The Antarctic Sun, January 11, 2004

Home , Ice pier, Winter Quarters Bay

Published during the austral summer at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, for the United States Antarctic Program January 11, 2004 Taylor glacier has a tale to tell By Kris Kuenning Sun staff Locked in the world’s glaciers, along with 75 percent of all fresh water, are the answers to many questions about Earth’s climate. Glaciers mark change by their movement, leaving in their path valuable records of past climate variation. Understanding their behav- ior now can help predict what might happen in the future, said Kurt Cuffey, a glaciologist from the University of California, Berkeley. Antarctic glacial studies provide clues to the local ecosystem, but when the models are applied to the larger world, researchers can Photo by Kris Kuenning / The Antarctic Sun put together a picture of how temperature Penguin researchers David Ainley and Louise Blight walk through the Adelie rookery at Cape Royds changes could re-draw the Earth’s coastlines. in November. “If the glaciers melted, sea level would rise 200 feet (60 meters) and every coastal city in the world would be drowned,” said Difficult commute disrupts Cuffey, who is studying the Taylor Glacier in the Dry Valleys with Dave Morse from the University of Texas. penguins’ domestic duties The Dry Valleys provide a unique setting By Brien Barnett only about three-quarters of the birds for studying Antarctic glaciers, Cuffey said. Sun staff expected to show up actually did so. While much of Antarctica’s glacial ice is Fewer Adelie penguins have been “These colonies have been growing chipped into the sea as icebergs, which float returning to their southern Ross Sea over the past few decades so our expec- away without a trace, the empty valleys have colonies to mate this season than last tation would be they would be equal to been carved with a living record of the glaci- year, perhaps because the commute from what they were last year, particularly er’s history. wintering areas has been longer and because conditions in the vicinity of the Only 2 percent of Antarctica is not ice cov- more difficult than expected. colonies are easier this year compared to ered. Most of the exposed land is on the At Cape Royds, only about 1,500 last year,” Ainley said. Antarctic Peninsula or juts from the ice in breeding pairs were counted, according Over the past few years, Royds was steep, bare mountains. The Dry Valleys are to penguin researcher David Ainley of hard to reach because it was dozens of rare, low-lying areas, where a simple, delicate H.T. Harvey & Associates. He said that miles from open water, where the pen- ecosystem is fed by glacial melt. means only about a third of the expected guins gather food. Meantime, giant ice- This ecosystem has been studied through number of pairs returned this season. bergs were hammering Crozier and cre- National Science Foundation funded research At Cape Crozier, the largest of the ating massive ice rubble, forcing the for 10 years as part of the McMurdo Dry Ross Island colonies, more than 70 per- birds to follow a different and difficult Valleys Long Term Ecological Research cent of the penguins have mated, but See Adelies on page 12 See Taylor on page 7

INSIDE Quote of the Week Meet the “mayor” of Off hours, station “It’s like putting a bicycle on a six Santiago Airport life counts on lane highway. It didn’t do much.” volunteers - IT manager on increasing McMurdo Page 14 Page 9 bandwidth last week by about 150 kb www.polar.org/antsun 2 • The Antarctic Sun January 11, 2004

Ross Island Chronicles By Chico

Wow! What a fall. He doesn’t appear to be dead ‘cause he’s moving. What do you think we ought to do? Cold, hard facts Roving Mars & Antarctica Spirit: Now exploring surface of Mars. If I were you I’d get a lawyer WHAT!!! Sue me? I’m a penguin. This is Nomad: Explored the remote Antarctic before he sues you for Antarctica. No one owns this place. region of Elephant Moraine in January everything you got. 2000 in search of meteorite samples

Size: Spirit/Nomad: Both are about the size of a lawn tractor

Weight: Spirit: 180 kg Nomad: 725 kg

Speed: That’s even worse. Interpol will scour the Quick, let’s go see if we can find Spirit: 5 cm/second Nomad: 50 cm/second planet to find you and then drag you in a couple of shovels. front of the World Court when they do. Power: Probably send you to Guantanomo Bay. Spirit: Batteries and solar panels Nomad: Gasoline generator

Some of the gear onboard: Spirit: Cameras, analysis tools, communications gear and antennas Nomad: Cameras, spectrometer, GPS

