The Antarctic Sun, February 1, 2004

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Published during the austral summer at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, for the United States Antarctic Program February 1, 2004 Tectonicpuzzle Sea floor map could lead to climate answers By Kris Kuenning Sun staff If plate tectonics is the science of putting the world puzzle together, then the Antarctic continent is the missing jigsaw piece. Our planet is in constant flux. As part of the tectonic plates, continents slowly move across the globe. How much of them is exposed depends on how much of the oceans are locked up in ice. Marine geological survey information and the core samples from below Photo courtesy of Australian Defense Force the Ross Sea floor will help A boarding team from the Royal Australian Navy fast-ropes onto the fishing vessel Maya V from a Seahawk researchers piece together the elusive helicopter on Jan. 23. The Maya V was apprehended for allegedly fishing illegally near Heard Island. climate history from the early Cenozoic era, 30 million to 65 million years ago, and get more details of Antarctic plate tectonics from that time. Fighting over fish “Antarctica is the keystone to plate tectonics of the world,” said Antarctic research used to defend fish in the Southern Ocean researcher Bruce Luyendyk of the By Kristan Hutchison ing management, you need to know what’s University of California, Santa Barbara. Sun staff going on,” said Dan Evans, a seabird Plate movements are calculated by Two kinds of ships cast lines and nets researcher with the National Science comparing their positions in relation into Antarctic waters – those fishing for Foundation supported Long Term to each other. With little information cash and those trawling for answers. Ecological Research project at Palmer about Antarctic tectonic shifts, past Over the last decade, legal and illegal Station. and present, large question marks are fishing fleets have come farther south into For both fishermen and scientists, the Antarctic waters, filling their holds with stakes are high. The payoff for a metric ton left in the equation. krill, Patagonian toothfish and mackerel ice- of Patagonian toothfish is about $7,000, but The Cenozoic era is important fish. Researchers sample the same seas, try- in certain areas where pirate fishermen are because it was a time of major cli- ing to understand the marine resources in taking fish without regard for the regula- mactic transition. A warmer period, order to protect them from overfishing. tions, scientists have cautioned that tooth- described as a greenhouse Earth, gave “If you’re going to make intelligent judg- fish could be decimated in a few years, way to our current, cooler climactic ments about how much is too much in fish- See Fishing on page 16 See Tectonics on page 14

INSIDE Quote of the Week Tools of the trade “I spy our history” “If you find yourself in a bad get more high-tech at Mount Moulton situation, please try to avoid it.” Page 9 Page 15 - Offload safety advice given at an all-hands meeting www.polar.org/antsun 2 • The Antarctic Sun February 1, 2004

Ross Island Chronicles By Chico

Oh sh... Cold, hard facts Antarctic Sun 2003-04 Time paper is distributed each Sunday: by 9 a.m Hmmm, what have we here? Listen here. I don’t have time to play Copies made this season, through Jan. Looks like dinner has arrived. “catch me if you can.” The summer is over 30: 112,838 and I’m on my way out before I get stuck. Dryer sheets used to keep copier running static-free: 5 Highest number of Web site visitors in one month: 22,709 Clocks on the wall: 3 (McMurdo, Denver, D.C.) Kilos of C4 coffee shipped from New Zealand to sustain habit: 6 Most effective holiday nut cracker: Can pssst, by the way let me let you in In that case ... of Chef Boyardee Spiderman pasta on a little secret. This is the last with meatballs in tomato sauce issue of the Antarctic Sun so you “Hasta La Countries we received e-mail from: might want to pass to our readers a Vista Baby.” U.S., United Kingdom, New Zealand, word or two. South Korea, France, Sweden, Belgium, Germany, Slovenia, Panama Mothers who e-mailed us to forward messages to their son or daughter: 2 Source: Antarctic Sun staff

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 fami- lies, 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 February 1, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 3 Left, a researcher peers through the work- ings of the machine. Below, laser technician works on the new laser receiver for AST/RO.

Looking at the universe in a different light

Photo by Kris Kuenning / The Antarctic Sun By Kris Kuenning Telescope and Remote Observatory) has the isolation of winter. Sun staff been measuring galactic gas clouds since Last year, a new laser-driven receiver eople have looked at the stars for thou- 1995. was installed. Tothill said the new receiv- sands of years, but only about 20 years Other, similar telescopes operate er would provide a higher, more stable fre- ago did astronomers become interested 16,000 feet high in the Chilean desert and quency for the telescope. Pin the stuff inbetween. from aircraft and satellite, but the dry air It is the highest-frequency radio astron- Reversing their focus on the sky, over the South Pole makes the best land- omy receiver in the world. The lower fre- astronomers can see that dark patches in based viewing site in the world. quency receivers, were only a few cen- the Milky Way are really giant molecular “In submillimeter astronomy, light gets timeters in size but a larger and heavier clouds. These big blobs of gas can be absorbed by atmospheric water vapor so device is needed to operate at frequencies many times the size of the sun. Eventually, cold, dry air is very good stuff,” Tothill of 1400 gigahertz. these clouds fall in on themselves, the cool said. “Basically, we’ve replaced something gas becomes hot and dense and a star is AST/RO picks up submillimeter-wave that weighed a few ounces with something born. radiation emitted by dense gas and dust that weighs 3,000 pounds (1,360 kg). The “The details are tricky. We still don’t between the stars. only place we could do that is from the know how it really works,” said a South These areas seem black to the human ground.” Pole winter scientist Nicholas Tothill from eye but the gas molecules actually emit a The two-meter long receiver, which the Smithsonian Astrophysical non-visible light. The wavelengths of that was fine tuned by technicians over sum- Observatory. light can be picked up by submillimeter mer, will be mounted to the ceiling in the This process of how they form could telescopes like AST/RO. cramped building 800 meters from the answer a lot of questions about stars them- Concentrating on the wavelengths geographic South Pole. selves: why are they as big and heavy as given off by highly excited carbon monox- The actual telescope is on the roof of they are? Why are there more light stars ide molecules, AST/RO can locate star- the building. It sends the radiated light to than heavy stars and more red stars than forming cores and study the structure and the receiver through a series of mirrors. blue stars? movement of molecular clouds and how The project is headed by Antony Stark “That is determined by what goes on in the other elements in the galaxy affect of the Smithsonian Astrophysical the galaxy – by molecular clouds,” Tothill them. Observatory. AST/RO works as a consor- said. Winter is the prime observation time tium, with participants from several uni- “Stars are fairly well understood,” he for AST/RO, when the water vapor con- versities and accepts research proposals said. “But the gas – where they come from centration is lowest so summers are most- from the wider scientific community. and where they go to – we have to under- ly dedicated to maintenance, repair and stand this stuff.” development work. NSF funded research in this story: At the South Pole a 1.7mm telescope The researchers want to minimize the Antony Stark, Smithsonian Astrophysical named AST/RO (Antarctic Submillimeter chance of something going wrong during Observatory, www.harvard.edu/~adair/AST_RO 4 • The Antarctic Sun February 1, 2004

Perspectives Perspectives Megadunes reveals complexity of nature By Ted Scambos and in the areas between the dunes, almost ix years ago, my colleague Mark no snow sticks. Instead, the surface ages Fahnestock came into my office with for centuries, forming giant cracks from a mystery. “Look at this,” he said, the repeated thermal cycling of winter and “this doesn’t make sense.” On his lap- summer, until the next dune downwind S covers the old, glazed surface. The wind top computer was a color map of temperature for Antarctica – not air temperature, but tem- stays within 30 degrees of the same bear- perature down in the snow. Like a lot of ing, and cruises along at 45 kph for 10 weather data for the Ice, it was all concentric months of the year, nonstop (Cape rings following the coast, coldest at the center, Dennison may see its title as windiest with one exception. A blotch, shaped a bit like place slip). Because the snow gets so old, three feathers spread on a wing and about the it gets coarse and porous; and so, air may size of Montana, distorted the color bands in flow right through the snow, moving the an area near Vostok Station; it was colder water isotopes and dust particles in ways there by far than it ought to be. We rifled that no ice core chemist ever counted on. through old files to get weather satellite pic- With alternating bands of coarse old snow tures of the same area, and found what looked and new dunes, there are pockets deep in the snow where air a century old or more like a pattern of waves washing across the ice, Image provided by Ted Scambos a huge area of ridges, a fingerprint pressed is trapped, providing a large reservoir for into the plateau. As Mark likes to say now, Katabatic fingerprint: satellite image of the sampling to learn about levels of trace “It’s like where God held up the Earth while megadunes near Vostok (160 by 160 km). gases before technology tainted the atmosphere. he waited for the paint to dry.” Dang, I wish winds. And then, in a review of Landsat I’d said that. What do we learn when we study some- images covering the entire continent, we thing new? If it’s taxonomy, if it’s as mun- Months later, we had put together a lot found that someone (Sir Charles more facts – the ridges had been seen dane as describing a new breed of gnat, the Swithinbank, a legendary British glaciolo- answer is, I guess, “not much.” But if it is before, many times, by pilots, and occa- gist) had named them: megadunes. A place sionally by the old trans-antarctic tra- as new and challenging as megadunes, where the Earth behaves very oddly. We well, you learn about many things. The versers; but like the blind men and the ele- knew we had something good, and new – phant, each had a piece of the puzzle, and limits of your science. The limits of your even Sir Charles’ write-up had been just a imagination. The limits of your will. And I the true beast was a sum of many features. few paragraphs – and we submitted a pro- The satellite image maps revealed just think you learn a little about the mind of posal to the National Science Foundation God – about how magnificently complex how widespread they were – not just near to study them. Vostok, but also in a good-sized area and wonderful Nature is. Imagine: air so We set out to explore the features last cold, it’s thick; it actually slides off the inland from Halley Station, and scattered year… and got a good taste of what “the patches throughout the area near Pole. continent, bouncing and sloshing as it edge of the known world” really means. goes. And over the centuries, at They were subtle; 3 to 6 meters high, but Minus 1 C temperatures, 35 kph winds, up to 6.4 km from crest to crest. Most of Megadunes, the Earth itself forms an altitude, blowing snow: doing something image of the air, burned in from above, the time, a ground-based traverse would new and different on this continent means report only patches of huge sastrugi, one with waves marching slowly into the wind taking your life in your hands. We came as the ice flows downhill. A truly spectac- meter or more high, mixed with flatter back this year, aiming for the best possible areas where the original snow was gone, ular “side show” resulting from the basic ‘window’ in the weather, in early January. patterns of earth, air, sun, snow, and water and in its place were giant cup-shaped A hardy bunch, armed with fan-augment- crystals the size of a fingertip. That, and a that we accept as our home. ed goggles, new boots, guitars, mandolins; Yeee-ha. I love this planet. vague sense that they were in ‘rolling ter- we tried to block every possible hole our rain.’ From the air, they look more like morale might leak out of. “Yeee-ha!” was stripes, wind-roughened snow with old our motto, a war cry of good cheer. Ted Scambos is a glaciologist at the flat firn in between. They were only seen Slowly, we put together a few new in areas where katabatic winds dominated University of Colorado Boulder National pieces to the puzzle. Radar profiles Snow & Ice Data Center. the weather – where there were no other showed that the dunes grow into the wind, February 1, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 5 around the continent

