filled with lots and lots of tivities. Yesterday the LMG left station bound for Puenta Arenas, Chile, and today, after a couple of meetings and logistics related things, I piloted a Zodiac out to Humble Island to do one of my new favorite things: Weighing Giant Petrel Chicks (affectionately known as Wooshies). As part of a long-term study called the LTER (Long Term Ecological Research), a group of 30 lucky Wooshies get the opportunity to be weighed every four days by a few enthusiastic human residents of Palmer Station. The Wooshies and their parents have become habituated to the presence of humans after 30 or so years of study, and this colony is one of the very few left on the continent that is actually thriving.

On a different note, a couple of days ago station personnel witnessed yet another predator/prey encounter between what I like to call the Grizzly of the Antarctic (the Leopard seal or Hydrurga leptonyx) and something that it was chomping on. It was hard to tell what was being chomped. Could've been a penguin. Might have been a seal. Hard to tell. But the Grizzly/Leopard was wallowing around for an hour or so playing with it's meal. Check out those canines!

Life outside Antarctica

Here is a picture of my girlfriend, Gwen, back in California yesterday autographing copies of her first book, The Iliad, the Odyssey, and the Aeneid, which was released by Scholastic Books in January. I am so proud of her, and her work is receiving great reviews.
Today the Laurence M. Gould sailed into Palmer, bringing in most of our winterover crew, and when she leaves this Sunday she'll be delivering home a very happy summer crew, who've been here anywhere from 2 months to 1 year. I assisted some of the new arrivals with orientation, and tonight we'll be having a science lecture delivered by Maggie Amsler about life here at Ye Olde Palmer Station as it was over 25 years ago when she first came here for science.