Source: Field Robotics Center, NASA

The Antarctic Sun is funded by the National Matt Davidson Science Foundation as part of the United States Antarctic Program (OPP-000373). Its primary 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 Connor Geoff Jolley, Wendy Kober, JD Menezes Publisher: Valerie Carroll, Communications manager, RPSC Contributions are welcome. Contact the Sun at [email protected]. In McMurdo, visit our office in Building 155 or dial 2407. Web address: www.polar.org/antsun January 11, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 3 Ice pier serves as bridge to supplies By Kris Kuenning Sun staff The U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star slid and cracked its way through the ice this week, to tether its lines to a six-meter thick chunk of ice that has served as a floating pier at McMurdo since 1999. As it edged close, the Star lunged onto the pier and took a 2-meter chunk from the side. “It’s probably just cosmetic,” said McMurdo foreman Scott “Snackbar” Konu, who oversees the annual summer maintenance of the ice pier. “This is the only place in the world where we moor up without tug assistance,” said Coast Guard liaison April Brown. “We always give them something to do in winter when we hit the pier.” Ships, storms and sunny days all take a toll on the pier, which is why it is rebuilt every few years. Floating ice piers have been used in Winter Quarters Bay since 1973. Prior to Kris Kuenning / The Antarctic Sun 1964, cargo was unloaded from the sea ice U.S. Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Star lies tied to the ice pier, which is covered by dirt. edge and transported to McMurdo by sled. Starting in 1964, icebreakers were able to open a channel to Winter Quarters Bay, flood the surface. Freshwater, with a higher be released and towed away by the icebreak- where ships moored directly to a vertical face freezing point, sets harder. The freshwater er. The pier’s journey is tracked with a bea- of land-anchored ice. After several years, the flood evened the surface of the pier and con and targets are mounted on the top to land-fast ice eroded and so in 1972, a metal healed any minor cracks. alert any passing ships. The last ice pier and steel protective dock was constructed. In spring, work began to ready the pier for broke apart and was released in 1999. Most of the structure was destroyed almost the ships’ arrival in January. The insulating Waves and large swells caused cracks immediately by a storm. gravel layer was spread back over the pier. which were reinforced each winter until That same winter a block of ice was con- The gravel also provides a good surface for finally, in the summer of 1999, the disinte- structed, covered with straw and matting, and loading vehicles. gration was beyond repair. One piece broke used as a fender for the tanker that arrived in Cables strap the pier to the land and moor- off and sunk. Another rolled like an iceberg. autumn 1973. ing blocks are set into the structure. Konu was working on the pier that day. The experimental ice fender showed that After an early December storm, almost 30 “We were down there working and then we an ice pier was feasible and the first one was cm of snow was removed from the pier, but went to dinner. When we got back one piece constructed the following winter. melt puddles have now formed from the had rolled over. It was quite a sight to see,” he “As far as I know, it is the only floating ice snow that settled into the gravel. A rock drill said. pier in the world,” said fleet operations super- will be used to cut 10 cm drainage holes The crew rushed to remove equipment visor Gerald Crist. through the ice where the water accumulates. and pull the connecting bridge to shore. Pier construction begins when the winter In early November, the edge of the pier This ice pier was built in the winter of sea ice reaches a thickness of one meter, usu- was stripped bare of snow. Natural melt and 1999. In the last few years, a giant iceberg ally in April. Then, a 30 cm wall of ice and run-off was channeled into this “moat” to perched north of Ross Island has prevented snow is built around the pier. Three pumps gather heat. This set the edge up for a clean the ocean current from flushing broken sea are drilled into the ice and the surface is break between the sea ice and face of the pier ice out of the icebreaker channel. If the ice- flooded with seawater. Ten centimeters at a by the icebreaker. breaker can’t tow the pier away at the end of time, the pier grows to 3.5 meters and then A steel bridge spans the moat between the the season, we’re stuck with it, said Crist. almost 2,000 meters of steel cable is laid over shore and the floating pier. The icebreaker run-in doesn’t seem to the ice for support. Another layer of cable is This year, divers measured the pier to be have done any major damage to this pier. added after another 1.5 meters of ice. 6 meters deep. They also discovered that the Crist said small fracture cracks were proba- It takes around 150 million liters of sea back corner of the pier had grounded on the bly a result of normal settling after the sur- water to make the pier. seafloor. The pressure of the grounding has rounding sea ice was released. To maintain the thickness of the pier, it is created a visible ridge on the surface, which Crist said the stability of the ice pier is stripped of its insulating layer of rock each Konu said could be a point of weakness for continually assessed, but they hope to use the autumn and the snow is plowed off for win- the pier. same pier again next year. ter. The water is a constant –1.8 C, but the air The next job will be to grade the surface “We don’t know the health of the pier in winter is much colder than that. Keeping of the pier smooth for the heavy traffic it will until vessel season is finished, but I’d like to the ice exposed allows it to cool over the win- see when the re-supply vessel is unloaded keep it,” he said. “The winter crew of 1999 ter and minimize loss, Crist said. and re-loaded in February. constructed an excellent pier and it has been Last winter, for the first time, fresh water When its lifetime is up, a permit from the one of the best. We have grown rather fond of was hauled from McMurdo’s fire hydrants to Antarctic Conservation Act allows the pier to it.” 4 • The Antarctic Sun January 11, 2004

Perspectives Perspectives Unseen life is abundant in the Dry Valleys By Yvonne Baskin To soil ecologists, it’s no surprise that nematodes are the most Special to the sun abundant animals in the Dry Valleys. Four of every five animals Standing in the Taylor Valley, it’s easy to understand why on Earth are nematodes. Pioneering researcher Nathan Cobb Robert Scott proclaimed this visually lifeless land “the valley of explained in 1914: “If all the matter in the universe except nema- the dead.” Scott was wrong, of course, but he was hardly the first todes were swept away, our world would still be recognizable, to overlook life right under his feet. Life not only persists in the …its mountains, hills, vales, rivers, lakes, and oceans represent- mud, dirt, and meltwater of this ice-free bit of Antarctica but also ed by a film of nematodes.” fingerprints the landscape in ways too subtle for our unaided The entire food web in the Dry Valleys is composed of what senses to detect. E. O. Wilson calls “the small things that run the world.” Two- Keeping tabs on the unseen world here requires work that’s thirds of the Earth’s biological diversity lives in its mud and dirt, tedious, often exhausting, and – providing the foundation for the to an outsider — even a bit Earth’s food webs, decaying weird. I came to the Ice to see and recycling vital nutrients, how it’s done, and more impor- renewing soil fertility, filtering tant, to learn why as part of a and purifying water, and help- book I’m writing on life in the ing determine the fate of carbon Earth’s soils and sediments. and greenhouse gases. At the south end of Lake This sheer abundance and Hoare, a meltwater offspring of complexity of unseen life, how- the Canada Glacier, I watch as ever, creates a nightmare for three people scurry about with ecologists trying to determine gallon jugs. They shower sugar- the work and “worth” of indi- water on the gravelly soil inside vidual species. Abundance is what appear to be translucent what Wall and her colleagues lampshades held down with escape in Antarctica, along with stakes and bungees. Up the the confounding presence of rocky slope, two other members green plants that dominate most of the team unbolt Bundt cake soils with their forest of roots. pans full of marbles from atop “This is the only place where foot-high posts. Stacked to one Photo provided by Yvonne Baskin / Special to the Antarctic Sun we can see the effect of a side are daypacks jammed with Yvonne Baskin stands at an overlook in the Taylor Valley. change or disturbance on an plastic bags and little brown bot- individual species,” Wall says. tles of soil. Life filters nitrogen and phosphorous from glacial meltwater, These researchers are known on the Ice as the wormherders altering the chemistry of water at every step as it puddles in because the chief beneficiaries of all their fuss are microscopic cryconite holes, pours into streams, and runs across the soil into roundworms known as nematodes, microbe-munching critters the lakes. that top the food chain of the McMurdo Dry Valleys. For more “Everywhere you look out here, there is biology,” says Jeb than a decade the wormherders, shepherded by Diana Wall of Barrett of Dartmouth. Colorado State University and Ross Virginia of Dartmouth Yet it’s biology so simplified that he can separate out how College, have been probing, pampering and challenging the val- much the breathing of nematodes contributes to the exhalation of ley’s three worm species – along with a smattering of fellow CO2 from the valley soil. invertebrates known as rotifers and tardigrades (water bears) – to Soils worldwide face accelerating degradation thanks to see what makes the food web tick, what life here is capable of, human activities. Information about the importance of individual and how sensitive it will be to human-driven changes in the cli- soil organisms is as urgently needed as details about the life of mate and environment. Their work is part of the Long Term rainforests and coral reefs – perhaps more so, for healthy soil is Ecological Research project that targets the soils, streams, lakes, fundamental to everything from water quality to sustainable agri- and glaciers of the Dry Valleys. culture, forestry, and fisheries. The annual dose of sugarwater the wormherders provide can We are unlikely to need the services of the Taylor Valley spur growth of a microbial feast for some lucky worms; others nematodes and microbes to nurture our green world, but what we get only an extra dose of water. The lampshade-style chambers learn from them may help us appreciate and care for soil com- protect some from chilling winds and the Bundt pans are munities vital to our survival. designed to catch worms blowing around the valley. Back in the Yvonne Baskin, a freelance science writer from Bozeman, Crary lab, the team flushes worms from soil samples, then final- Mont., came to McMurdo as part of the NSF Antarctic Artists & ly comes face to face with them under a compound microscope. Writers program. January 11, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 5 around the continent