PALMER SOUTH POLE Busy with science, visitors Pole films featured By Kerry Kells By Peter Rejcek Palmer Station correspondent South Pole Correspondent January is proving to be a busy month for Robert Falcon Scott learns one of his Palmer Station with birthdays, science lec- men on the famous and doomed 1911- tures, cruise ships and yachts. We celebrated 12 journey to reach the South Pole first the birthdays of two members on Station, has a gangrenous hand. He’s told the including our Area Director, Bob Farrell. appendage will swell, blacken and The researchers on board the Gould Photo by Cara Sucher / Special to The Antarctic Sun eventually fall off. called from Rothera Station, our British The private yacht Philos and catamaran The reaction from the hardy adven- Double Magic sit at Hero Inlet near Palmer neighbors far to the south. Station. turer: “Yuk.” And this past week we welcomed visitors Polar history and everyday life at the from three yachts and two cruise ships to ing as the yachts and ships. Most of the bottom of the world got turned upside tour Palmer Station. yachts have European travelers; many are down at the South Pole’s first annual The yachts and cruise ships are a bi- from Switzerland, France, and the film festival last Saturday night in the weekly experience at Palmer Station during Netherlands. The cruise ships tend to have new galley. Polies turned their cameras the month of January. Many of the yachts predominately American passengers with on themselves — as well as common have sailed the Atlantic from Europe and representatives from the United Kingdom, kitchen condiments. The results were made their way to the southern tip of Japan, South Africa and Canada. The make- usually funny, sometimes surreal but Argentina to continue on to Antarctica. The up of the passengers can vary widely from always interesting. cruise ships usually come from Ushuia, yacht to yacht and ship to ship. The Philos “It was great. It was awesome. It was Argentina as well. The totals this season captain, Erik, explains that everyone helps better than I ever expected,” chief festi- include seven cruise ship visits and seven on board a yacht. Contrast this experience to val organizer Brian Land said of the yacht visits to Palmer Station with more to that of the cruise ship, the World, a ship with event. Land also directed “The Frozen come in January and February. condos for purchase on board. The 70 resi- Dead,” one of the 10 local films show- From the double masted, 18-meter dents of the condos have the assistance of cased. Other filmmakers included Tom Viahare, to the small and cozy Philos to a 270 crew, a choice of several restaurants, a Pi, Mike Boyce, Tyler Regan, Holly catamaran with propeller and rudder prob- small golf course, a swimming pool and a Carlson, Dave Carlson, Joe Speidel, lems, the Double Magic, yachts have cruised library to name a few of the amenities. But Keros Johnson and Jack Giacalone. into Palmer Station throughout the month of on the cruise ship Endeavour, which regu- The short films were as varied as January. The Sarah W. Vorwerk was the first larly invites the Palmer community on anything playing at the Sundance Film yacht to visit at the end of December and board, two passengers spoke about their pre- Festival, which just finished its run in will return in mid-February. Three yachts vious seasons at McMurdo; one was a para- Park City, Utah, Jan. 25. anchored in Hero Inlet this past week. First rescuer dog sled driver with the Navy and Regan light-heartedly skewered the Viahare, a yacht bought in Belgium with the other worked in cargo in the late 1980’s. Scott’s epic adventure in “Nova- a French owner and Swiss passengers Palmer Station continues our last two Terrable,” a parody of Ted Tally’s play arrived on a stormy evening and toured sta- months of a busy summer season. Here on “Terra Nova” about the ill-fated expedition the next day. Then the Pen Duick 6, and the peninsula, the Long Term Ecological tion. Starring the square-jawed Kris the St. Croix Paul II arrived with the major- Cruise finishes at the end of this month and Perry as Scott, the movie lampooned ity of passengers from France. All had 10 or the Laurence M. Gould returns to Punta station life and included a cameo more people on board, passengers and crew. Arenas, Chile early February. In mid- appearance by station manager B.K. In the world of the large cruise ships, the February we welcome Charles Amsler’s Grant, who after hearing Scott’s tale of Clipper Adventurer was the first ship to visit. group from the University of Alabama woe tells him, “It’s a harsh continent.” This past Wednesday was its second stop Birmingham to station to study the chemical In “Surf’s Up” Regan mixed excel- with 92 visitors. The Endeavour cruise ship ecology of Antarctic marine organisms. And lent cinematography and a surfer dude was welcomed to Palmer Station again this by early April, Palmer Station’s last summer catching some killer sastrugi waves to a past week. It has a strong history of profes- crew will depart and the winter crew arrives. Beach Boy’s tune. sionalism and experience with Palmer To all those staying for the winter season at In another direction, a lascivious Station visits. all stations, we wish a healthy and safe win- The passengers on board are as interest- ter experience! See Continent on page 6 the week in weather

McMurdo Station Palmer Station South Pole Station High: 30 F / 1 C Low: 9 F / -13 C High: 46 F / 8 C Low: 30 F / -1 C High:-11 F / -24 C Low:-29 F / -34 C Wind: 29 mph / 47 kph Wind: 52 mph / 83 kph Wind: 22 mph / 35 kph Windchill: -35 F / -37 C Windchill: 25 F / -4 C Highest physio-altitude: 3,179 m 6 • The Antarctic Sun February 1, 2004

Continent From page 5 bear-shaped bottle of honey is the star A U.S. Coast Guard ice- in Keros Johnson’s film: “The Lost breaker sits “parked” in the Condiment: An Epic Love Story.” sea ice late last week near Johnson, a dining assistant doing a the seaside outlet of a chan- year at Pole, started doing short films nel leading to McMurdo during his second winter at McMurdo. Station.

“We would do short films with no edit- Photo by Melanie Conner / ing. They turned out pretty good, and it Special to The Antarctic Sun was a nice way to spend a Sunday.” He said there was no hidden message in his movie, just “a bear on search for some loving.” Speaking of weather, the cargo vessel could be compared to rocks gathered on Jack Giacalone, who works as a sur- American Tern is delayed due to bad shore. veyor here, submitted a pair of music weather, and the new estimated arrival The wind began blowing out of the south videos. time is 11 a.m. on Feb 5. Of course this on Jan. 24. Pi, a documentary filmmaker who is a weather delay, and as everyone who “We are all keeping our fingers crossed produces a video about South Pole has ever flown down here knows, that is that it will blow some of the ice out of every year, also had a couple entries at subject to a lot of change! McMurdo Sound and permit us to return to the festival. He and fellow carpenter You may have seen the tour ship the original study area,” wrote Marine Mike Boyce produced “Land’s End,” Klebnikov in the channel yesterday. No Project Coordinator Ashley Lowe. possibly the first film ever to be shot we didn't bring her in to do morale cruis- entirely in an outhouse. In “Egress es, sorry. I wish I could say when, or if, Laurence M. Gould 1830” Pi turns to the horror genre and the icebreakers will do morale cruises, the underground ice tunnels for inspira- but I can't. Compiled from reports by Andy Nunn tion. The Palmer is scheduled to come in Between taking water samples and net The latter, he said, was his “intent to on Feb 17 or 18 for the final time. tows for the Long Term Ecological create a pure, uncliched horror film. Hopefully by then the icebreakers will be Research cruise, the Laurence M. Gould The passages beneath the ice are per- gone and I can get some sleep. stopped at the British station at Rothera fect.” I would like to announce that this will last week. Dave Carlson’s film drew big laughs be my final season as “Mac Ship Ops” Sustained 50-knot winds and high seas for its two less-than-graceful ballerinas leader as I will be retiring from the forced an overnight break in the sampling while Holly Carlson took an artistic Coast Guard this summer. I am saddened on Jan. 21. Two days later the Gould approach, with her lone actress chasing about not seeing you all next season. I dropped off a field team at Avian Island. It a large, bright red balloon around sta- have really felt a part of the family here landed the team and gear successfully in tion. and I will miss you terribly. Take good sheltered waters, with no sea swell, though Speidel, using his own carpenter care. the winds were 25 to 30 knots. The six- crew, did a twist on the usual scenario And finally, at long last, the winner of person landing party got very wet from sea of a band of lusty construction workers my contest for when the Polar Star spray on the ride in. whistling after a babe in Carhartts — would first touch the ice pier this season The next day, Jan. 24, was the sched- only to find out that she is a he. Speidel, is McKenzie Winters, who guessed clos- uled visit at Rothera. along with Ken Keenan, designed the T- est at Jan. 5 at 12:59 PM. The actual time In the morning the Gould pulled along- shirt for the festival. was Jan. 5 at 9:47 PM, that is when the side its dock and exchanged a group of 12 Two showings were held, including Polar Star “hit” the pier (making a fine people via the personnel basket. The Gould one to accommodate the swing shift. A “v-shaped” boat launch if I don't say so departed to conduct joint science opera- martini and wine bar with wait staff lent myself). tions, while the shore party took a tour of an Oscar night feel to the event. Land Special thanks to April Brown for her the base. At 4 p.m. the Gould tied up for said all participants will receive gift contributions to the Sun this season and the evening and the rest of the crew went certificates at Christchurch, New we wish you a very happy retirement. ashore for a celebration of “Burns Night” Zealand, stores and restaurants. Signed, the Sun staff in honor of Scottish Poet Robert Burns. Haggis was served at dinner, and several SHIPS Nathaniel B. Palmer poems were recited afterwards, most of which were odes to various aspects of Polar Star, Polar Sea Compiled from reports Scottish culture and anatomy. Then the by Ashley Lowe dining room was cleared for a Ceilidh (pro- By LCMDR April Brown The Nathaniel B. Palmer has been col- nounced Kay-Lee) which is Scottish folk McMurdo ship ops / Coast Guard liaison lecting seismic data in the Ross Sea. On Jan. dancing. Almost everyone participated and Ship Ops tempo is very high, and the 23 it stopped to drop off a shore party with a the floor was soon filled with swirling kilt flurry of different vessels tying up and Zodiac at Franklin Island for the petrologists clad dancers, who managed roughly to casting off from one day to the next is to collect rock samples. A small crew spent keep time and follow the steps. confusing at best. I'm even getting Polar about four hours on shore, then returned to “Three Raytheon Polar Services people Star and Polar Sea mixed up these days. the ship. and myself had convinced the captain to The end of the summer season is nigh, The Palmer then returned to mapping the allow us to cut up several old red plaid but lots of stuff still needs to happen sea floor with swath bathymetry. blankets and produce kilts of our own, so before us summer folks can beat feet to The night before, the ship dredged a we felt right at home amongst the other warmer climes. small sea mount so that its composition celebrants,” Nunn wrote. February 1, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 7 Gateway cities welcome back Ice workers

