Finally, the weather today was good enough to get to the Bonney Riegel and take the measurements I'd been trying to make since Friday!
I was taking CO2 flux measurements on the plots to which we had added the nutrient treatments last week. The CO2 flux measures how much the organisms are respiring in response to the fertilization. To do this, I use a piece of machinery called a LI-COR CO2 analyzer. Here's a quick clip of me using the machinery on one of the plots:
I place the sample chamber on the PVC ring that marks where I want to measure CO2. I use a Palm Pilot to tell the machine to start the measurement and which sample I'm measuring. I hit "start" and the machine automatically starts taking the measurement! All with the help of my trusty "Green Brain".
And that marks the end of my season! Today was my last trip to the dry valleys. I transport very early tomorrow morning (2:15 AM) to Pegasus Runway to catch my flight back to New Zealand. Goodbye Dry Valleys! Goodbye McMurdo!
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Monday, January 3, 2011
Stuck in McMurdo
Well, the weather hasn't gotten any better! I woke up this morning to find it snowing outside. My trip to Bonney to make my measurements was canceled. I'll be trying again tomorrow. It's my last chance to get in the field, because I'm scheduled to leave Antarctica early Wednesday morning.
In addition to me being stuck here, we have several group members in Christchurch waiting to come down. Ross, the final member of our team, got stuck sleeping on the floor in LAX airport due to his delayed flights. He's reportedly made it to Christchurch, and is now waiting to come down on the C-17. So have several other scientists that we work with from Colorado State University. They are enjoying the warm New Zealand weather and are hoping to fly down to McMurdo tonight. However, the bad weather that kept my helicopter from flying may prevent the C-17 from leaving Christchurch, so they may be stuck there another night. There are also a lot of other people that have been stuck in Christchurch for many nights due to some damage to the runway on the ice shelf caused by the warm weather we had been having.
So, I'm stuck in McMurdo, they're stuck in Christchurch, and we all have things we need to do elsewhere! As the saying goes here, "It's a harsh continent."
In addition to me being stuck here, we have several group members in Christchurch waiting to come down. Ross, the final member of our team, got stuck sleeping on the floor in LAX airport due to his delayed flights. He's reportedly made it to Christchurch, and is now waiting to come down on the C-17. So have several other scientists that we work with from Colorado State University. They are enjoying the warm New Zealand weather and are hoping to fly down to McMurdo tonight. However, the bad weather that kept my helicopter from flying may prevent the C-17 from leaving Christchurch, so they may be stuck there another night. There are also a lot of other people that have been stuck in Christchurch for many nights due to some damage to the runway on the ice shelf caused by the warm weather we had been having.
So, I'm stuck in McMurdo, they're stuck in Christchurch, and we all have things we need to do elsewhere! As the saying goes here, "It's a harsh continent."
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy 2011!
Welcome to the first post of 2011! It's been a busy New Year for me here at McMurdo. At the end of last week (and the end of 2010) I was at F6 camp. Bad weather had rolled in which prevented the helicopters from flying into the valley. On Friday the 31st, I had hoped to fly from F6 to Lake Bonney basin for the day, then return to McMurdo Station for the weekend. But, because the helicopters couldn't fly, I didn't make it to Bonney, and I wasn't sure I was going to be able to make it back to McMurdo! Luckily, at the end of the day, the clouds cleared just enough to let a couple helicopters in and move people out of the valley. So I made it back to McMurdo, but just barely!
Here's a photo as I was flying out of the valley. You can see the narrow line of light on the horizon. That's all the space we had to get out!
Above us is a thick, low-flying layer of clouds. That's called having a "low ceiling". The helicopters can only safely fly if the ceiling is above a certain height. Finally, around 4:00 PM, the ceiling lifted enough to let us out!
The reason I wanted to return to McMurdo is because I leave the continent on Wednesday morning, and I have a lot of lab work to get done before I go. For the past two days, I've been busy processing samples and preparing them to ship back to the U.S. for more analyses at home. I also have a lot of paperwork that has to be filled out about our activities in the dry valleys since I've been here. And many other chores!
I did take a couple hours to celebrate the new year. At McMurdo, there is a big festival of sorts for New Year's Eve. There's a live concert called "Icestock", where bands that have formed at McMurdo Station perform. Some people dress up in silly outfits, use noise-makers, and other New Year's Eve traditions. Here are the two friends with whom I rang in the new year. Maya and Heidi are Ph.D. students on another project working out of the Dry Valleys. We were all working in the lab until about 11:00 PM on December 31, but came out (wearing our special hats) to make sure we celebrated the arrival of 2011!
The weather has cleared up a bit, and I'm hoping to make it to Bonney tomorrow to do the work that I had hoped to do on Friday. Fingers crossed!