Photo provided by Palmer Station staff / Special to The Antarctic Sun The luxury cruise ship The World Discoverer holds position just outside Palmer Station next to the U.S. Antarctic Program research vessel, the Laurence M. Gould this past week. The cruise ship tours the globe. See update below for more news from Palmer Station. off on a great note, with up to 7 LC-130 SOUTH POLE flights a day from McMurdo. We receive PALMER science and construction cargo, as well as New pole marker our fuel resupply to last us through the Ships, scientists arrive eight-month winter with no flights. By Tracy Sheeley Anticipating winter also means it is time for By Kerry Kells South Pole correspondent rest and relaxation in McMurdo for the Palmer Station correspondent South Pole is returning to a work routine winter crew – a week to explore Mactown The holidays at Palmer are winding after the holiday season – and a busy one at and breathe in warmer air at sea level down as we prepare for a busy January. that. January brings with it a high popula- before settling into the Pole winter routine. The Palmer community celebrated the tion, with visitors and workers coming in New Year with a prom-themed party The South Pole Remote Earth Seismic complete with falling balloons, stream- for the final push of the summer season. Observatory (SPRESO) is again host to the On the first day of the ers, snacks and prom backgrounds for Ice Core Drilling Service. Five drillers are photos. year, the new marker putting in a third hole to be used by the U.S. was placed at the The Gould brought several more sci- Geologic Service to gather their seismolog- entists to station, as well as National geographic South ical data. Pole. The ice sheet Geographic reporter Fen Montaigne and moves roughly 10 MCMURDO NSF Representative Dave Bresnahan. meters each year, and This past week, 120 passengers from the marker is updated the luxury cruise ship the The World vis- Photo by Charles ited the station and the U.S. Antarctic Kaminski / Special accordingly. Each winter to The Antarctic Sun crew has the honor of research vessel the Laurence M. Gould designing the pole marker stopped in. for the following year. It is unmasked in a We also celebrate the recognition of special ceremony on New Year’s Day. our own Cara Sucher for her first place Work continues to make the new station wildlife, second-place scenic and sec- grow and shine. The inspection for final ond-place people photos in The Antarctic occupancy of the new dining hall and Sun’s Photo and Writing Contest (see berthing areas is scheduled for late January. previous issue online). Our goal is to receive conditional occupan- Throughout the holidays, our group of Photo by Brien Barnett / The Antarctic Sun seabird researchers continued to count cy of areas under construction. Interior Beverley Underwood, a tourist from work will continue on those areas through- Wellington, New Zealand, traveling aboard and track nests every day. New chicks are hatching within the brown skua and out the winter. The steel has been erected the cruise ship Khlebnikov, shops for sou- giant petrel populations. Bill Fraser, the for the B1 pod, and panels will go up begin- venirs at the McMurdo Station store. She said she was “following her dream” by trav- principal investigator of this research, ning this week. Footers are being placed eling to Antarctica. The visitors were flown arrives to join his group. Some of the for A4. in by helicopter and toured the station, The January flight schedule is starting including Hut Point and Observation Hill. See Continent on page 6

the week in weather

McMurdo Station Palmer Station South Pole Station High: 41 F / 5 C Low: 21 F / -6 C High: 46 F / 8 C Low: 32 F / 0 C High:-10 F / -23 C Low:-20 F / -30 C Wind: 24 mph / 39 kph Wind: 44 mph / 71 kph Wind: 24 mph / 39 kph Windchill: -9 F / -23 C Windchill: 21 F / -6 C Maximum physio-altitude: 3228 m 6 • The Antarctic Sun January 11, 2004