By Kristan Hutchison ed by the museum. The displays and Kris Kuenning include Amundsen’s pocket knife and Sun staff sledge, Shackleton’s watch, a display nyone coming or going to the of sledging dogs and the primus stove Antarctic must pass through one used on Shackleton’s rescue boat from of a handful of gateway cities. the Endurance expedition, the James In the U.S. Antarctic program, Caird. Athe exodus of austral summer workers A little-known gem of Antarctic from South Pole and McMurdo stations history is the Lyttelton History Museum. The volunteer-run museum has begun funneling through on Gladstone Quay is curated by Christchurch, New Zealand, before fan- Baden Norris, who also curates the ning out around the globe. Scientists, ship Antarctic portion of the Canterbury crew and Palmer station workers pass Museum. The Antarctic gallery is through Punta Arenas, Chile year round. upstairs and includes, among other odd And on occasion, a U.S. ship on its way to treasures, the taxidermied head of McMurdo Station ports in Hobart, Scott’s favorite dog, Deek. Tasmania. The new Christchurch Art Gallery All three cities take pride in their recent on Montreal Street has a small and historical connections to the Antarctic. Antarctic Gallery for art inspired by the frozen continent. Christchurch Christchurch is a great place to start Christchurch has a long history with stocking an Antarctic library. Arnolds Antarctic explorers, including being the Books and Smiths Books are used final port call for Robert Falcon Scott. It is bookstores with Antarctic sections. still the last stop for the majority of people Mapworld on Gloucester Street has a in the U.S. Antarctic Program. wide selection of Antarctic maps. Often called the Garden City, its wealth In May, the James Caird, will be Photo by Kristan Hutchison / The Antarctic Sun of parks and gardens makes it a great place part of an exhibit at Te Papa museum A stuffed penguin dressed in Chilean garb stands for people transitioning to or from the Ice. in Wellington. The exhibit, called in an antique shop window in Punta Arenas. The extensive Botanic Gardens in the cen- South, will run until September. ter of the city are a favorite hang-out for Christchurch weather can be unpre- Chileans consider Punta Arenas, near the plant-starved Antarcticans. For more dictable at any time of the year, but a tip of South America, the center of their botanic pleasures, the Riccarton Bush is a warm day screams for ocean-front activi- country. Their maps extend in a wedge all rare little patch of original native forest ty. Stroll along the endless, open Brighton the way to the South Pole and a famous outside the center of the city. Beach or traverse the sea cliffs beyond Chilean poem from 1554 equates the coun- The Canterbury Museum on Rolleston Taylor’s Mistake. Surfboards and wetsuits try with the Antarctic region. Avenue has an extensive Antarctic collec- can be rented in Sumner. “From that time the Spanish people who tion. Many of the exhibits were donated by Nighttime is a novelty after a bright, belong to the king say their country goes leaders of expeditions in recognition and Antarctic summer and so is nightlife south ‘til the end of the Earth,’” said Daniel thanks for the outstanding support provid- beyond the three bars of McMurdo. Torres, chief scientist for the Chilean Antarctic workers and Antarctic Institute. scientists can almost The U.S. doesn’t recognize territorial always be found at claims to the Antarctic and in 1959 the Bailie’s bar in Antarctic Treaty set all claims aside. Even Cathedral Square. so, the geographic closeness between Chile Other recommended and the Antarctic peninsula make Punta spots are Sammy’s Arenas a natural port for the U.S. Antarctic Jazz Review, with live Program ships going to and from Palmer music every night and Station. Many cruise ships also set sail for Indochine on Antarctic tours from the city on the Straits Cambridge Terrace, a of Magellan. Before they cast off, tradition “dining experience requires passengers and sailors to rub the and cocktail gallery.” toe at the base of a bronze statue of explor- C1 café on High er Ferdinand Magellan. The superstition, Street makes a mean dating back to the early 1900s, says the ges- espresso at the end of ture will guarantee a safe return. The pol- Christchurch’s up-and- ished toe points toward the Chilean coming fashion dis- Antarctic Institute, the Chilean equivalent trict. Photo by Jonathan Noga / Special to The Antarctic Sun of the U.S. Antarctic Program. Men play chess in Cathedral Square in Christchurch, New Zealand, Punta where many Antarctic workers are landing again this week. Arenas See Gateways on page 8 8 • The Antarctic Sun February 1, 2004

Gateways From page 7 bill features Australian explorer Douglas Hobart. Plus, about 200 scientists from Mawson and the country lays claim to sev- around the world come to Hobart for the eral subantarctic islands and a slice of the annual meeting of the Commission for the mainland. Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living “It’s like Australia in many ways,” said Resources. Martin Betts, of the Australian Antarctic Hobart plays up its Antarctic connec- Division. “The middle of it’s basically tions to draw tourists. For the past four uninhabited, (with) the little populations years, the Polar Network, an organization around the coast.” of about 60 companies with Antarctic Though Hobart is now 4,000 km away, links, has sponsored a Midwinter Festival the seaside town is still a convenient port in June to highlight the Antarctic ties. In for ships heading to Antarctica and has 2002, the festival drew 26,000 people for been since sealers and whalers used it in film festivals, picnics with sled dogs, lec- the 1800s. Often the US Coast Guard ice- tures and other activities. Photo by Kristan Hutchison / The Antarctic Sun breakers or the research vessel Nathaniel The Antarctic Adventure in downtown The toe on the statue in the Puntas Arenas B. Palmer stop in Hobart for three to four Hobart is an educational amusement park, square is shiny from being rubbed by people days to restock food and fuel on their way with a ski-run simulator, snow-filled cold setting sail for the Antarctic. Legend says to or from McMurdo Station. room, planetarium, movies and a mockup rubbing the toe guarantees a safe return. “Hobart’s the logical stepping off of an Antarctic base camp. Computer point,” said Johannes. games allow people to try their hand at Local museums nearby give some of the Hobart is closely tied to Antarctica, field science, including counting seals region’s history and natural history. Many both in spirit and economy. The Australian from helicopters. people headed to or from the Antarctic are Antarctic Division is a 20-minute drive The Hobart Royal Tasmanian Botanical satisfied to just do as the locals do, and from downtown. From 70 to 100 Garden has the only refrigerated green- walk up and down the streets, admiring the Tasmanian companies do business with house in the world, featuring plants from tall, carved doors, many-colored houses the Australian Antarctic Program. the subantarctic Macquarie Island. Kept and architecture inspired by Europe. Australia spends $100 million a year on from 2 C to 4 C, with fans and a fog “A lot of what people do is get the goods and services for the Antarctic pro- maker, the greenhouse provides familiar Spanish ‘paseo’ (walk) going,” said marine gram, half of that in Tasmania. That’s a conditions for 30 species. projects coordinator Skip Owens, who’s significant contribution to Tasmania’s “From a plant’s point of view it’s actu- been traveling through Punta Arenas for 20 Aus$11.5 billion gross annual production, ally quite a comfortable environment, years. said Lara Giddings, Tasmanian apart from the screaming winds,” said The square is a focal point of the town, Parliamentary Secretary for Antarctic senior horticulturist Mark Fountain. with trees, flowers and a parade every Affairs. The predominant plants are cabbages Sunday at noon. “It also puts us on the map internation- and grass, plus a couple fern. There is one Afterward they gather again at favorite ally,” Giddings said. “It provides some unique orchid, which is kept in a box in restaurants, including diner-style Lomit’s prestige to the state.” the nursery. for sandwiches or eggs with fresh avocado Tasmania has the highest ratio of scien- “There’s a whole suite of circumpolar and the elegant Remezon del Calvo restau- tists in Australia, with 65 percent of all plants,” Fountain said. rant for garlic soup and the locally famous Australian Antarctic scientists working in crab, called “centolla.” Owens has spent enough time in Punta Arenas to learn the local fishing holes and camping spots. He recommends a campsite a few hours south, toward Puerto Humbre. At the famous Torres del Paine visitors have a full spectrum of choices, from back- country camping to a hotel. There’s a day- use area called Laguna Parrillar and a ski area nearby called Las Nina Park. It’s not necessary to go all the way to Antarctica to see penguins either. At the right time of year, day tours are offered to nearby penguin colonies. Hobart Tens of millions of years ago, Hobart, Tasmania, was near Cape Adare, now 725 km from McMurdo Station. The hills above the Australian city are made of the same rock as the Transantarctic mountains. Antarctica remains a prominent piece Photo by Mark Sabbatini / Special to The Antarctic Sun of Australia’s national psyche. The $100 Fog and wind are pumped into a refrigerated greenhouse at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Hobart, where plants from subantarctic islands grow. February 1, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 9 Science toys key to finding out more By Brien Barnett Sun staff rom small GPS units tossed into a jacket pocket to cosmic ray detec- tors, modern-day science relies on Ftechnology. Scientists these days almost have to have a scientific toy to take into the field with them. This year, Antarctic researchers brought to the Ice a host of gear to probe, measure or detect, some of their own design. Cameras this season are being placed underwater, on icebergs, on Mount Erebus and with penguins. Instrument developer Tony Hansen has been working with science teams to develop new tools to do research based on the scientists’ needs and budgets, which are usually tight. This year, he and a graduate student engineer worked on a submersible