Here's a photo as I was flying out of the valley. You can see the narrow line of light on the horizon. That's all the space we had to get out!
Above us is a thick, low-flying layer of clouds. That's called having a "low ceiling". The helicopters can only safely fly if the ceiling is above a certain height. Finally, around 4:00 PM, the ceiling lifted enough to let us out!The reason I wanted to return to McMurdo is because I leave the continent on Wednesday morning, and I have a lot of lab work to get done before I go. For the past two days, I've been busy processing samples and preparing them to ship back to the U.S. for more analyses at home. I also have a lot of paperwork that has to be filled out about our activities in the dry valleys since I've been here. And many other chores!
I did take a couple hours to celebrate the new year. At McMurdo, there is a big festival of sorts for New Year's Eve. There's a live concert called "Icestock", where bands that have formed at McMurdo Station perform. Some people dress up in silly outfits, use noise-makers, and other New Year's Eve traditions. Here are the two friends with whom I rang in the new year. Maya and Heidi are Ph.D. students on another project working out of the Dry Valleys. We were all working in the lab until about 11:00 PM on December 31, but came out (wearing our special hats) to make sure we celebrated the arrival of 2011!
The weather has cleared up a bit, and I'm hoping to make it to Bonney tomorrow to do the work that I had hoped to do on Friday. Fingers crossed!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
4th Annual Camp Hair Contest
Back by popular demand... it's the Fourth Annual Camp Hair Contest!
The water restrictions in the dry valleys means that we are not able to shower or wash our hair while we're out at field camps. That means that people's hair gets very dirty and oily, which of course leads to some very fabulous hair-do's! This is what we call having "camp hair." Having great camp hair is a matter of pride, and the person with the best camp hair is honored throughout McMurdo. So, once again, I'm going to leave it up to everyone reading my blog to decide who has the best camp hair for the 2010-11 field season. Review the photos below of our "camp hair" contestants, and send in your vote! Anyone reading this is welcome to vote, and can do so by sending an email with your choice to me.
Let's meet this year's contestants!
Steven:
University of Colorado student and Stream Team member, Steven has mastered the sight and smell of the unshowered. His gnarly hair is complemented by his Handlebar Fu-Manchops, a look that's only attainable after having been in the field since October.
Chad:
Stream Teamer Chad is a more recent arrival to the field, but has lost no time in catching up on the camp hair. Chad's hair specializes in volume, as provided by the Trucker Hat Salon. He gives a thumbs up to stream gauges, flow meters, and campbell data loggers, but a thumbs down to combs and shampoo!
Mike:
Wormherder geologist Mike is back in the running this year. A 12-hour workday of hiking and digging soil pits gives Mike's hair its special flair... and his eyes a crazy look. Carefully balanced by a scraggly beard, his hair needs no additives to defy gravity.
There they are: the 2010-11 season's Best Camp Hair contestants. May the voting begin! The champion Camp Hair will be declared in 5 days.
The water restrictions in the dry valleys means that we are not able to shower or wash our hair while we're out at field camps. That means that people's hair gets very dirty and oily, which of course leads to some very fabulous hair-do's! This is what we call having "camp hair." Having great camp hair is a matter of pride, and the person with the best camp hair is honored throughout McMurdo. So, once again, I'm going to leave it up to everyone reading my blog to decide who has the best camp hair for the 2010-11 field season. Review the photos below of our "camp hair" contestants, and send in your vote! Anyone reading this is welcome to vote, and can do so by sending an email with your choice to me.
Let's meet this year's contestants!
Steven:
University of Colorado student and Stream Team member, Steven has mastered the sight and smell of the unshowered. His gnarly hair is complemented by his Handlebar Fu-Manchops, a look that's only attainable after having been in the field since October.Chad:
Stream Teamer Chad is a more recent arrival to the field, but has lost no time in catching up on the camp hair. Chad's hair specializes in volume, as provided by the Trucker Hat Salon. He gives a thumbs up to stream gauges, flow meters, and campbell data loggers, but a thumbs down to combs and shampoo!Mike:
Wormherder geologist Mike is back in the running this year. A 12-hour workday of hiking and digging soil pits gives Mike's hair its special flair... and his eyes a crazy look. Carefully balanced by a scraggly beard, his hair needs no additives to defy gravity.There they are: the 2010-11 season's Best Camp Hair contestants. May the voting begin! The champion Camp Hair will be declared in 5 days.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Fertilizing a Polar Desert
This week, Mike, Jenn and I have been working on one of the long-term experiments we're running in the dry valleys. This experiment investigates how the soil responds to nutrient fertilization. Like I mentioned yesterday, nutrients are important for organisms to grow and metabolize. Our experiment asks which nutrients are limiting to growth of soil organisms and how giving them extra nutrients influences soil processes (like nutrient cycling). The three of us have added nutrient treatments to our research plots. We added the three major elements that are important to life everywhere on the planet: carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. We do this by adding those nutrients dissolved in water. Every year we add more nutrients and measure the response.