Continent From page 5 RUGBY AT SCOTT BASE researchers will leave on the Gould. Maria Vernet and Ray Smith’s group, the phytoplankton and bio-optics compo- nent of the Long Term Ecological study, continues to sample the water columns at two spots, joined by the bacterioplankton ecology group. Hugh Ducklow, the principal investigator for this research, also arrived on the Gould. Members of both teams will leave station on the Gould for the Long Term Ecological Research cruise while their colleagues continue research based at Palmer Station. Robin Ross-Quetin, who is a partner in the long-term research of Antarctic krill, will join Langdon Quetin, co-principal investigator. Ross began her research in Antarctica the summer of 1981-82. In this past week they have continued their acoustic searches and collections of krill. In another realm of science, Tad Day’s group has collected 180 cores (plant and soil samples with Antarctic hair grass and Antarctic pearlwort) from Biscoe Photos by Renee Magyar/ Special to The Antarctic Sun Island. More samples need to be collect- The Mount Terror and Scott Base rugby football clubs unite for a photo Jan. 4, after their ed before their experiments can begin. match on a pitch made of packed snow. The Kiwis defeated McMurdo 27-0 on five tries and When the Gould leaves Palmer one converted kick. The annual for-fun meeting included fans, cheerleaders and a post- Station to begin the LTER cruise, the match barbecue dinner at Scott Base. ship will follow a grid pattern south. It will travel south of the Antarctic Circle 12 km out from Hut Point, flying passen- left again two days later on the annual and stop at Avian Island where seabird gers in for tours, on Jan. 8. Long Term Ecological Research cruise. researchers will camp for four days. And The tanker ship Gianella is scheduled to even farther south, the Gould will stop at arrive at the ice edge about Jan. 14 to act as Nathaniel B. Palmer the British Station, Rothera, on Adelaide a floating gas station for the two big red gas Island. During this cruise, each group hogs. She will heave to at the edge and park Compiled from ship reports will collect samples for all the compo- it there until after the cargo vessel gets in by Ashley Lowe nents of LTER. and out of McMurdo. The Nathaniel B. Palmer left the ice The cruise ship Vavilov is scheduled She also will be fueling the Nathaniel B. edge offshore of McMurdo Station on Jan. to arrive with several Cornell University Palmer upon its return to the ice edge on Jan 4, two days ahead of schedule thanks to a alumni passengers. Early February will 15. The NBP is scheduled to be at the ice tremendous effort by all involved. see the return of the Gould for a quick pier Jan 15-19, but if she can’t get to the pier The ship headed south to the Ross Ice stop at station before it returns to Punta Shelf after a 16-hour transit around ice- Arenas, Chile. like last year because of the ice, we are developing a contingency plan to offload berg B-15. and onload cargo and people. Plus, she will The magnetometer was deployed once SHIPS take fuel from the tanker at the ice edge. the ship passed through the pack ice in The cargo vessel American Tern is McMurdo Sound. Polar Star, Polar Sea scheduled to arrive at the ice edge on Feb 1, Jan. 6 was an extremely busy day, high- By LCDR April Brown and then be escorted in by icebreakers, to lighted by an uncharacteristically trouble- Mac Ship Ops/Coast Guard Liaison the pier. free deployment of the multichannel seis- Polar Star took on about 2.3 million mic system. With seismic data rolling in, liters of JP-5 fuel, and is now heavy and the Palmer headed to the primary study ready to wreak havoc on the ice. Polar Sea Laurence M. Gould area — the location where iceberg B-15 is pulling in to take on about 1.5 million Compiled from ship reports broke off the Ross Ice Shelf. liters of JP-5. In gallons, that’s a cool mil- by Andrew Nunn During that survey, some minor equip- lion from the town’s fuel stores. The Laurence M. Gould left Punta ment problems and tangled lines required The Sea also conducted a covert op, Arenas Jan. 1 after a busy port call. The bringing all the equipment onboard. The sneaking into the turning basin, and then decks were piled high with cargo. chief scientists decided to move on to a out, widening the old ship track by 2-3 ship “Today was our reward with sunshine second study area. However, about 21 widths (cutter has a 26-meter beam). Go and calm seas, and warm enough to play hours of seismic data were collected dur- Sea! cards on deck,” Nunn wrote. ing the first survey. Anticipate Sea getting underway The night turned foggy and the weather The second survey, this time of the Sunday morning to continue work with the worsened as they started taking water data. entire length of the Ross Ice Shelf, was Star. The tour ship Khlebnikov was about The Gould arrived at Palmer Jan. 5 and proceeding. January 11, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 7

Photos by Marianne Okal / Special to The Antarctic Sun Left: Glaciologist Jeff Kavanaugh uses a snowmobile to collect surface ice samples from the Taylor Glacier. Right: One of the team’s three field camps was on a small lake near the edge of the glacier.

Taylor From page 1 (LTER) program. tion rates. On the Taylor Glacier, Cuffey said, Zoom out on the McMurdo Dry Valleys The four researchers are camping “Mass is lost almost exclusively by evap- LTER project and the white bulk of the around the Taylor Glacier for eight weeks oration. There is a little bit of melt and Taylor Glacier will be one of the next to collect ice samples, record data and that’s what keeps the lakes full.” things to come into focus. carry out tests. To understand the environmental fac- The arching stream of ice flows around To estimate the age of the ice, Cuffey tors that affect the glacier, the group has the Cavendish rocks in a “U” shape, nar- and his team are collecting 2,000 ice sam- also installed five weather stations. rowing to a serrated tongue above Lake ples, taken 20 meters apart. Through these measurements, Cuffey is Bonnie. Riding snowmobiles across the pocked The Taylor Glacier is a vital link surface of the glacier, they are finding putting together a snapshot of the current between two intensively studied Antarctic stakes drilled into the ice last year. Global state of the glacier. environments. It drains from Taylor Positioning Satellite (GPS) technology The aim is to collect enough informa- Dome, where a 130,000-year ice-core cli- will help them measure how much the tion about the glacier to develop a numer- mate record has recently been extracted, glacier has moved in the last 12 months. ical model that researchers can use to and feeds into the Dry Valleys, a long-term The flow of the glacier is determined, pose “what if” questions. ecological research site. in part, by the characteristics of the earth What if the temperature rose 10 Understanding how the Taylor Glacier below. The researchers use radar to draw a degrees? How much more of the glacier flows and responds to changes in climate picture of the land underneath the ice and would melt and how would that impact the will help researchers better understand measure its thickness. surrounding area? both the Taylor Valley ecosystem and the Last year’s field season revealed the ice “Say you had a bell. If you don’t know ancient climate record from the Taylor on the Taylor Glacier was 20 percent what it is, you might do things like whack Dome. thicker than previously estimated . it with a hammer to see what it would do,” “The Taylor Glacier flows into the Dry “That means the way the glacier flows Cuffey said. “The Taylor Glacier is the Valleys like an elephant coming into the is more of a viscous creep than we previ- bell. The hammer is the climate and the room: big and immovable,” Cuffey said. ously thought,” Cuffey said. “The Taylor Glacier provides melt to keep Glaciers flow in several different ways. ringing is the geography.” the lakes there.” Earlier studies made researchers think the As a major force in the Dry Valley’s The glacier also affects the weather in Taylor Glacier moved by sliding over the ecosystem, the future of the Taylor Glacier the Taylor Valley. rocky bed. When radar measurements is of interest to all the area’s researchers. Work being done by Cuffey and his showed thicker ice on the glacier, this told “A glacier can change its position a lot team combines field research and numeri- Cuffey that the thick glacier slowly over time,” Cuffey said. “Ecologists cal modeling to put together this piece of spreads under its own weight like a mound would like to know more about how that the east Antarctic puzzle. of molasses. might happen and what it might do in the In their second field season, the team is Tracking the evaporation rates is less future.” measuring the thickness of the glacier, technical. Poles have been drilled into the looking at what lies below it and tracking ice and as the surface evaporates, more of NSF funded research in this story: Kurt Cuffey. its changes, including flow and evapora- the pole is exposed. University of California, Berkeley. 8 • The Antarctic Sun January 11, 2004 From the parks to the Pole Adventurous workers split their year between two kinds of wilderness

