Antarctica 2019

So, one last post before we get back to Punta Arenas. We wrapped up science and got all of our packing done before we arrived at Palmer Station.  The repair of the big crane on the Gould, and the transfer of containers from the Natty B, went very smoothly.  We were allowed to be on…

We are down to our last 2 days of science time on the cruise.  That doesn’t really mean an end to the work though.  We need to wash everything and pack it away for our next cruise in November.  We also need to pack our samples and fill out tons of paper work in order…

A quick post today to wish everyone a Happy Mother’s Day. It was snowing like stink this morning, so we had a collection of birds on deck.  The dark one is a Cape Petrel, and we also had a bunch of the Snow Petrels.  Although the snow was melting quickly, it was falling so fast…

I started this post on May 2, but … well, science happened!  As Wade has said, “we’re going to make science happen, whether it wants to or not.” It’s now been two weeks since we started our sampling, and up until last this past Tuesday we were collecting samples every day.  Despite the fact that…

Research Examining MIXotrophic Ecology and Diversity – what does that actually mean and why are we interested?  Traditionally, microbial eukaryotes (algae and protists – not bacteria) are considered either phototrophic (use sunlight to grow) or heterotrophic (eat prey to grow).  Mixotrophy refers to an organism’s ability to utilize a combination of these trophic strategies.  We…

Or as my colleague Wade calls it, “Take a Leopard Seal to Lunch Day”.  (The image is of a sticker that I bought at Palmer Station – oceanographers can have a warped sense of humor.)  But, since we are in the Antarctic, I should say something about penguins.  They are amusing to watch.  Clumsy on…