Webcam to monitor fish and other under- Photo by Brien Barnett / The Antarctic Sun water flora and fauna in McMurdo Sound. Jeff Blair and Tony Hansen of McGee Scientific, tighten the base of a submersible platform Developing a case to hold the camera for a camera that will monitor underwater activities in McMurdo Sound. required multiple tests and changes in materials and structure before it proved ments to record temperature and the red- op the technology quickly, though, much successful enough to be used for research ness of the magma lake, and sample gas research and experimentation are required next year. emitted by the volcano. and funding can be difficult to obtain. The Among the coolest new instruments The Erebus instruments use solar, wind technology has to be tailored to the were small tubes containing accelerome- and battery power to function. The instru- researcher’s needs and can’t be found in ters and cameras that were placed on ments and related systems require money, the open market in many cases. Emperor penguins. The accelerometers though McIntosh said funding agencies “Nobody else is going to do it the way helped the researchers learn more about generally expect technology to be part of I want to do it,” Connell said. the penguins’ diving and swimming skills. grant requests. Sometimes researchers Space scientists know that first hand. The camera would have let them see it up reverse the game, getting funding for The instruments that end up at Amundsen- close had it not come free during one of instruments to do their science. Scott South Pole Station are unique and the bird’s deep dives. “There does seem to be a fair amount of take years to conceive, test and build. Japenese researcher Katsufumi Sato money available for instrumentation,” Among the projects planned are a giant worked with principal investigator Paul McIntosh said. “It’s getting harder to get 10-meter telescope to scan the depths of Ponganis of the Scripps Institution of money for basic research, but you can do space and an expansion of a high-energy Oceanography at the “Penguin Ranch” it by getting funding for new instrumenta- particle detector buried in the ice. near McMurdo this season. Sato spent tion.” Last month, one of the biggest instru- many days watching the birds from above Laurie Connell of the University of ments was delivered to Pole. It will be and using a low-tech pen to write notes, Maine is conducting research in the Dry used to drill holes in the ice that will hold but planned to return to the lab and ana- Valleys. She also is using nanotechnology the instruments the telescope will use to lyze the date from the accelerometers. The that will help her understand the complex- look for rare particles. data will be incorporated into models that ities of the region. Her goal is to develop a The giant hose reel had to be brought will help the researchers plan future exper- hand-held device that will analyze and by airplane in pieces and assembled on the iments. report what’s in a sample without tainting snow. The reel will hold the hoses that will Miles away from the penguins on a it. be used to drill 2,000-meter holes in the slope of Mount Erebus, scientists installed “The simpler we want to make things, polar plateau next season for a giant neu- an infrared camera that constantly moni- the harder it is (to develop),” Connell said. trino detector. tors the crater of the active volcano. The Current methods to analyze the micro- The spool was designed and built at the video is transmitted to the Crary Lab in environment fall short of what Connell University of Wisconsin’s PSL McMurdo and shows the steam and an said she needs to fully understand how Engineering and Instrumentation lab. occasional burp of magma. microorganisms adapt to or change their Technical Director Frashid Feyzi said the Bill McIntosh of the New Mexico environment. lab’s group of about 12 engineers special- Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources “There are questions we cannot answer izes in designing and building instruments said by season’s end his team will have set with the current tools we have available,” nobody else can. up six stations that feature GPS or global she said. positioning systems, tilt meters, instru- The pressure, Connell said, is to devel- See Gadgets on page 10 10 • The Antarctic Sun February 1, 2004 From above and below, auroras in focus this winter By Brien Barnett where a steady stream of particles enter Sun staff Earth’s magnetic field. Mende said that he auroras over the South Pole will might contradict other theories that the par- get extra attention this winter and in ticles are sent to Earth in spurts similar to the coming years, thanks to a tag- events seen after solar storms. Tteam effort. According to the paper, IMAGE and A high-resolution camera that monitors another satellite gathered data which proton auroras was placed at Amundsen- showed the protons flowed from the sun to Scott South Pole Station in January. Far create the auroras over many hours. Those above Earth’s atmosphere the Imager for particles were “traced” back to the magne- Magnetopause to Aurora Global topause where an event called reconnection Exploration, or IMAGE, satellite is focused occurs. In reconnection, magnetic field lines on the southern hemisphere. Together, the cancel each other out and the particles are two instruments may help scientists learn able to exit the solar magnetic highway onto Image courtesy of IMAGE / Special to the Antarctic Sun the Earth’s magnetic paths. whether the mechanisms that create the This data image from the Imager for auroras are steady or intermittent, said Magnetopause-to-Aurora Global Exploration Now Mende is looking for proof. This researcher Stephen Mende of the Space satellite shows an aurora over Antarctica, winter’s surveillance represents the first Sciences Laboratory at the University of stretching to Australia, on Nov. 20, 2003. year of the three-year project. California, Berkeley. would go a long way to developing technol- Launched in 2000, IMAGE studied auro- “What we are trying to do on a global ogy to offset the effects of particle showers. ras over the North Pole through 2002. The scale is see if it’s just a steady flow like a The satellite already has been tracking satellite has a useful life beyond the two- river from the Sun,” Mende said. auroras in the northern hemisphere from its year goal of the project. Now, because of its That question would help Mende and orbital point roughly eight times the Earth’s highly elliptical orbit and angle of view, it is others understand the processes that allow radius away. It provides global images of in position to monitor the southern hemi- particles sent from the Sun to interact with the particle showers which show up as sphere for the next two years. molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere. haloes of light. “We had hoped that it was going to last a Besides auroras, energetic particles from the In a paper published in December in the lot longer and so far it has,” Mende said. “At sun have been blamed for killing communi- journal Nature, researchers reported finding the end of this year, and in 2005, we’re in a cations satellites, threatening astronauts and evidence that a particular part of space good position to look at this hemisphere.” knocking power grids on the ground offline. where the solar wind buffets Earth’s mag- NSF funded research in this story: Gaining an understanding of the processes netic fields – the magnetopause — may be Stephen B. Mende, University of California Berkeley

Gadgets From page 9 “If it’s available on the market, dium and cost tens of thousands of then somebody else has figured out dollars each. Scientists kept in how to do it cheaper and better,” touch with and tracked TRACER Feyzi said. “If it’s out of the ordi- via satellites, and used solar panels nary we’ll do that.” and a special rotator to power it. He said the lab has seen a move If TRACER was the big-bucks toward bigger, stronger and “more instrument of the season, Adelie capable” instruments that push the penguin researcher David Ainley’s envelope of technology. “geolocation” tags were an ultra- “Nobody’s happy with yester- low tech, low-cost opposite. The lit- day’s level of performance,” Feyzi tle tags sense sunlight and store tid- said about the science and techno- bits of data to determine where the logy communities in general. birds spend their winter. Each tag “They’re always looking for more cost only about $150 and has accurate, better devices.” already shown that the birds migrate If that’s the trend, then one of farther than expected. this year’s long-duration balloon Science is asking more compli- experiments fits the category and cated questions than before and the shows how one type of technology need for more accurate and special- requires even more technology. ized technology seems destined to A balloon-borne project this year continue. was a set of instruments called “As far as theoretical science is TRACER which cost about $10 concerned, Aristotle thought million. women had fewer teeth in their head TRACER skimmed along the top but nobody ever bothered to open of the atmosphere to search for their mouth and check,” said Bob Photo by Brien Barnett / The Antarctic Sun energetic particles from outer space. Morse, who heads a telescope pro- In a hut at the Penguin Ranch near McMurdo Station, High-tech balloons got it there. The ject at South Pole. “Without instru- Katsufumi Sato holds an accelerometer that records pen- super-thin helium-filled balloons mention it's just theory.” guin dives and allows him to learn more about how they expand to the size of a football sta- feed and swim without getting the "bends" like humans do. February 1, 2004 The Antarctic Sun •11

Joint research team studies ecosystem along latitudinal line

Glen Fenton drills an ice core as a group of Adelies pass by. Photo by Ken Ryan / Special to The Antarctic Sun

By Kris Kuenning compare what we’ve learned in the Dry Aislabie of Landcare Research to deter- Sun staff Valleys about what influences biodiversity mine the extent of hydrocarbon spills left 15-year, interdisciplinary, multi- and ecological processes.” over from the old station. In addition, her national project was launched Researcher Diana Wall from the work includes general soil mapping and along the Ross Sea coastline University of Colorado describes Cape characterization. this year. Hallett as the richest botanical site in Hawes said the basic collection of AThe Latitudinal Gradient Project (LGP) Victoria Land. Warmer temperatures and information would form a hanging frame- will put together a picture of how the more water allow the growth of more work for the Latitudinal Gradient Project. ecosystems along the Victoria Land coast lichens and mosses, which in turn put “Hanging off this framework are a lot differ from north to south. more carbon and nitrogen into the area for of individual projects that put flesh on the Cape Hallett, 600 km north of other organisms. framework,” Hawes said. McMurdo, was one of five planned “Cape Hallett is the link between the Hawes studies aquatic systems and in research camps that will extend to the Dry Valleys and the rest of the world,” this case will be looking at the availability Beardmore Glacier. said Ian Hawes from the National Institute of water on land. This year, he will focus Antarctica New Zealand is providing of Water and Atmospheric Research in on the diversity of life in the flowing the logistical support for the project, New Zealand. “From there we can start to streams around Cape Hallett. which brought six U.S. scientists and 16 extrapolate further.” Compared to the Dry Valleys, Hawes Kiwis to Cape Hallett this season. In 1957, a joint U.S.-New Zealand said the Cape Hallett region receives more Like the Long Term Ecological Research research station was established at Cape snow. projects in the Dry Valleys and at Palmer Hallett. Back then, environmental protec- “That means more snow melt and more Station, the Latitudinal Gradient Project tion standards were nothing like they are potential for things to grow,” he said. aims to look at all the pieces of the ecosys- now. As a result, the decision was made to Researchers expect to find that differ- tem - from marine and terrestrial biology to build the station within a penguin rookery. ences in temperature and moisture along soil properties – to learn how the whole sys- More than 7,500 penguins were evicted the gradient have a measurable impact on tem responds to climate changes. from their nesting sites. By 1968, the pen- how much life exists in each of the pro- “In the Dry Valleys we are looking at guin numbers had dropped by 60 percent. ject’s sampling areas. the variability in ecological processes over Megan Balks from the University of For the U.S. researchers, the four days time,” said soil researcher Jeb Barrett Waikato in New Zealand studies the at Cape Hallett this season ended up being from Dartmouth University. “Here we’ll affects of human impact on soil environ- mostly reconnaissance, with some sam- look at the variability over space. We can ments. She is working with Jackie See LGP on page 12 12 • The Antarctic Sun February 1, 2004

and South America but there are just a handful of species, probably 15 all together,” he said. Researchers believe the 100 species probably developed from just one or a few ancestral fish species over the last 15 million to 20 million years. “Which is a relatively short time from an evolutionary perspective,” Marshall said. He wants to know how similar the species at Cape Hallett are to the ones found in McMurdo Sound and how the climate has driven the evolution. The Cape Hallett camp will run again next year. After a year off in 2005-2006, the plan is to set up a camp at the Darwin Glacier or in the Terra Nova Bay area. The collaborative project gives researchers an opportunity to share ideas, logistical support and sometimes even instrument space. Balks will attach a Photo by Gus McAllister / Special to The Antarctic Sun moisture monitor to one of Hawes’ climate Mary Sewell and Jen Jury from Aukland University look at plankton samples. stations. Hawes is adding sensors on another project’s data logging station. From page 11 “Getting scientists to work together can LGP be like trying to round up chooks (chick- ens),” Hawes said. pling done from a nearby vale. In future on sea ice algae, he said. But consolidating all the disciplines seasons, Barrett and Ross Virginia from At the ice edge, only 5 to 7 km away, into one camp is not only efficient from a Dartmouth will look for life in the soils, Mary Sewell from Auckland University, logistical point of view, it also gives first by measuring how much they breathe. was conducting plankton trawls. researchers an opportunity to share their “Soils breathe in oxygen and exhale From several places in between, Craig complementary knowledge. carbon dioxide. We can measure the activ- Marshall of the University of Otago in Diana Wall said most of the ity in the soil by measuring the amount of New Zealand, was busy catching 812 fish researchers’ interests overlap and their carbon dioxide given off.” to collect tiny pieces of their fins. There knowledge is complementary. “That time The Dartmouth researchers will also set are more than 100 notethenoid species in in the field is invaluable,” she said. up soil warming cones, which work like Antarctica. This diversity is unusual, com- mini-greenhouses to heat up a patch of soil pared to the rest of the world, Marshall NSF funded research mentioned in this story: Diana to see how increased heat affects the num- said. Wall, University of Colorado and Ross Virginia, ber and type of things growing. The soil “There are notethenoid in New Zealand Dartmouth University. warming cones will be left over a winter and a range of samples will be brought back for chemical analysis. “No one has been at Hallett with modern sampling techniques,” Virginia said. Dry Valleys researcher Diana Wall is interested in how the greater diversity in plant and animal life affects the movement of carbon and nitrogen in the ecosystem and vice versa. Offshore, Ken Ryan from Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, looked at algae growing under the sea ice in December. “We established five sites at different points around the Cape Hallett peninsula and collected samples of algae from the ice at regular intervals,” Ryan said. He also checked the salinity, temperature and chlorophyll concentration in the water beneath the ice and took algae samples from the sea floor. Ryan used fluorescent instruments to see how efficiently algae in the area were converting sunlight to energy. This is the Photo by Ken Ryan / Special to The Antarctic Sun first time these techniques have been used Craig Marshall and Dave Todd fish for notethenoid near Cape Hallett. February 1, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 13 DrillingDrilling back back to thethe future future Drilling back to the future Drilling back to the future