By Peter Rejcek I started talking to people at the park, and with his long, straw-colored hair and South Pole correspondent they knew people who knew people who matching beard. hasing grizzlies, rebuilding cabins, had been.” They are drawn, as Gough was, by the pointing out wolves, bear, moose What is the common draw between a inaccessibility. and caribou to tourists … all typical wilderness filled with colorful plants and “It’s the most remote, complete wilder- off-Ice tasks for people who split majestic animals and a continent that’s ness you’ll ever be in. And that’s what C mostly barren, extremely cold and nearly attracted me,” Gough said. their year between work in Antarctica and the National Parks. bereft of life? Boyce fell in love with Denali National “It’s a life of seasonality,” said “I think it’s the sense of adventure,” Park while traveling and working in Jeremiah Smith, a South Pole carpenter said Ken Keenan, a South Pole utility Alaska during a summer break from his who spends the rest of his year as a mem- technician who works maintenance at job in Philadelphia, Penn. ber of the Interagency Grizzly Bear Study Yellowstone. “The people who come here “I had incredible experiences at the Team at Yellowstone Park. park. I was really blown away At South Pole, the contingent by the place,” said the 39-year- of people from the park in the old carpenter. “I met some really northwest corner of Wyoming great people. So I kept going seems to be the largest, but many back … in a few years I started other parks are also represented. considering it home.” There are at least a half-dozen A self-proclaimed city boy, Parkies-turned-Polies, not count- Boyce tutored himself in the ing everyone who has had even a park’s history and ecology, and small connection with the nation- today serves as a tour guide at al parks back home. Any one Denali. parks person here can name a “There are a lot of Denali handful of others who have been people who come down here. at Pole. It’s a word-of-mouth thing,” Dave Tashner worked on a said Boyce, his face bronzed turn-of-the-century cabin in from working outdoors six days Colorado’s Rocky Mountain a week. National Park. Mike Boyce gives The connection between Pole tours in Alaska’s Denali National and parks is also one of timing. Park. Pole carpenter Kenny At many parks business is slow Gough worked three summers in the winter. The Antarctic sum- overseeing repairs and construc- mer starts just as summer ends at tion at Canyon Lodge in Yellowstone, where the season Yellowstone Park. runs from May to October, “I’m not much of a city per- Gough said. “It’s perfect for coming down son, I guess,” Gough said. “I like By Peter Rejcek / Special to The Antarctic Sun living close to nature.” Carpenter Kenny Gough prepares to cut a piece of concrete board here,” he said. Like many of the other park during construction at the new South Pole Station. During the The need for money is anoth- personnel who become Polies, other part of the year he works at Yellowstone National Park, one er factor. Park wages are, on Gough learned about the opportu- of many Polies with a parks background. average, not very high, Tashner nity to head south through a friend who noted. And those who work at worked at Pole. have the same sense of adventure as the the parks and at Pole, he said, often pos- “What he told me fascinated me, really people who go to Yellowstone. And every- sess a variety of skills and talents — a excited me … so I went for it,” Gough one’s sense of adventure has a different necessity given the small workforce. said. level. Some people are mountain climbers, The trappings of a material lifestyle — In fact, at Yellowstone they hold parties some people just like hiking out on a trail house, property, cars — are often not pre- where everyone is required to bring some- and some people’s idea of adventure is sent, said Fuller. one who had been to or was going to the running away from home. And the nation- “You have nothing to tie you down,” Ice — Antarctica parties, according to al parks are an easy place to run to.” said the 31-year-old avid traveler. Emma Fuller, who works in materials at Also, in both Antarctica and the parks, But perhaps the biggest factor that Pole. She’s been a Spanish translator at transportation, lodging and food are pro- brings together such disparate worlds is Grand Teton National Park and did odd vided, Keenan pointed out. the people themselves. jobs at Yellowstone when she was Many Polies agree that the parks attract “The communities are pretty similar,” younger. This is her second season at Pole. a certain type of person — adventurers, Boyce said. “You run into the same like- “You start to talk to people and it risk-takers, explorers. minded people down here. The reason I becomes a small community,” she said. These are people who “love what they eventually called Denali home was the “When I was trying to find out about do, they love the isolation,” said Smith, community there. The reason I come back Antarctica … I knew nothing about it. So looking every bit the adventurer himself, here is the community.” January 11, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 9 David Schutt, an electrician apprentice from Denver, watches for the next bowling ball while Scott Karaus, who works for Aviation Technical Services and is from Nebraska, resets pins behind the scenes at the two- lane McMurdo Station bowling alley. Pin-setting is a paid position for those looking to pick up some extra beer money or travel cash.