To add the treatments to the plots, we have to bring a LOT of water to the field: 775 pounds of water! We do this at two different places. On Monday we did the plots near F6 where I have been living. Today, we did the plots at the other end of the valley, near Lake Bonney. We carry the solutions to the field in 35 ten-liter carboys, and then transfer 5.6 L at a time to pour jugs with sprinkle caps to be applied to the plots. There's a very specific technique that's important to use. In this video, Jenn and Mike are demonstrating the technique, working at two different parts of the plot at Lake Bonney. Jenn is in the distance sprinkling water over the plot through a plexiglass cone, which helps guide the water to the correct spot like a giant funnel. Mike is closer up preparing to pour by placing his cone in the correct spot.
It's a lot of heavy-lifting of water! And how do we carry all 35 of those carboys? Teamwork.
In the video, you can also see the clouds that were encroaching upon us while we worked. In one direction, skies are blue. In the other, there's nothing but a ceiling of clouds. Right now, I'm back at F6, and those clouds are hovering right over our hut! I hope they pass quickly, because tomorrow I'm scheduled to start the measurements on the plots to see how the organisms are responding. They are much more active when it's sunny and warmer out. Keep your fingers crossed for the return of beautiful weather!
To add the treatments to the plots, we have to bring a LOT of water to the field: 775 pounds of water! We do this at two different places. On Monday we did the plots near F6 where I have been living. Today, we did the plots at the other end of the valley, near Lake Bonney. We carry the solutions to the field in 35 ten-liter carboys, and then transfer 5.6 L at a time to pour jugs with sprinkle caps to be applied to the plots. There's a very specific technique that's important to use. In this video, Jenn and Mike are demonstrating the technique, working at two different parts of the plot at Lake Bonney. Jenn is in the distance sprinkling water over the plot through a plexiglass cone, which helps guide the water to the correct spot like a giant funnel. Mike is closer up preparing to pour by placing his cone in the correct spot.
It's a lot of heavy-lifting of water! And how do we carry all 35 of those carboys? Teamwork.
In the video, you can also see the clouds that were encroaching upon us while we worked. In one direction, skies are blue. In the other, there's nothing but a ceiling of clouds. Right now, I'm back at F6, and those clouds are hovering right over our hut! I hope they pass quickly, because tomorrow I'm scheduled to start the measurements on the plots to see how the organisms are responding. They are much more active when it's sunny and warmer out. Keep your fingers crossed for the return of beautiful weather!
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Coastal upwelling
You wouldn't think that the oceans around Antarctica would have a lot of exciting marine animals. But it does! The shores around Antarctica have quite a variety of marine life, because it is a zone of coastal upwelling.
The water in the ocean doesn't stay in one place. Water moves. You're probably familiar with currents and tides, which are a couple ways that water moves around in the ocean. But water also moves up and down in the ocean, not just around the surface. Here's how.
Water that is on the ocean surface gets pushed around by the wind. When the surface water is pushed away from an area, other water has to move in to replace it. Along the coast of a piece of land, there's no surface water to replace it, so the bottom waters have to rise up to replace that water. Where the bottom waters come up to the surface is called "upwelling".
The surface waters being pushed away will move around the surface and eventually sink to the bottom. It will then eventually upwell to become part of the surface ocean again. It's a big conveyor belt that moves water up and down, in addition to around the surface.
While water is on the bottom of the ocean, it collects a lot of nutrients. The nutrients come from dead things that sink to the bottom and start to decompose. So, at areas where bottom water is rising to the surface, it is bringing along with it a lot of nutrients that had been collecting. Those nutrients are important for living organisms at the surface.
Around the coast of Antarctica, the westerly winds push water away, and it is replaced by the cold, nutrient-rich water below. The high level of nutrients in the upwelled water around McMurdo mean that there is a lot of productivity. There's a lot of phytoplankton in the water that use those nutrients to photosynthesize. Because there's a lot of phytoplankton, there are a lot of animals that eat the phytoplankton, and therefore a lot of animals that eat those animals... a whole food chain! So, there's a lot of animals living off the coast of McMurdo. Some of them are very colorful, just like in the tropics!
The marine biologists here at McMurdo keep a touch tank with some of the animals they catch. Here's what I saw in the touch tank:
There's a lot of different types of animals in there, of different shapes and colors. And they all live right here near McMurdo! It's all of this life that lets the oceans support the larger ocean animals that you might be more familiar with:
(See the whale and the penguins at the ice edge?)