By Kristan Hutchison Andrill. “In terms of the drilling that’s been done in Sun staff McMurdo Sound before, this is certainly the biggest he muck below McMurdo Sound operation because of the new drilling equipment and the Ross Sea holds millions of that’s been committed to and the potential longevity years of submerged history. of the program that we hope is going to come from T this.” An ambitious new multinational project plans to dig up the murky past, back through the fluctuations Deeper doesn’t always mean older, because of the of the glaciers. Researchers from the U.S., New way the sediment can fold and thrust up older layers Zealand, Britain, Germany and Italy plan to use a of sediment from below. The Cape Roberts project new drilling system to bring up sediment cores from looked back 30 million years to the origins of the ice 2,000 meters below the ice or water surface, deeper sheet, while the first two sites Andrill plans to target than ever before in this area. The researchers antici- will look from 15 million years ago to the present. pate the deep cores will contain fossils and sediment “We got what we wanted (at Cape Roberts), but it left behind by advances and retreats of the ice sheet was a different set of questions, a different time and volcanic debris going back 65 million years. Photo courtesy of Ross Powell interval,” Harwood said. “The Antarctic ice sheet has “Going into the past to times in Earth’s history “We hope to changed its character through time, being warmer when the Earth has been warmer may be a means to and wetter in the past and now very cold and dry.” understand our potential global scenarios under a retrieve data The drilling isn’t planned to start until October warmer than present Earth,” said David Harwood, a 2005, when it will bring about 40 scientists, drillers leading principal investigator on the Antarctic that will help and support workers to the McMurdo area. A geo- Drilling, or Andrill, project. “The past is going to be physical survey is underway to prepare for Andrill. our guide to the future, in terms of magnitude of us understand The first two sites to be drilled would be at Windless change and speed of change.” Bight near the runway and on the southwestern side Already three years in development, Andrill is how changes of McMurdo Sound, Powell said. projected to last for at least 10 years. So far the five- may occur in At Windless Bight, the hole will be drilled nation oversight committee has agreed to develop 1,000 m into a 1,200 m-thick body of sediment near plans for two of five proposed drilling sites in Antarctica the runway. The goal is to pull up a piece of the McMurdo Sound. In December they outlined a plan Pleistocene era. for funding for the $7 million Andrill operations and during future “We’re hoping to go back a million-plus years in management budget. The U.S. National Science time with that section,” Powell said. Foundation offered to cover half the operations bud- global The location appears to have one of the thickest get. New Zealand offered to contribute 25 percent, known Pleistocene layers, because the volcanoes on and be the main project operator. The rest of the warming and Ross Island have weighed the Earth’s crust down in funding is expected to come from Italy (18.5 per- that area creating a deep moat around the island that cent) and Germany (5 percent). also give us collected sediment, Powell said. The thick layer of “The level of U.S. involvement is tied to the level insight into sediment may include a detailed record of the fluctu- of U.S. scientific interest in this work,” said Scott ations of the Ross Ice Shelf through the Pleistocene, Borg, NSF head of Antarctic sciences, “and to the what the before the record of atmospheric conditions acquired desire of NSF to facilitate U.S. leadership in interna- from the inland ice cores taken at Vostok and Epica tional projects.” world may be near Dome C. From the Ross Ice Shelf fluctuations “This project offers tremendous opportunity to the researchers would get an idea what the West obtain and study sediment records from key intervals like as global Antarctic Ice Sheet was doing. of Earth history that will provide information about The second site would drill from an ice platform oceanographic conditions and the extent of glacial warming at the intersection of two seismic lines east of New and sea ice.” Harbor in Southern McMurdo Sound. The goal is to So far, the NSF awarded nearly $1 million to continues.” bring up rock from even further back, in the Miocene Northern Illinois University and the University of and Pliocene eras. Few spots in McMurdo Sound Nebraska at Lincoln to purchase a state-of-the-art have Miocene rock because of erosion, so this would drilling rig and customize it for use in Antarctica. - Ross Powell be the first sample of that age actually retrieved from Andrill builds on four previous drilling projects in the area. the Ross Sea region, starting in the early 1970s. The new system “We’re targeting intervals that have not been recovered previ- will drill two to three times faster than its predecessor, one used for ously in the earlier drilling records, so we’re hoping to provide a the Cape Roberts Drilling Project from 1997 to 1999. While the pre- more complete time record,” Powell said. vious generation of drills could only be used on the sea ice, the new The fluctuations of the Antarctic ice sheet reach far beyond the drill will be able to drill through the ice shelf. The Cape Roberts drill Antarctic Circle, and should tell researchers about global climate went to about 1,200 meters below the water surface, as deep as the history. For most of the past 35 million years, the Antarctic ice sheet technology of the time could go. has been the largest piece of ice in the world, and locked up a large “We’re basically doubling that now,” said geologist Ross Powell portion of the water. Melting and reforming the Antarctic ice sheet from Northern Illinois University and a principal investigator for See ANDRILL on page 14 14• The Antarctic Sun February 1, 2004

Andrill From page 13 would change the sea level, Powell said. movement and the tectonic stresses acting may be like as global warming continues,” “We also believe the Antarctic ice sheet on the Earth’s crust in the Antarctic. Powell said. “If the IPCC projections of has played an important role in controlling The researchers hope the core will pro- warming trends are correct, the world’s cli- more recent climactic changes and certainly vide a detailed record, allowing them to pin- mate within the next few centuries will be at influences atmospheric and ocean circula- point when significant changes occurred to tion that has repercussions for what happens within several thousand years. Looking a point equivalent to conditions on Earth in the rest of the world,” Powell said. back at a period in time when the world was tens of millions of years ago, before The ice shelves are sources of some of much warmer may also give scientists an Antarctica became cold enough to support the ocean’s deep water, expelling colder, idea of what’s to come. The the big ice sheets that are there today, and saltier water as they freeze. That heavier Intergovernmental Panel on Climate which have survived for over 35 million water sinks and flows north, driving the rate Change (IPCC) has projected a rise in glob- years.” of ocean mixing, oxygen exchange and cir- al temperature, mostly because of green- culation. The size of the ice sheet also influ- house warming, of between 1.4 C and 5.8 C If the project goes forward as planned, ences how much sunlight is reflected, and by the end of this century. Continued global after the first two McMurdo sites are drilled, therefore the temperature of Earth. warming would have major consequences three other locations in the McMurdo area The records found in the mud will be on agriculture and energy usage. have been proposed for drilling. Then the combined with existing data and used with Additionally, the medical community is project would move on to another region, computer models of the climate, ocean, concerned about the spread of disease asso- Powell said. glaciers and tectonics in order to understand ciated with tropical areas, Powell said. “We hope this will be an ongoing facili- how the frozen Antarctic interacts with Rising sea level could impact coastal cities global environmental change. Researchers from Venice, Italy to New Orleans. ty that Joe Scientist can use in Antarctic will compare the Antarctic data with records “We hope to retrieve data that will help research in years to come.” of environmental change from other lati- us understand how changes may occur in tudes. The cores will also provide evidence Antarctica during future global warming For more information on Andrill: http://andrill-serv- of the ancient changes in topography, soil and also give us insight into what the world er.unl.edu/

Tectonics From page 1 era, referred to as an icehouse Earth, when seismic reflection method is used to map the ice sheets formed over Antarctica and the structure of the earth beneath the sea Greenland, and ultimately North America floor. Seismic beams give a detailed look and Europe. at the seafloor, pierce through the sedi- Researchers suspect these climate ment layers, which can be up to 14 km changes started in Antarctica, in part as a deep, to map the crustal layer below, result of Antarctica’s plate movements. known as basement. By studying the Ross Sea floor’s natur- In the future, the researchers hope to al record of tectonic and climate history, compare the survey information with core Luyendyk and others want to know what samples of the sediment. happened in Antarctica 30 million years “In the sediment of the Ross Sea is a ago. Photo by B. Luyendyk / Special to The Antarctic Sun record of the ice sheets plowing and Today, Antarctica seems to be con- Research icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer at retreating over the sea floor,” Luyendyk tained on a single tectonic plate, but a deep the ice edge north of McMurdo Station, seen said. trough in the sea floor northwest of the from a Coast Guard helicopter. Ship-based core drilling is very diffi- Ross Sea off Cape Adare suggests past researchers intended to survey that area cult in Antarctica. Land or ice-based movement between East and West but thick sea ice prevented access. drilling equipment needs solid ice to work Antarctica. Studies of the geological histo- Luckily, another large iceberg, C19, from so researchers are waiting for the ries of East and West Antarctica show that had broken into the sea in 2002 and the Ross Ice Shelf to advance northward over the two sub- continents evolved in a simi- Palmer was able to traverse the newly the recently surveyed areas. With the ice lar fashion in the Cretaceous era (144 mil- exposed area. This year, the sea ice opened moving as much as 1 km per year, the lion to 65 million years ago) but then up and the hole left by B15 was surveyed. drilling sites they surveyed should be ice diverged with the advent of the Cenozoic. Multiple sonar beams were used to map covered again in two to five years. Looking for more signs of movement the topography of the sea floor. The multi- Luyendyk hopes to be able to work with between East and West Antarctica, beam technology allows a wide area to be the Antarctic Drilling Program Luyendyk, along with Doug Wilson of the surveyed with each pass. (ANDRILL) to have several sites drilled. University of California, Santa Barbara “It’s like mapping with a push broom,” Through this year’s survey work, the and Lou Bartek of the University of North Luyendyk said. team has pinpointed specific drilling sites. Carolina, Chapel Hill, have been survey- At the same time, other instruments “Some spots are winners,” Luyendyk ing new territory in the Ross Sea this year scan for changes in the magnetic and grav- said. The drilling will target sediment from the ice strengthened research vessel itational field along the ship’s path. where both the ancient plate tectonic his- Nathaniel B Palmer. Changes in these fields indicate differ- tory and relatively young climate history When an iceberg named B15 broke off ences in the type of rock at and below the can be examined. the Ross Ice Shelf in 2000, it exposed sea floor. 16,000 square kilometers of previously Finally, with what Luyendyk describes NSF funded research in this story: Bruce Luyendyk, unmapped sea floor. Last year, the University of California, Santa Barbara. as the “most ambitious” technology, the http://www.geol.ucsb.edu/faculty/luyendyk February 1, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 15 Random glance spots volcanic record

