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Published during the austral summer at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, for the United States Antarctic Program January 4, 2004 Photo, Poetry and Prose Festival In time with the tides By Kris Kuenning Sun staff Like women and werewolves, ice streams flowing from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet are at the mercy of the moon. A few years ago, researchers accidentally dis- covered a correlation between ice stream movement and ocean tides. Ice streams are rivers of fast-flowing ice that form within a larger body of ice. Because the West Antarctic ice streams transport ice from the large expanse of the ice sheet to the floating Ross Ice Shelf, they hold the key to determining the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. Since the 1960s scientists have been studying the fac- tors that influence these ice streams. They knew the tide affected the ice Blue-Eyed Shags, Cormorant Island Photo by Cara Sucher streams where the ice streams go afloat. First place wildlife Laboratory supervisor But researchers weren’t expecting to find Palmer Station tidal variations 10 km and even 86 km upstream from the shore. The Antarctic Sun Photo, Poetry and Prose Festival received more than In 2001, Sridar Anandakrishnan of 100 entries this year. The winning photos and writings start on page 7, but Pennsylvania State University led a group to fully appreciate the winning photos, view them in color at of researchers to put seismic recorders and www.polar.org/antsun. There you can also download and print a calendar Global Positioning System (GPS) receivers created from the winning entries. It’s the Antarctic Sun’s way of wishing on one of the ice streams. They wanted to our readers a Happy New Year. document the reaction of the ice to local earthquakes. GPS recorders measured See Icetides on page 4 Measuring the cleanest air in the world QUOTE OF THE WEEK By Kris Kuenning NOAA’s worldwide Climate Measuring “The roommates that hang Sun staff and Diagnostic Laboratory. Combined with It takes the cleanest air in the world to information from Hawaii, Samoa, Alaska out together in their off tell us just how dirty our planet is. and the South Pole, it provides comparison time, stay together.” points for the network of air sampling sites Once a week at the National Oceanic - Overheard in the hallway and Atmospheric Administration’s around the world. (NOAA) South Pole research site, Station “It’s like checking a person’s blood Chief Jason Seifert or technician Glen pressure. We are measuring the health of Kinoshita walk into an area called the the world on a daily basis,” said Russell INSIDE Clean Air Sector with a suitcase of glass Schnell, director of observatory operations bottles. Extending a black rod into the sky, for the laboratory. they fish for the cleanest air in the world. Schnell describes the South Pole obser- Scavenging skua Inside the nearby research facility, vatory as the “baseline of baselines.” page 3 instruments are continuously recording the “You’ve got to set standards from some- levels of carbon dioxide and a range of where and we set ours from the South other chemicals in the air. Pole,” he said. Sci-fi scientist The South Pole observatory is one of four baseline observatories operated by See Air on page 13 page 14 2 • The Antarctic Sun January 4, 2004 Ross Island Chronicles By Chico We just picked up a distress signal from an American ice breaker. They’re out of fuel and drifting into an iceberg minefield. Cold, hard facts Deactivated USAP stations and camps Total: 22 I hate this job of having to constantly Sorry, chums, but if we help you Stations with FOOD available: 12 tell all these unfortunate saps that our out then every Tom, Dick and Stations with COOKING UTENSILS policy forbids us from helping out Harry out there will expect us to present: 4 so-called adventurers. do the same. Stations with FUEL stocked: 14 Stations with stored EXPLOSIVES: 1 Total months per person of stored pro- visions at all deactivated stations or camps: At least 162 Of these stations, number operated/vis- ited in the 1950s: 2 On second thought I’m sure we can 1960s: 14 That’s a shame because that 1970s: 4 work something out ... by the way, is it means we won’t be able to share 1980s: 5 with you all of our tuna and fish true that you have a lounge with a large 1990s: 2 sticks we have in stock. screen TV and a huge DVD Library? Longest running of these stations: Hallett Station near McMurdo Station was operated from January 1957 – February 1973 Source: 2002-2003 Antarctic Treaty Report plans, report written Nov. 2002. The Antarctic Sun is funded by the National Matt Davidson Science Foundation as part of the United States Antarctic Program (OPP-000373). Its pri- mary audience is U.S. Antarctic Program participants, their families, and their friends. NSF reviews and approves material before publication, but opinions and conclusions expressed in the Sun are not necessarily those of the Foundation. Use: Reproduction and distribution are encouraged with acknowledgment of source and author. Senior Editor: Kristan Hutchison Editors: Brien Barnett Kris Kuenning Copy Editors: Melanie Conner, Geoff Jolley, Wendy Kober, JD Menezes, Mark Williams Publisher: Valerie Carroll, Communications manager, RPSC Contributions are welcome. Contact the Sun at [email protected]. In McMurdo, visit our office in Building 155 or dial 2407. Web address: www.polar.org/antsun January 4, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 3 Skuas survive on a harsh continent By Kristan Hutchison the pups that die. Sun staff “They’re just surviving,” said Sal Consalvi who monitors eldom seen on postcards, skuas are the one Antarctic environmental issues on station. “They serve a great purpose. animal people try to shoo away. The tough birds know Just imagine how many piles of dead seals there would be with- that on a harsh continent, sometimes you have to steal out skua.” S to survive. A skua will snatch the hat from your head or Skuas also steal eggs and chicks from penguins for dinner, so the bagel from your hand. Around McMurdo Station, the south penguin researchers end up knowing the predators’ habits well. polar skua are said to recognize blue dining trays and dive bomb “They definitely are very smart birds,” said Susan anyone carrying one outside in hopes that the contents will Trivelpiece, who has studied them as part of penguin research on spill. King George Island. “The ones at the penguin colony, some of “Evil skua,” said David Stylianou, one of the dining them have learned to work as a team.” attendants who has had skuas coming at him from above One skua will peck at the backside of a penguin until it turns and behind when he tries to around, then the second skua will dash in and grab the penguin throw away the kitchen trash. Melanie Conner / egg. The Trivelpieces watched a pair of skuas use that technique National Science “I’ve had them taunt me.” Foundation to wipe out a colony of gentoo penguins in one year. People loathe and admire the Pairs of skua will stake out a colony as their personal hunt- scavengers in equal measure. ing ground. “They’re real smart, real sneaky “They’re the ones that control the penguin territory,” and I think they’re also pretty majestic in Trivelpiece said. “They divide up and defend it from other their own right,” said Chico Perales, who skua. It’s a very desirable food source for them.” draws skua characters into his Ross Island Any food source can become a territory. Several pairs of Chronicles comics occasionally. “I definitely skuas took up residence at the Polish Arctowski Station, where would have one on my shoulder.” they’ve been given names, Trivelpiece said. One skua pair The skuas’ brown and white coloring blends controls the front door and another the kitchen door. A into the patches of dirt found along the coast of third couple keeps an eye on the generator building. Antarctica, where the bird is usually found. A skua dubbed Loki has been returning to the Though they look like overgrown gulls, skuas McMurdo runway for at least five years, stealing are more muscular, with strongly hooked claws ballcaps. and powerful hooked beaks. The “He comes every year and he comes right up to you,” females are larger than the males. said Ann Pappas. “What he does with them, nobody knows.” According to The Antarctic Skua occasionally drag found items to their nests, made Dictionary by Bernadette Hince, the word of clumps of lichen and grass lining bowls dug into the ground, skua was adapted from the Old Norse “skufr” and Trivelpiece said. They nest from November to December. has been used for northern predatory gulls of the genus Some rookeries are tightly-packed with nests Stercorarius since 1678. It was later applied to their south- 2 to 3 meters apart on hillsides. Others spread out with ern cousins in the Antarctic, of the genus Catharacta. about 150 meters between their nests. The nests are always sit- From there the word has worked its way into the Antarctic uated with a view of the skua’s territory. vernacular. The scavenging seabird’s name has become a verb, “If they see someone coming into their territory, they just tear meaning to find something someone else has cast off, usually off to attack,” Trivelpiece said. from the “skua” bins or the small building called Skua Central, Consalvi was attacked repeatedly when he went to Cape where second-hand items wait to be retrieved.

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