Photo by Brien Barnett / The Antarctic Sun When residents give five, stations come alive Literally hundreds of people overall at volunteers, paid and unpaid, to support to be moved, an “all-call” on the P.A. sys- United States Antarctic Program stations the quality of life at the station. There’s tem brings a chain of hands from all over volunteer their time and talents to add to almost no way to measure the total station. The Saturday after Thanksgiving the culture of life in Antarctica. These are impact since people help out all the time is “manager cook day” when the station’s a few of their stories. and no one keeps track of it all. leaders give the galley staff a day off as “There are only four of us here in the thanks for a job well done. By Brien Barnett and Kris Kuenning office, and 1,000 people on station,” The South Pole greenhouse, which Sun staff Meyer noted. “There’s no way we could provides the station’s only fresh food David Pacheco made a promise to his do this by ourselves. It takes the entire over winter, is staffed completely by vol- wife who was back home for community sharing their interests and unteers. Thanksgiving. He would volunteer to abilities to make this thing work.” Without a designated recreation work in the McMurdo dining hall if she Jim Scott, Raytheon’s area director for department, the South Pole also depends helped out at a soup kitchen there. It McMurdo Station, said volunteers fill the on volunteers during workers’ time off. would be their way to be together and gaps and provide a benefit to the town Tae Kwon Do, yoga, and Spanish give back. and to the management. lessons are available because people Come Thanksgiving night, there was “They pick up the areas where other donate their spare time to teach them. Pacheco, a plumber by day, dressed in his folks back in the states take for granted,” The first South Pole short film festival issued waterproof apron, rubber gloves Scott said. is scheduled for later this month. Headed and white hat, cheering on the staff. With only two janitors, minimal by Brian Land, an Antarctic filmmaker “I did it to honor my mother and my kitchen staff and more than 200 people to and carpenter, and helped by filmmakers wife, and to give back,” Pacheco said. feed and clean up after, the South Pole Tom Piwowarski and Dave Carlson are “The people here work so hard. They depends heavily on volunteer labor. giving filming and editing workshops to excel.” Some of it is built into station life. the station’s budding filmmakers. The The Alburquerque, N.M., resident was Cleaning duties are rotated through dif- results will be viewed and judged at the one of several volunteers that day, and ferent workstations. Janitor Susan Weber festival. one of many throughout the season who said the shared duties promote more Palmer Station depends on volunteers pitched in to make the day a little easier responsible living for everyone. for all levels of community events from on the kitchen and dining hall staff. “It was one of the reasons I felt com- safety and rescue to tourism to recre- The spirit of volunteerism is essential fortable accepting the job here. I knew I ational activities. to the well-being of the community, said couldn’t keep up with 200-plus (people) Like South Pole station, Palmer does- McMurdo Recreation Coordinator Bill unless they all helped,” Weber said. Meyer. Meyer and other managers rely on When freshies or other supplies need See Volunteers on page 10 10 • The Antarctic Sun January 11, 2004 Volunteers From page 9 n’t have full-time professional firefighters. The stations rely on volunteers from the community to fight fires, teach rescue techniques and work on the search and rescue teams. Tourism demands some time from the station’s volunteer tour guides. Volunteers set up the displays for the tourists, work at the station store and talk with the tourists after the tour. In one day, 120 tourists can be led through a station that averages fewer than 40 residents at a time. For the past three seasons, Palmer staff member Barb Watson has either led or participated in many craft workshops including sessions on candlemaking, soapmaking, tie-dying, printmaking, batik, and even Palmer’s unique “fish printing,” which uses the disposed car- casses of fish specimens from the science lab to create art. Other efforts include the Sunday dinner, dance lessons and exercise classes. The dinners are an important part of life at station and electrician Dan Weisblatt helps coordinate the weekly get together. Photo by Brien Barnett / The Antarctic Sun Andres Martinez, a transplant from the Chuck Kimball does gash duty at Palmer Station, in which people take turns cleaning the South Pole, teaches Salsa Dance on kitchen after meals. Monday nights. Baker Wendy Beeler and Kerry Kells, the station’s administrative McKenzie Winters is the station’s in his first season in Antarctica. He works assistant, co-lead an exercise class to librarian during the season. She hopes to nights for fleet operations. He signed up keep people limber and to, in Beeler’s continue to study library sciences back to bartend for day bar and learned from a words, “take away my guilt for everyone home, so it was a natural fit to do it here. friend here. at Palmer Station gaining weight” from A paid volunteer herself, Winters man- “It sure isn’t for the money,” he said her baked cookies. ages 19 other volunteers plus general and chuckled. Back in McMurdo, there’s no shortage assistants who organize books and keep Marianne Okal, who claims Chicago of a need for volunteers. An annual the library open at odd hours. Winters as her hometown, said it’s the social Women’s Soiree is an event entirely pro- said she’s had it easy this year. aspect of the Coffee House that prompted duced by volunteers. “I’ve had more people sign up than I her to sign up. She said her favorite drink Shortly after the main group of people can take,” she said. “And the people I to make is the cappuccino, which she first began arriving, Recreation’s Meyer have signed up are always there.” learned to make in France during her ski recruited night workers to offer tradition- The spirit of helping is strong , so bum years. al entertainment for the shift’s relaxation much so that sometimes people who are “I like making coffee drinks and time, which is when everyone else is at actually working get confused for volun- maybe I can bring a new coffee culture to work and unavailable. A small part of the teers. McMurdo,” Okal said. “I would do it station services budget is reserved for “Some people think we’re volunteers. even if I wasn’t paid.” volunteers who get minimum wage for It’s called a G.A.,” said Zondra Skertich, Alejandro Nieto is a firefighter from the few hours a week they work, plus whose job description as general assistant Colorado by way of Spain. He counts tips, to run “day bar” at Southern means she could be anywhere doing any- among his volunteer activities, divetend- Exposure, “day burger bar” once a week thing. ing, staffing the hyperbaric chamber, at Gallagher’s pub, reset the pins and ball When she’s not working, Skertich helping scientists fish for specimens as at the two-lane bowling alley, teach yoga plays her stand-up electric bass with oth- well as bartending several nights a week and other courses and keep the java hot ers. Bands and performances for station at Gallagher’s. and movies showing at the Coffee House. residents are common at all the bases. “You don’t expect anything, but some- “Out of the 500 people I talk to at the Donnie Hughston lends his talents as a times you get some benefits. (A trip to job fair, I may only hire one,” Meyer guitarist for jazz and rock shows and the Cape) Evans, little stuff like that,” Nieto said. “But the other 499 could easily be Christmas party, but may also be known said. hired by other departments and when for his swift service at burger bar, where He signed up for a trip to iceberg C16 those people show up on the Ice, I’m he gets tips. north of Ross Island where he helped sci- gonna remember them as the people who “I get to kinda put a name to every- entists put in a research station. were professional DJ’s, or owned yoga one’s face that I see all the time and put “It was a nice gift but I was working,” studios, or used to teach dance classes up a travel fund,” Hughston said. he said. and I’m going to tap them for their Mike Achermann of Motley, Minn., is knowledge in these areas.” See Volunteers on page 11 January 11, 2004 The Antarctic Sun •11

Photo by Brien Barnett / The Antarctic Sun

Above: David Pacheco, left, and Father Tony Harrison play a song in the Chapel of the Snows before evening Mass. Pacheco volunteers his time to play music during services and helps out in the dining hall as a pot scrubber. Right: Every Sunday, Gack Giacalone and other volunteers prepare the week’s bagels for the South Pole.

