3 out-of-body experiences

Sun 10 Jan 2010

WOW. Today was another glorious day that made my heart and mind nearly explode. It is SUNNY and we have clear, piercing blue skies. It felt colder today compared to the past 2 days… (-0.7°C  or 31°F), but it is WAY SUNNIER, and it has been really clear for the most part. It has snowed some, but not for too long.

We started the day with a lecture from Dr. Donal Manahan. SIDENOTE: Donal is from the University of Southern California (well, he is actually from Ireland) and he is the director of the USC Wrigley Marine Science Center, where I spent 3 years doing my Master’s work in the kelp forest ecosystems…. Anyhow, he gave a lecture on “Why Polar Research Matters” that was fascinating, and lead to a somewhat heated discussion about climate change policy….quite interesting when there are scientists from at least 12 countries in the room. Donal discussed how the awareness of the poles began at least in part due to the 1983 February issue of National Geographic, which illustrated a map of Antarctica and “revolutionized our conception of Antarctic geography.”  We learned really generally about Antarctic geology (there is an enormous magma chamber under us which fuels the VERY ACTIVE Mt. Erebus volcano located just down the road (practically) here on Ross Island).

Following the lecture, our research modules met to make more progress on our research, then we geared up and headed to the field to learn to drill holes in the ice, catch fish, and to do some CTD (salinity, temperature, pressure, depth, density) casts into the icy waters of the Ross Sea. It was so cool. You walk out on the ice pulling sleds filled with drills and other equipment.

We had 2 holes that one of our professors, Dr. Deneb Karentz from the University of San Francisco, had already drilled with her 2 post docs (they were the advance team who came down on 16 Dec to get things set up for our course). We had to net out all the ice slush from those holes, and shovel off the terrace around the hole. Pictured here with the net is Dr. Dave Ginsburg, who is one of the course TAs. I met him when I first moved to Catalina Island in Spring 2002. He was working on his PhD in Donal Manahan's lab at the time.

Dr. George Somero, professor at the Stanford University Hopkins Marine Station, set up a fishing expedition around one of those holes (notice the Sponge Bob Square Pants fishing pole), 

and a few of us started catching pteropods out of the other hole. The pteropods we got this time were the pelagic opisthobranch gastropod molluscs from the family Clionidae, the sea angels. They are sort of like floating sea slugs. This is NOT my picture, but I wanted you to see how exquisitely beautiful they are. I am slightly obsessed with pteropods and am looking forward to getting some of the shelled variety (the Thecosomata).

Then we went a bit further out on the ice to drill a new hole. We had several types of drills or augers: a Kovacs ice drill that you use your muscles only on…you put on 1-2, 1 m long flank, drill down, then keep adding flanks to the top by removing the handle, adding a flank, and putting the handle back on (Here is Damien working hard with the Kovacs), 

and a Jiffy and a Badger Auger.

Here are Drs. Mark Denny and Jim Leichter with a Jiffy Auger.

 

These last 2 work similarly and use a motorized handle, they just drill in opposing directions (the Jiffy drills counterclockwise and the Badger drills clockwise…I think).

Notice Sam (from Bristol but schooled in Wales) holding the Kovacs in this picture.

When 2 of the participants were getting pretty far down into the ice (3 flanks deep), the drill got stuck. We spent 2 hours trying every idea under the sun to the get drill out, but we ended up having to flag and leave 2 stuck flanks….figuring out the methods of polar science is a steep learning curve! I will hope to get a handle on these techniques before my next deployment (positive thinking that I will one day get to come back here for more research).

Here is a South Polar Skua (think an Antarctic seagull) that stopped in on us for a visit.

After out field operations concluded a group of us decided to climb up Observation Hill out of McMurdo station to get an amazing view of the frozen Ross Sea, the Ross Ice Shelf, the Transantarctic Mountain Range, and the famous Mt. Erebus.

If you stand on Observation Hill and spin 360 degrees, these are the things you would see (listed above). It was breathtaking….seriously. How can I put the feeling into words? Looking out at the vastness, feeling so small and vulnerable. Feeling your spirit awaken and come alive inside of you, and feeling love and positive energy rush out of every pore. Looking out at the wide open and wishing and hoping that the happiness pouring out of you will somehow add some peace to the world. This is how big and fantastic what I see before me does to my mind.

Consider this....there is a cross on the top of Observation Hill that Robert Falcon Scott's remaining party erected in 1913 in memory and in "observation" of the 5 men (Scott, Wilson, Oats, Bowers, and Evans) who perished on their return trip from the South Pole in 1912.

This history of the "Heroic Age" of exploration is mind boggling and inspirational. To be here and to learn about the men that came before: Ross, Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton, and what they accomplished with so very little, is amazing. After 1913, after the South Pole had been reached, and the cross erected, the men wrote that no one would probably see the cross...and no one did, for 43 years. In October of 1956, the U.S. Navy arrived under Operation "Deep Freeze," and scientists have been coming ever since.

Mt. Erebus with smoke billowing out of her crater.

Following the hike, we had a super awesome dinner, and then had our 3^rd out-of-body experience of the day. I will have to just let the pictures tell the story. These are Adélie Penguins off of Discovery Point at McMurdo.

The experiences of today soothed my soul. I am thankful beyond words and thoughts for being here.