Archive for January 13, 2019

Today we approached Avian Island where our birders planned to set up a field camp and spend the next five days surveying the resident penguin population. I think most of the other scientists on board are envious of this remarkable opportunity. When I was describing it to my mother over email, she thought it sounded like a…

January 11 2019 (Note: this is #12 in a series of posts describing my NSF-sponsored fieldwork in Antarctica aboard the Laurence M. Gould) I’ve been conducting experiments in which I incubate copepods under different food conditions. I’m hoping to use these experiments to get insight into how fast copepods respond to a lack of food. I…

January 10 2019 (Note: this is #11 in a series of posts describing my NSF-sponsored fieldwork in Antarctica aboard the Laurence M. Gould). Yesterday was another set of firsts for me, filled with moments where I was struck with, “Wow, I’m really in Antarctica.” We’ve moved steadily southward, zig-zagging toward and away from the coast…

January 9, 2019 (Note: this is #10 in a series of posts describing my NSF-sponsored fieldwork in Antarctica aboard the Laurence M. Gould). One thing I like about being in the field is that problems happen and you have to deal with them. I guess that’s true of life in general, but in the field,…

January 8 2019 (Note: this is #9 in a series of posts describing my NSF-sponsored fieldwork in Antarctica aboard the Laurence M. Gould). I’m on my 9th post about this copepod project and I’m finally showing my first picture of a copepod! It sounds a little strange, but the logistics of working here are pretty extreme.…

January 7 2019 (Note: this is #8 in a series of posts describing my NSF-sponsored fieldwork in Antarctica aboard the Laurence M. Gould). Photos in this post courtesy of Patricia Thibodeaux. On our second day of sampling, I got my first chance to help deploy the 2-m plankton net. The net is big and heavy,…