By Kris Kuenning Sun staff n the ice around Mount Moulton, volcanic ash Imarks time like plots on a graph. The ash once spewed from Mount Berlin, 30 kilometers away. Researchers were studying the volcano in 1993, and they went looking for places to collect rock samples from nearby mountains. Some of the only exposed rock in the area was on Mount Moulton. Tired and dazed at the time, Nelia Dunbar was staring out a window on the plane. “I was in back spacing out, staring at the ice when I saw these dark bands. They really stood out and I realized right away that it was ash,” said Dunbar, a researcher from New Mexico Tech. The plane landed and the researchers ran down the hillside to the ash layers. They had just enough time to take five samples. One of them turned out to be almost half a million years old. It was enough, Dunbar said, to know that they wanted to come back and do more research in that area. Photo courtesy of Trevor Popp / Special to the Antarctic Sun The ice in West Antarctica is on a slow march to the coast. Trevor Popp examines snow layers in a two meter deep snow pit Most of the ice older than 117,000 years has already dropped into near the summit of Mount Moulton. The layers are compressed and buried as snow accumulates, containing information that allows the sea, but at Mount Moulton the rocky buttress not only has reconstruction of the past climate history. halted the flow, it also has pushed the layers of ice and ash to the surface. Like a stack of papers, the layers have folded up in front still steaming, no longer plumes and its lava lake has cooled, but of the rock, exposing the layers of ash in horizontal stripes. the ash layers document a long history of explosive eruptions. The history of the volcano and the climate have been laid bare “Mount Berlin last erupted 30,000 years ago,” said Bill on the surface, exposing ice that dates from 15,000 to 492,000 McIntosh. The eruptions showered ash all over Antarctica. Mount years ago. Moulton, being downwind of the volcano, was sometimes coated “You take a few steps, and you’ve gone several thousand years,” with 15 cm deposits. said driller Trevor Popp from the University of Colorado, Boulder. The accumulation included course feldspar crystals up to 3 cm In 1999, Dunbar received a National Science Foundation across. “There were big pieces of pumice raining down,” grant to take ice samples and carry out GPS mapping of the site. McIntosh said. This year, ice core drilling at the site will help piece together the He said the crystals, which are similar to Erebus crystals, are climate history of the past 500,000 years. ideal for dating because they contain a high level of potassium. Dunbar first used the ash layers to look back at the history of With dates assigned to the ash layers, the climate history volcanic eruptions in Marie Byrd Land. Mount Berlin, though locked in the ice can be put into a more accurate timeline. The information is also correlated to ash layers in ice cores from other areas, like Vostok or Siple Dome, where only tiny specks of ash are found. Moultonized “It can be difficult in ice cores to get the time,” McIntosh said. After a five-week delay, including one LC-130 aircraft The ice cores from Mount Moulton will go to the U.S. by ship. parked overnight with damaged nose gear, the Mount From the port in California, a freezer truck will carry them across Moulton team finally set up camp in mid-December. the desert to Boulder, Colorado, with a back-up freezer truck fol- The term “Moultonized” was coined to mean “delayed” or lowing. “suffering from unbelievable bad luck.” In the lab at the University of Colorado, Popp will look at the Once established the camp ran smoothly, apart from a few hydrogen isotopes in the ice. Hydrogen atoms have varying num- bouts of bad weather. Just before the camp was preparing to bers of neutrons. The varying combinations are called isotopes. listen to Christmas carols across the high frequency radio, a “Depending on the temperature of the air when the snow fell, storm blew through, generating enough static electricity to there are varying ratios of heavy to light isotopes,” Popp said. fry the radio and a solar panel. Until its return in mid- In colder weather, there are fewer heavy isotopes. Other chem- January, the team used Iridium satellite phones to communi- icals in the ice provide information about the sea levels or the cate with McMurdo’s communication center. amount of wind and airborne aerosols. In one night, the camp population went from five to 19, “Going back, you can see large climate fluctuations,” he said. when an LC-130 crew and the next installment of researchers Popp said the climate history at Mount Moulton looks very were trapped overnight by weather, along with the crew of a similar to that seen in other Antarctic cores, but not exactly. Twin Otter. A meal of steak and scallops was prepared and “The differences could be due to climate changes between the departing researchers said they enjoyed the company, West and East Antarctic or problems with ice itself,” he said. their first human contact in five weeks. Repeated sampling should help scientists determine if the Getting out of the camp proved easier than getting in, but anomalies are in the climate or in the record. was still delayed by almost a week. NSF funded research in this story: Todd Sowers, Pennsylvania State University 16 • The Antarctic Sun February 1, 2004

Fishing From page 1 along with many seabirds. In the Prince according to the National Marine Fisheries Edward Islands south of South Africa, Service (NMFS). From 50 to 60 dealers intensive illegal fishing for toothfish has supply the fish, said Kim Dawson, NMFS already depleted the population to a few fisheries biologist and catch documenta- percent of its pre-exploitation level, tion scheme officer. Legal U.S. imports according to research published by the account for about 15 to 20 percent of the Commission for the Conservation of world market for Chilean sea bass. Japan Antarctic Marine Living Resources is the other large market for the fish, fol- (CCAMLR). Other CCAMLR research lowed by the U.K. and China. found the toothfish population around High-class restaurants in New York Heard Island has also dropped since 1998. charge almost $30 a plate for sea bass and “CCAMLR is pretty unique in that diners are willing to pay. The meat has a research drives it,” said Rennie Holt, subtle and versatile flavor, a little like lob- chairman of the organization’s scientific ster. The firm flesh flakes into bite-sized committee. “As a whole, the commission pieces, each one creamy and smooth. follows the advice offered by the scientif- “Provided there’s a stock that is eco- ic committee.” nomically attractive and provided there’s a The 24-nation commission was formed way to sell, unregulated fishing will con- Photo by Mark Sabbatini / Special to The Antarctic Sun in 1982 to conserve marine life of the Executive Secretary Denzil Miller refers to a tinue,” Miller said. Southern Ocean within the Antarctic report by the Commission for the The profits are high, but the unseen Convergence zone. The National Science Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living costs of toothfish fishing may be even Foundation and National Oceanic and Resources. higher. Toothfish grow slowly and do not Atmospheric Administration support stud- breed until they are at least 10 years old, ies that help CCAMLR manage the Miller said. Toothfish is known to scien- so many fish are harvested before they’ve Antarctic fisheries, by keeping track of tists as Dissostichus eleginoides or had a chance to breed. They live for up to changes in the krill, penguin, seal and Dissostichus mawsoni. But it’s served 50 years and can reach more than two other populations. under many names around the world: sea meters in length, but in the South African “We’re responsible for managing 12 bass, Chilean sea bass, Antarctic or zone around Prince Edward Islands, the percent of the world’s ocean surface,” said Australian sea bass, Chilean grouper and average toothfish caught is now below 55 Denzil Miller, the Executive Secretary of black hake, mero, bacalao de profundidad, cm long, meaning most of the fish are pre- CCAMLR. “It’s pretty daunting, given the merluza negra, Légine Austral. pubescent. weather conditions.” Last week, frozen toothfish was selling “They catch a substantial number that at $15 a pound, according to the report of probably haven’t reproduced yet,” said Art weekly frozen New York wholesale prices. Devries, a researcher who has studied Pirate fishing Fresh salmon was selling for $2.50 a CCAMLR oversees the Southern Dissostichus mawsoni in McMurdo Sound pound. The value of toothfish sold to the for more than 40 years. “The catching is Ocean fisheries from a single-story brick U.S. last year totaled $103 million, building in Hobart, Tasmania, without a pretty indiscriminate. Anything that gets view of the water or a boat. Enforcement hooked, regardless if they throw them is up to individual countries involved in back, is not going to survive.” the treaty, who are limited within the Toothfish are a favorite meal for Antarctic convergence to taking action Weddell seals, sperm whales and elephant against ships from their own countries. seals, so depleting the toothfish population “There’s very little enforcement,” said could leave the whales and seals hungry. Michael Stoddard, chief scientist for the Careless illegal fishermen also kill Australian Antarctic Division. “It’s a very thousands of albatross, giant petrel, white- remote and bleak part of the world.” chinned petrels and other seabirds each CCAMLR scientific committee esti- year, when the birds swallow the baited mates 10,175 tons of toothfish were taken hooks and drown. Seabird researcher illegally in the 2002-03 season from the Heidi Geisz, who works with the NSF sup- area it oversees, according to Holt. An ported Long Term Ecological Research additional 8,744 tons were poached from program out of Palmer Station, has found zones covered by CCAMLR, but belong- fish hooks in the bird nests. The numbers ing to Australia, France, South Africa or are difficult to estimate because the other nations. Another 10,175 tons were amount of illegal fishing isn’t known, but reportedly caught on the high seas, but a CCAMLR working group calculated may have been poached from Antarctic illegal fishing fleets may have killed from waters. 14,400 to 46,950 seabirds in 2003. “There is probably double counting, in “This kind of behavior is actually a that a good part of the high seas reported crime to the environment,” Miller said. catch is in fact illegally caught toothfish The crew on illegal fishing boats are caught in the convention area,” Holt said. endangered too, since the vessels are often In response, last year the U.S. banned Photo by Kris Kuenning / The Antarctic Sun old and work outside safety and labor toothfish caught from the two most sus- Researcher Art Devries, left, and Kevin laws. At least three to four vessels are pect areas on the high seas, area 51 and 57. Hoefling, kneeling, weigh a mawsoni caught The illegal fishery is driven by greed, for research in McMurdo Sound. See Fishing on page 17 February 1, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 17