Photo by Kris Kuenning / The Antarctic Sun

Volunteers From page 10 Residents can’t play or party without George Nuckols gives up a few hours a said. the right stuff and that means someone week to certify people to use the climbing For Halloween and other big events has to be at Gear Issue. One volunteer, wall and sees his role pretty plainly. around town, firefighters team up to help Amie Dziowgo from Lincoln, Neb., vol- “It’s pretty much the way things work decorate, tear down and clean up. It’s an unteers four of her lunch hours to loan out here,” he said. “Nothing’s gonna happen important if unseen job, Meyer said, skis, party clothes, musical instruments unless you do it.” because without it, there wouldn’t be and other gear. Sometimes volunteers need help. those kinds of large events, at least not as “It’s a great way to meet people and Damian Henning and Jen Petrik jumped often. it’s a great atmosphere and relaxed,” she in to teach dance lessons to about 30 peo- Vincent Scott works at the South Pole. said. ple at Gallagher’s bar after the original There he and a friend offer Shakespeare One of the oddest jobs around town is instructor was called away to the South readings and screenings of Academy helping reset the bowling pins and return Pole. Award winning movies. He also learned the balls to players at the bowling alley. “It’s better to have subs than no tango to lead the Catholic “Liturgy of the Word Brian Kliesen has been jumping off the at all,” Henning joked. Without Holy Communion Service” from platform into the well to grab the heavy Each season, the station recruits volun- Father John Harrison, who was at pins and work the machine for the past teers for its mass casualty team and drill, McMurdo earlier this season. three seasons. which simulates an accident requiring sig- “We’re far away from home so offer- “It’s fun, mainly, and a good workout, nificant station resources. ing opportunities like this may help peo- jumping up and down,” he said. “ It’s a Nearly 70 people signed up to help ple spend their free time in productive and good way to meet people.” carry victims on stretchers, log injuries, interesting or fun ways,” Scott said. Ash Hoffman, from Alaska, drives donate bood and more. The volunteers McMurdo firefighter Peter Frost had Deltas for sightseeing trips to Cape will be called out if there’s an actual an interesting take on volunteering. Evans. Hoffman worked in the dining hall emergency. “I help out, but I mostly give back during his first season last year and like Back in the kitchen, Kitty Cupp, a jan- when I see a need. I might see someone most who work there had a yearning to itor, helps in the pots and pans room. needing help holding a door or with bag get outside. Near the end of last season he “I love it when people help me out,” drag,” Frost said, referring to the ordeal of signed up for shuttle driver training and it she explained. carrying one’s bags up to the cargo station turned into a job this year. Frank Rinaldo, a janitor and former Air before a flight. “We can all give at least “It’s nice to have the opportunity to Force base barber, and Maria Finley, the five minutes of our time to help out.” help other people who want to experience station’s hairstylist, switch roles once a something new,” he said. “It’s nice when week. Maria grabs the mop and bucket The Antarctic Sun’s Palmer correspon- at the end they’re all smiles and happy and Frank the shears. dent Kerry Kells contributed to this and they’ve had a good trip.” “It’s a break from the routine,” Rinaldo report. 12 • The Antarctic Sun January 11, 2004

Photo by Kris Kuenning / The Antarctic Sun Adelie penguins nest at Cape Royds, with Mt. Erebus in the background.

AdelieFrom page 1 path to their nests each time they returned continent. Continual ice formation and its itude to the sea ice edge and north as win- from a foraging trip. These conditions per- subsequent flow south to north created a ter progressed — all the way to about 55 sisted for the past three seasons and have sort of moving walkway. It’s good for degrees south latitude. A plot of the bird’s resulted in fewer chicks born than in the migrating north at the end of the season in track showed it meandered quite a bit until years before. February, but difficult for returning south spring when it made a beeline back to Fewer chicks likely will cause the to nest in September and October. Cape Crozier to find its mate. Adelie population to dip over the next five The birds were at their wintering area at “We were pretty convinced that they years in the Ross Island area. However, the northern edge of the large-scale ice needed to go as far north as they could to the population of colonies elsewhere in pack when it came time to return south. find daylight and where there are ample Antarctica continues to grow, and the “They were just much farther from the spaces between ice floes, but that’s a pret- species is not threatened. Ainley also colony when the sun rose, then they found ty incredible distance,” Ainley said. expects most of the birds missing this year all this ice which slowed them down,” The compact, lightweight $150 tags to return to Royds or Crozier, though they Ainley said, store three years of data and are attached will be too late to mate. The birds adapt quickly, Ainley said, to the legs where they are less likely to Adelie penguins, once they have nested because they rely on an instinct that gets affect the birds when swimming. They at a given colony, will nest at the same them stocked for the long trip and the need gather data by recording date, time of day place year after year. Cape Royds is the to return to their nests each year. But that and light level. That information is trans- world’s southernmost colony of Adelie doesn’t mean it’s easy to get back, espe- lated into time of local noon and penguins and Cape Crozier is in a precari- cially considering the great distances daylength, which in turn can locate the ous spot, tucked at the eastern edge of the researchers now know the birds have to bird on a map. Since the tags had to be island next to the Ross Ice Shelf. travel. small, they presented a challenge to the This year, though, the icebergs are Last year, researchers placed small tags researchers who had to find them under- breaking up and the sea ice edge has on a number of the birds to track their neath a fresh layer of feathers. When, ini- retreated past Royds, creating a nearly location in relation to the sun. So far, they tially, they couldn’t find the tagged birds, ideal spot for the birds to nest and feed. have recovered 17, of which 10 recorded the researchers thought maybe the tags The scenario, as Ainley sees it, is that data. The data from one tag has been ana- had killed or injured them. wind has returned to the area after two lyzed, if only to see if the tag was working “We were initially concerned it would calm years. During winter and spring, cold well, Ainley said. That tag showed the bird be a big block of ice,” Ainley said. “We temperatures and wind promote sea ice. traveled a loop of more than 6,500 km breathed a sigh of relief when we started The ice grows outward and away from the from Crozier at about 77 degrees south lat- See Adelie on page 13 January 11, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 13 Following the birds By Brien Barnett Sun staff delie penguin expert David Ainley’s assistant this season is Canadian wildlife biologist Louise Blight. Her work in Antarctica is an extension of previous studies of northern Ahemisphere seabirds in British Columbia. She’s based at Cape Royds with Ainley and helps count and study the birds. “It’s such a rich environment and it’s a great time to be here in summer, when there’s such a huge burst of life in such a short period of time,” Blight said. “For a biologist, it’s a great place to be.” Ainley and Blight spend the season camped in a rocky alcove near the cape, far enough away to not disturb the colony, but close enough to walk to it. Wind at the cape this year has been strong, but Blight’s little mountaineering tent and the main Jamesway- style mess tent where Ainley sleeps have endured it well. The extremes of the continent are not new to Blight. She spent six seasons working on tourist cruise ships in the Peninsula area, giving lec- tures about wildlife and operating Zodiac boats as Photos by Brien Barnett / The Antarctic Sun well as putting in time Adelie penguin researcher David inventorying birds and Photo by Brien Barnett / The Antarctic Sun Ainley holds a geo-location sys- other seabirds. Canadian researcher Louise Blight is at tem tag inside his hut at Cape “I’ve been a birdwatch- Cape Royds to study the Adelie penguins. Royds. The tag is used to track a er since I was a kid,” Blight said, recalling when she used to keep a penguin's movements throughout journal detailing when swallows returned to their nests near her home. the year. Back at Cape Royds, Blight spends time at all hours among the From page 12 Adelies, noting their interesting behaviors. Adelie “Walking through the colony it’s interesting to see the birds’ differ- finding them. ent reactions,” Blight said. “Some ignore you and others charge right The research team hopes again this season to tag 15 up to your boots … being territorial.” birds at each colony with the sun detectors and install After this season, Blight said she plans to apply to doctoral pro- another set of satellite monitors and normal leg bands to grams and will draw on her time spent on the Ice. track their progress. “It’s a great opportunity for any biologist to come and work down here,” she said. NSF funded research in this story: David Ainley, H.T. Harvey & Associates, www.penguinscience.com