Even though it's so cold and icy, the oceans are home to several species of whales, penguins, and seals. They can live here because of the upwelling that brings all of those rich nutrients to support the entire food chain in ocean around Antarctica.
[Photo credit: upwelling diagram from sonoma.edu]
The water in the ocean doesn't stay in one place. Water moves. You're probably familiar with currents and tides, which are a couple ways that water moves around in the ocean. But water also moves up and down in the ocean, not just around the surface. Here's how.
Water that is on the ocean surface gets pushed around by the wind. When the surface water is pushed away from an area, other water has to move in to replace it. Along the coast of a piece of land, there's no surface water to replace it, so the bottom waters have to rise up to replace that water. Where the bottom waters come up to the surface is called "upwelling".The surface waters being pushed away will move around the surface and eventually sink to the bottom. It will then eventually upwell to become part of the surface ocean again. It's a big conveyor belt that moves water up and down, in addition to around the surface.
While water is on the bottom of the ocean, it collects a lot of nutrients. The nutrients come from dead things that sink to the bottom and start to decompose. So, at areas where bottom water is rising to the surface, it is bringing along with it a lot of nutrients that had been collecting. Those nutrients are important for living organisms at the surface.
Around the coast of Antarctica, the westerly winds push water away, and it is replaced by the cold, nutrient-rich water below. The high level of nutrients in the upwelled water around McMurdo mean that there is a lot of productivity. There's a lot of phytoplankton in the water that use those nutrients to photosynthesize. Because there's a lot of phytoplankton, there are a lot of animals that eat the phytoplankton, and therefore a lot of animals that eat those animals... a whole food chain! So, there's a lot of animals living off the coast of McMurdo. Some of them are very colorful, just like in the tropics!
The marine biologists here at McMurdo keep a touch tank with some of the animals they catch. Here's what I saw in the touch tank:
There's a lot of different types of animals in there, of different shapes and colors. And they all live right here near McMurdo! It's all of this life that lets the oceans support the larger ocean animals that you might be more familiar with:
(See the whale and the penguins at the ice edge?)
Even though it's so cold and icy, the oceans are home to several species of whales, penguins, and seals. They can live here because of the upwelling that brings all of those rich nutrients to support the entire food chain in ocean around Antarctica.
[Photo credit: upwelling diagram from sonoma.edu]
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Merry Christmas!
I hope everyone had a great Christmas. For the holiday, I hiked from F6 with the Stream Team to Lake Hoare, where everyone in Taylor Valley gathered for Christmas.
To make the journey, we had to ride the ATV across the ice covering Lake Fryxell to the other side of the lake. Then, we hiked up the hillside, crossed the Canada Glacier and hiked down the other side to the camp at Lake Hoare. It's the Antarctica version of going over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house.
Here I am with the crew from F6 as we hiked over Canada Glacier:
At Lake Hoare, there are a lot of great Christmas traditions. One of the most fun is building the gingerbread house and decorating Christmas cookies! Here's this year's creation. We use only edible items to build the house, including the Twizzlers that my sister sent me in a care package. This year's gingerbread house is even energy-efficient, with solar power and a wind generator!
After the decorating, we have a big family-style dinner of ham, asparagus, potatoes, and bread pudding. We follow that up with coffee while playing the gift-swap game. Then, we turn the lights out and have a dance party until we get too tired and crawl into our tents to sleep.
It was great to spend time with my Antarctic family in the dry valleys! It was a fun Christmas as always. Here's the beautiful view we had from the front door of the hut around midnight on Christmas:
Have a happy, safe holiday season!
To make the journey, we had to ride the ATV across the ice covering Lake Fryxell to the other side of the lake. Then, we hiked up the hillside, crossed the Canada Glacier and hiked down the other side to the camp at Lake Hoare. It's the Antarctica version of going over the river and through the woods to Grandmother's house.
Here I am with the crew from F6 as we hiked over Canada Glacier:
At Lake Hoare, there are a lot of great Christmas traditions. One of the most fun is building the gingerbread house and decorating Christmas cookies! Here's this year's creation. We use only edible items to build the house, including the Twizzlers that my sister sent me in a care package. This year's gingerbread house is even energy-efficient, with solar power and a wind generator!
After the decorating, we have a big family-style dinner of ham, asparagus, potatoes, and bread pudding. We follow that up with coffee while playing the gift-swap game. Then, we turn the lights out and have a dance party until we get too tired and crawl into our tents to sleep.
It was great to spend time with my Antarctic family in the dry valleys! It was a fun Christmas as always. Here's the beautiful view we had from the front door of the hut around midnight on Christmas:
Have a happy, safe holiday season!
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