Fishing From page 16 known to have disappeared in the last four weapons to take enforcement into their years, taking about 100 people with them, own hands. Miller said. Several environmental organiza- “The human cost is high, with old ves- tions, including Greenpeace, have sels in the worst maritime conditions any- called for a complete halt to fishing in where, except the high arctic,” Miller said. Antarctic waters. “There’s a lack of responsibility and Placing a moratorium on fishing accountability, a ruthlessness and inhu- wouldn’t stop the illegal fishing, but manity.” would make it more difficult to get Even legal fishing can be dangerous in information on the catch levels, Miller tumultuous Antarctic waters, as was said. CCAMLR allows some controlled demonstrated Friday when the U.S. fisheries and test fisheries, as a way to Antarctic Program was called on to help gather information. CCAMLR oversees medivac a man hurt on a fishing boat in legal fisheries for ice fish and two types the Ross Sea. The chief engineer on the of toothfish around South Georgia Russian ship Volna sustained a head injury Island and krill in West Antarctica. and was unconscious. The Volna was fish- There are about 10 vessels fishing for ing under a CCAMLR license 580 km krill and 10 to 15 for toothfish, from McMurdo Station and had a doctor Miller said. on board. The pirate fishing boats are part of a Photo by Kristan Hutchison / The Antarctic Sun An albatross flies overhead near Palmer well-organized enterprise with alleged Station. Thousands of the birds are killed each connections in Spain, Norway, year when they swallow bait on longlines and Indonesia and China. get pulled under water. Fishermen are required “The connections are very difficult to to use methods to prevent the birds from get- track. They’re dummy companies within ting hooked, including lines that sink too swift- dummy companies within dummy com- ly for the birds to swallow the bait, but pirate panies,” Miller said. “This is a well orga- fishermen ignore the regulations. nized, well-structured endeavor.” The legitimate fishermen became so ocean, catching illegal fishermen at sea frustrated, 30 companies banded together has proven ineffective, so instead to fight back against what they consider an CCAMLR is trying to nab them on shore, organized crime network. The Coalition of when the fish are sold. Legal Toothfish Operators (COLTO) “We came to the realization that a sim- offers a $100,000 reward for information pler way to check is to look at the prod- leading to the conviction of an illegal fish- uct,” said Ray Arnaudo, U.S. commis- ing operator, and has toll free numbers in sioner to CCAMLR. “We like to think 15 countries and six languages. COLTO we’re doing a pretty good job of making publishes a “Rogues Gallery” listing 42 sure that the fish that comes in here has fishing vessels it believes are involved been legally caught.” with illegal fishing. The legal boats occa- Since 2000, all fish legally caught sionally run into the illegal ones on the within Antarctic waters, including fishing grounds, where they take photos research harvest, are supposed to be and video to report the crime to authori- reported to CCAMLR and documented. ties. They’ve even considered carrying A test fishery has been Like a passport, the documents are targeting mawsoni in the Ross required to transport and sell the fish in 24 Sea for several years, with long- participating countries. line boats from New Zealand, “If they try to come into the country South Africa, Uruguay and the and they don’t have the proper paperwork, U.S. In 2003, the fishermen they can’t import it,” said Polly Penhale, took 1,792 tons of mawsoni, out biology and medicine program manager of 3,760 tons allowed. This year for the NSF Office of Polar Programs. the catch limit is 3,250 tons Last year, the National Marine with 13 nations and 32 vessels Fisheries Service completed its first pros- permitted to fish. ecution under the catch documentation “At least we’re learning scheme (CDS). The company Icebrands something about them,” said had been smuggling toothfish and lobster Devries. “I think there will out of South Africa and importing it into always be pirate fishing and if the U.S. with falsified documents. About you don’t allow some fishing six other cases currently are being investi- then you’ll lose (the fish) with- gated, and in the last nine months, Dawson out ever learning what went has denied entry to about four shipments Photo courtesy Australian Customs wrong.” of toothfish, she said. Fishing vessel Viarsa being chased the ice pack in the With such a large, wild Southern Ocean in August 2003. See Fishing on page 18 18 • The Antarctic Sun February 1, 2004

Fishing From page 17 “The catch documentation system has been a huge part of cracking down on IUU (illegal, unregulated and unreported) fishing,” Dawson said. “But the CDS is not going to be the save-all for IUU fishing in and of itself. We have several other monitoring, control and surveillance methods in the works that serve to bolster the effec- tiveness of the CDS.” Some illegal fishermen are still suc- ceeding in getting around the regulation by lying or forging documents, which is why the U.S. is pushing for a centralized, computerized documentation system, Arnaudo said. A trial system started last year and is being expanded this year. “These documents go through many, many iterations and are copied many times, so they’re easy to forge,” Dawson said. “When you cut out the paper, you cut Photo by Kristan Hutchison / The Antarctic Sun out a lot of fraud.” Cormorants rest near Palmer Station. Krill is a main food source for the birds. Fishing boats are also supposed to carry satellite monitoring systems that track and passed by fishing boats on their way to Krill report the vessel’s location. At a break the ice channel to McMurdo Station. Toothfish are more intensely fished, but CCAMLR meeting in November, eight “It’s a long way from the U.S. and there krill fisheries have the potential to do even countries agreed to try a centralized track- are no easy ports, so we do not have dedi- more damage to the Antarctic ecosystem ing system that would report all the loca- cated enforcement vessels from the US,” because of krill’s crucial place in the food tions directly to CCAMLR headquarters, Arnaudo said. chain. making it more reliable. They are also The strongest at-sea enforcement CCAMLR actually formed in the 1980s considering a system of scientific comes from Australia and France, Miller when increasing harvests of krill in the observers aboard crab, squid and toothfish said. Those countries have territorial Southern Ocean made scientists concerned boats who wouldn’t enforce the rules, but waters within CCAMLR, where they are about the effect on the rest of the ecosys- could report what they see to CCAMLR allowed to patrol and arrest illegal fisher- tem. The shrimp-like crustaceans are the and fisheries officials. There is already an men from any nation. France has arrested breadbasket of Antarctica. agreement allowing designated inspectors about 15 pirate fishing vessels. In “There are so many species that rely on from member nations to inspect any other November, Australia increased the amount krill beyond penguin,” said Palmer seabird ship from another member country at sea it could fine illegal fishing vessels to researcher Cynthia Anderson, including at any time. $825,000, plus all costs of the chase. skua and cormorants. “Everybody should know where every- Australia also is establishing full-time Birds, fish, ctenophores, whales all fol- one else is and what they’re doing,” Miller armed patrols of its Southern Ocean terri- low the krill, said Dan Martin, a science said. tories around Heard and Macquarie diver with the krill component of the Long A few American scientists have been islands. The ship will carry a deck-mount- Term Ecological Research program. given inspector status and have boarded ed .50 caliber machine gun, a Customs “You look for flocks of birds dive- fishing vessels they came across while on boarding party armed with handguns, bombing the water, like any good fisher- a research cruise, said Arnaudo. Arnaudo Australian Fisheries Officers and mer- man does,” Martin said. said the U.S. is also looking into designat- chant mariners able to crew apprehended Researchers realized that a sustainable ing a CCAMLR inspector aboard the illegal vessels. level of fishing needed to leave enough Coast Guard icebreakers Polar Sea and Australia’s heightened enforcement krill in the water to sustain penguins and Polar Star, which have occasionally was spurred on by an incident that began other animals higher up the food chain, so Aug. 7, 2003, when an Australian customs CCAMLR became the first organization to vessel spotted a boat, with its name paint- attempt to manage a fishery based on the ed over, allegedly fishing illegally near entire ecosystem, Miller said. Heard Island. It chased the Viarsa for 21 Demand for krill has dropped off since days and 3,900 nautical miles, through its peak in the 1980s, when 528,000 tons Antarctic pack ice, the stormy Drake were harvested. During the 2002/03 sea- Passage and around icebergs. The patrol son, it’s thought about 126,000 tons of vessel finally apprehended the Viarsa krill were caught by fishing boats from 3,335 km west-southwest of Cape Town, Japan, Korea, Poland, Ukraine and the with the help of a South African salvage U.S. tug, South African icebreaker and a UK Photo courtesy Australian Customs Now the main concern CCAMLR sci- fishing vessel. entists have is that fishing vessels could The patrol vessel Southern Supporter escorts “As an organization, CCAMLR is not directly compete with Antarctic animals the fishing vessel Viarsa back to Australia alone in facing this issue. It’s a global for specific krill stocks in very localized after a 21 day chase across the Southern issue,” Miller said. Ocean. See Fishing on page 19 February 1, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 19

Fishing From page 18 areas, Penhale said. For that reason they are considering ways to manage krill fishing in smaller units. The krill fishery also has potential to grow again, Stoddard said. The world fish farming industry is looking for sources of protein and is increasingly turning to krill. Krill is also used in some pharmaceutical products. Last year there were 372 interna- tional patent applications for commercial uses of krill, said Greg Johannes at Antarctic Tasmania. Some krill end up on dinner plates, with a salty, ocean flavor, Martin said. Photo by Cara Sucher / Special to The Antarctic Sun “One of the things holding them back Researcher examines a krill in the Palmer from fishing for humans (consumption) is Lab. processing them fast enough,” Martin said. “They get these huge catches and I think George Island for 35 years, with his wife they break down quickly.” Susan. They are supported by both the Antarctic krill are unique for their size NSF and NOAA. and quantity. They grow to the size of a lit- They have watched the Adelie colonies tle finger and form schools a mile or more they study shrink more than 50 percent, across, as thick as a swarm of bees or from about 20,000 penguins in the late crickets. 1970s to now about 8,000. They believe But the lack of fishing doesn’t mean the the decline is related to warming trends in krill are burgeoning again. The krill popu- the area, but also see changes in krill avail- lations vary and may be reacting to a num- ability as a possible factor. ber of factors, including changes in the cli- “Something was happening from the mate and sea ice. time they fledged to the time they CCAMLR looks at the research done returned,” said Susan Trivelpiece. “There Photo by Kristan Hutchison / The Antarctic Sun by AMLR and the Palmer Long Term was a connection, obviously, between the Susan Trivelpiece packs equipment for Ecological Research project to help under- krill and the penguin.” Copacabana field camp, where she and her stand the krill and make decisions about husband Wayne study penguins. Their fishing levels. NSF funded research mentioned in this story: research is used by the Commission for the “The political decisions take a great Art DeVries, “Antifreeze proteins in antarctic fish- Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living stock in the science,” Miller said. es,” University of Illinois Urbana Resources to help manage the krill fisheries One of the researchers providing data Wayne and Susan Trivelpiece, in the Southern Ocean. http://swfsc.nmfs.noaa.gov/antarctic.htm used by CCAMLR is Wayne Trivelpiece, Palmer LTER, who has studied Adelie and gentoo pen- http://iceflo.icess.ucsb.edu:8080/ice_hp.php guins at Copacabana field station on King Other related Websites: www.ccamlr.org

What Antarctic vehicle would you take home and why?