What’s the best item you’ve ever found in skua?

“Two years ago “Pickle in a “Silk Japanese at McMurdo pouch. It was a bathrobe, down I found these little sticky on North Face jack- handknit multi- the outside, but et and Julbo color booties. the pickle inside sunglasses.” I actually used was still intact.” them as a Halloween costume.” Steve Barten, Amanda Betz, Lisa “Skua Queen” Palmer Station logis- South Pole cargo from Keller, tics from New Prague, Cheyenne, Wyoming, McMurdo fuel opera- Minnesota, second second season tor from Buffalo, N.Y., season sixth season 14 • The Antarctic Sun January 11, 2004 Profile Our man in Santiago

By Kristan Hutchison Sun staff he Santiago airport is Jimmy Agustin Videla’s turf. For 23 years Videla has Tworked at the Chilean airport, making sure people and cargo for the Antarctic program move smoothly through the for- eign port. He greets the women with kisses, the men with a firm handshake and knows everybody’s name. “We call him the mayor of the airport because he knows everybody,” said marine projects coordinator Alice Doyle. When a flight arrives with Antarctic participants, he’s there to meet it and hustle the people past immigration and customs with a wave of the passports. “From my long time working at the airport we have access inside immigration. This is very important,” Videla said, stir- ring five packets of sugar into his coffee at Photo by Kristan Hutchison / The Antarctic Sun an airport bar. “In my case, it’s not corrup- Jimmy Austin Videla greets Antarctic workers at the Santiago Airport to guide them through tion, it’s for friend of the program, immigrations and customs to their next gate. Antarctic … All the bosses to customs understand my job.” gram cargo a month, mostly supplies going safely that way. Videla also understands his job and south and samples going north. Some of the “Every time when I have problem there practically lives it. items are delicate instruments or samples is immediately a solution,” said Videla. “He’s in that airport all day long,” said requiring special handling. Often the solution involves a favor from marine projects coordinator Skip Owen. “They take the penguin, they take the a friend, which is why Videla fosters so “He’s always got a cell phone in his ear.” water, they take rock, put in glass in the box many friendships. When Videla isn’t at the airport, he and send back,” Videla said. “It’s part of my job to invite all the time, sometimes brings work to his home, 45 Cargo coming south used to be a partic- for breakfast, lunch or a little boat my com- minutes away. His wife, Rommy, helps him ular problem because there was only one pany has in Valparaiso,” Videla said. out and handles the e-mail. They have two cargo flight a day and it went through It’s really no different than how other sons, Agustin and Thomas, and are expect- Miami, Videla said. Items for the Antarctic organizations work, networking and devel- ing a third child in March. program were flying from LA to Miami and oping friendly relations that promote the Until 1992 there was only one flight a then being delayed, sometimes long business, Owen said. day from Santiago to Punta Arenas, so peo- enough to hold up the ship schedule or miss “There’s a joke and assumption that he ple heading to the Antarctic had to spend the boat completely. Videla lobbied the air- does it by greasing people’s palms, but the night in Santiago. Videla would drive line to change the flight patterns and final- that’s not really true,” Owen said. “Giving them to the city, playing tour guide and ly they were able to add on a direct cargo respect gets respect and I think that’s what directing people to stores and restaurants. flight from LA to Santiago. Jimmy does.” “I remember three to four people staying The U.S. Antarctic Program also has an Videla called in several favors when in my home when there is no hotel,” Videla exemption allowing it to take 200 kilos of Doyle lost her passport just before her said, the patterns of his native Spanish car- dry ice on a flight. Videla checks all the flight back to the U.S. It was late on a rying over into his accented English. samples in Santiago and repackages them if Friday afternoon, so the U.S. Embassy in Many of the participants from that time necessary. Several times Doyle’s called on Santiago was closed. Doyle assumed she’d became his friends and still send letters. Videla to get time-sensitive cargo through be stuck in Santiago for several days while “Jimmy’s been around forever,” Owen customs on a holiday. her passport was being replaced, but within said. “He was working before I started. He “He’s been really good about pushing four hours Videla spoke to a friend in was sort of an airport runner at the time.” cargo through for us,” Doyle said. “He’s immigration and got the chief of police to Back then fewer people were flying to always able to smooth things out and he write a letter. Doyle recalls Videla walking Chile for the Antarctic program anyway. never seems to burn bridges.” her to the ticket counter. Until 1992 the program ship was the Polar Once a scientist was sending back a “He looks at me and says ‘Alice, let me Duke, which carried 45 people, including number of Antarctic sea creatures pre- do the talking’,” she said. crew. The Nathaniel B. Palmer replaced the served in jars. They looked like the creature Videla convinced the airline to let Doyle Duke in 1992, with space for 65 passengers from “Alien” and the customs official was board and she made it home without prob- and crew. Then the Laurence M. Gould was afraid the glass would break in transit, lems or delays. added in 1997 with room for 52. releasing the “Antarctic aliens.” “It was totally Jimmy’s connections that Helping people through the airport is Videla put the jars inside plastic cases enabled him to do that,” Doyle said. “That’s only half of Videla’s job. He also keeps with absorbent packing material and con- how it works down there. He treats them track of 150 to 200 pieces of Antarctic pro- vinced the customs official they could ship well and they treat him well.”