“I’d take “I’d take my “Ivan the home the Mattracks Terra Bus. Tucker pickup. I drove I’ve always because five trips to wanted a they’re cool Black Island conversion old machines. with my van.” It’d be fun to Mattracks. have one I’d like to take of my own.” it back to Jason Neely, Jeff Kietzmann, Arizona and Renee Magyar, Pole Construction Palmer communica- put it to the McMurdo supply, coordinator from tion project leader desert test.” from Vermont, Del Norte, Colo., from Surprise, Ariz., first season ninth seasons fifth season

Anytime, anywhere, read past issues of The Antarctic Sun at www.polar.org/antsun 20 • The Antarctic Sun February 1, 2004

Photos courtesy of John Stone / Special to The Antarctic Sun A researcher on a rock deposit left by the Reedy Glacier, which is visible in the background. Rock and ice tell the story of a different age

By Kris Kuenning when the rock was deposited. Howard “Twit” Conway from the Sun staff Cosmic rays are particles emitted from University of Washington will construct a s Antarctica still emerging from the tiny nuclear reactions in the atmosphere. model of the glacier’s movement. last ice age? Researchers are studying They bombard the Earth constantly, and Using radar, Conway and his brother the history of the Reedy Glacier to the radiation builds up in rocks. Maurice traversed areas of the glacier to determine if the West Antarctic Ice While wrapped up in the glacier, the plot its thickness and find out if the glaci- ISheet is still receding. rock is protected from cosmic radiation by er is frozen or melted at the bed. This Work done by Brenda Hall on the Ross the ice, but once free, the rock begins to information along with the current rate of Sea coast suggests that the ice sheet has store radiation. By measuring the exact movement will be used to construct an ice retreated through that area fairly recently. amount of specific isotopes in the rock, flow model of the glacier. While the rest of the world saw glaciers Stone can determine how long the rock “The model will tell us how the thick- disappear 10,000 to 20,000 years ago, the has been exposed. ness upstream relates to the transition ice sheet didn’t pull back from Ross Island Stone was impressed with the number from ice sheet to ice shelf downstream,” until 9,000 years ago. The retreat reached and quality of deposits he found. He start- Stone said. Beardmore Glacier 6,000 years ago. ed out looking at the bigger mountains, but Already, the researchers can tell that “This suggests a late retreat of ice in the discovered some smaller peaks closer to the glacier is at least 2 km thick, running Ross Sea,” said researcher John Stone the ice shelf. in a trough that extends well below sea from the University of Washington. “In this case, the small peaks hold a level. Stone, Hall and other researchers are wealth of information that we’ll want to From the model, a long history of the using the Reedy Glacier to study the tap into next season,” Stone said. Reedy Glacier will appear, providing recent history of the ice sheet and to try to While Stone was collecting rocks, details not just from the last ice age, but determine if it’s still receding. Brenda Hall was searching the valley for also stretching back hundreds of thou- The Reedy Glacier, in the algae from melt ponds on the glacial sands, and possibly millions, of years, Transantarctic Mountains, is above the moraine. Even at the southern points of the Stone said. grounding line, or point where the glacier glacier, Hall found deposits that contained “It will be a bonus to look at the very ice begins to float on the Ross Sea. The algae. She will use carbon dating to deter- ancient behavior of the glacier as well,” he valley around the glacier holds a record of mine if they are left over from the ice age said. past ice levels. As the glacier flows, it or if they have formed more recently. The deposits rock on the surrounding moun- researchers believe this may be the far- NSF research mentioned in this story: John Stone, tains. thest south algae has been found. University of Washington. The algae and rock dating will provide Brenda L. Hall, The University of Maine This season, Stone collected 1,500 Dr. Howard B. Conway, University of Washington, pounds of rock from sites on the western points for the glacial timeline. To under- http://www.ess.washington.edu/Surface/Glaciology/ side of Reedy Glacier. He will use cosmic stand how the glacier’s position fits into ray exposure dating to find out exactly the larger picture of ice movement, February 1, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 21 Profile Groups have Clampet to thank for space

By Brien Barnett press, Clampet said. Sun staff Once the Navy left town, roups needing a the need for the presses space to get together declined and eventually the for work or play laundry downsized. have found Barb Clampet became the only G one to run it. She gets help Clampet. The woman who runs the laundry was recog- from other janitors who nized recently for her service pitch in to get the sleeping to the community in provid- bags, tents, sheets, coming space for groups to meet. forters and even the red, Area director Jim Scott pre- cold-weather parkas sented Clampet with a cer- cleaned. Clampet estimates tificate of appreciation at an the laundry processes about all-hands meeting and a 2,000 articles a month. minute of loud applause fol- Her job, though demand- lowed. ing, is only part of her life To newcomers, the laun- on station. Before she came dry room may sound like a to Antarctica, Clampet ran strange place to meet and two dance studios with 200 conjures up images from students, teaching ballet, movies of steamy rooms and Brien Barnett / The Antarctic Sun tap, jazz and ballroom sketchy characters. But in Barb Clampett moves clothes from a washer to a dryer in the McMurdo dance. On the Ice, she still reality, the McMurdo bulk laundry. teaches tap dancing and laundry is a clean, well-light- hopes to get ballet sessions ed spot that is convenient and centrally located in Building 155, going next season. home to the dining hall, housing, Rec and gear issue, and is acon- Clampet also makes dolls. Not just plain dolls, but dolls venient size for those who need something larger and more pri- resembling the people who work on the Ice, complete with the vate than a lounge but smaller and more intimate than the gym. red parkas featuring zipper pulls, and the person’s unique facial Those who imbibe in the intense workout session called Gutz ‘n’ features such as blue eyes, bushy eyebrows or blond hair. Butz were the first to use the laundry room. Three years ago, the Clampet gets requests during the season and works on them back group led by instructor Karen Joyce was looking for a home. Joyce home when she has more time. She’s made about 35 since start- approached Clampet and asked for permission to use the space. ing about two years ago. Clampet agreed and ran the request through the gamut of authority There’s a lot of care that goes into the dolls. One of her more until word came back that it was OK to use the space as long as interesting orders was from a woman who requested that the doll nothing was broken. Nothing has been, Clampet said. She still look like a friend, complete with a long scraggly beard and a offers the space on a verbal agreement with the leader of anactivity. baseball cap, because that’s what he always wore around town. She said the groups respect and clean up the facility, Clampet drove to North Carolina to a crafts store to find just the “It doesn’t surprise me. They are responsible people and take right one that fit the doll and her budget. good care of the place,” Clampet said. Back home, the Clampets enjoy riding bicycles. They spent Other uses for the space have included belly dancing, an one of their offseasons riding around Europe. But it’s the people improv comedy troupe, a meeting spot for utility crews, morning and the experience that draws her back to Antarctica. stretches, wrestling, karate and break dancing. Clampet said she “The people, they’re like family,” Clampet said. “They’re very loves the diversity of the people. Since the use has grown, close to you and you know more about them than your own fam- though, she doesn’t take part in everything anymore. ily.” Clampet grew up on the Rhode Island coast in an area called Clampet said people on the Ice are her role models. One is the Potowomut. Her home now is South Carolina. The New England- locally famous Mark “Commander” Melcon, describing him as a Southern influences are reflected in a gentle accent when she person she’s respected for his kind and insightful demeanor. She speaks. It was back in South Carolina where she said she learned said she wants to be more like administrative assistant Nancy to work with diverse groups of people. There she worked as a Farrell, whom she calls a “great lady” who helps a lot of people crew leader of a group of kids and adults, ranging in age from 13 behind the scenes. Though she said she wouldn’t attempt it her- to 18, selling subscriptions to the Charleston Post Courier. self, Clampet said she admires the courage of Anne Dal Vera who “I’d have seven or eight in my car at a time,” she said. “It was skied to the South Pole on the American Women’s Antarctic just the different personalities and the radio stations.” Expedition of 1992-1993. Since her first season five years ago, when she joined her hus- Dal Vera returned the compliment. band, John, to come to the Ice, Clampet has worked as a janitor, “I’m always inspired by her smile and creativity. She comes her official title. She cleaned rooms and did general duties for the up with wonderful performances for the women’s soiree every first year before she was selected to work in the laundry, which at year. It’s really a treat.” the time catered to the Navy. That meant pressing everything. Clampet said she plans to be back for seasons to come, but including shirts, sheets and nearly everything else. It took five after a nice break this offseason. people to run the shop, including two just for the extra large sheet “I want to see the flowers and trees and smells. That will be nice.” 22 • The Antarctic Sun February 1, 2004 Profile Rock ‘n’ roll captain By Kristan Hutchison Sun staff You might say Captain Robert Verret shows deft has saltwater in his blood, mixed with a little Cajun spice. He grew up in Cut Off, Louisiana, about half an hour from the Gulf of Mexico. Most people there make their liv- hand at helm ing off the water, on floating oilrigs or fishing boats. His grandfather owned tug- boats and his father was the captain of a La. and worked his way up to captain with plows through icy waters. casino boat. an unlimited tonnage license. He was part “He’s a loud and somewhat boisterous “Most of my family’s in boats some of the original crew of the Laurence M. guy,” said Al Sutherland, the National kind of way,” Verret said, his accent as full Gould, first as a relief captain and for the Science Foundation ocean projects man- of Louisiana flavor as the Tony’s last two years as captain. He’s also worked ager. “You have to stop and take that all in Chachere’s Cajun Seasoning he requires on the Nathaniel B. Palmer occasionally, and also understand how much he’s on galley tables. including filling in as captain for a few involved in what goes on and how much More of a jock than a student, Verret months this season. he cares. That boisterousness actually played on his high school baseball team. Verret works well with his crew and the becomes kind of an endearing part of his His parents were prepared to send him to a scientists, showing a real interest in the personality.” local college, but he decided to work for a research done during the cruises, said After so many years cruising the year first so he’d have some spending marine projects coordinator Andy Nunn. Antarctic peninsula, Verret knows it like money. “Rob is very friendly and approach- the back of his hand, Nunn said. He can “I wanted to go to a place I could party able,” Nunn said. “He’s always laughing usually find a faster route or more efficient and have fun,” Verret said. and smiling and seems to take a personal grid to get the science done, and it’s Verret’s first job was working on tugs interest in everything that’s happening on almost always more scenic. for his uncle. When payday came, he for- board, not just shipboard operations.” “Captain Robert really knows his got about college for good. Wearing a t-shirt, jeans and a Patriots stuff,” Nunn said. “From tricky mooring “I went from having $50 a week to baseball cap, with tangles of brown curls recovery and docking operations, to keep- $500 a week,” Verret said. hanging below his shoulders, Verret looks ing the ship safe in multi-year ice, he That was about 20 years ago. Verret like a modern pirate captain. He plays always makes it look easy.” joined Edison Chouest Offshore, Galliano, heavy metal music on the bridge as he Sutherland said Verret proved his skills as a captain during a series of four winter cruises, guiding the ship through heavy ice in Marguerite Bay, south of the Antarctic Circle. “It was really hard for the Gould to operate in those seas and yet Robert was able to get the absolute most out of a ship that was really pushing its ability to maneuver and work,” Sutherland said. “He had no trouble other times over in the Larsen Ice Shelf when things were tough to maneuver.” Verret’s seen some rough crossings, with 40-foot seas and waves hitting the sides of the ship so hard an instrument unit was ripped out of the wall. “You have waves you’re almost looking at eye level here,” Verret said from his position on the bridge, four stories above the water line. “All you can do then is just cut (the engines) back.” The sea ice is worst in August and September, once extending as far north as 61 degrees south latitude. In ice, the ship slows to 6 knots and the four-day journey once took eight days instead. “(The ice) is always changing,” Verret Photo by Kristan Hutchison / The Antarctic Sun said. “You could work here 20 years and not know everything.” Captain Rob Verret on the Laurence M. Gould as it unloads at Palmer Station Sept. 2003.