Dec. 10, 2006 issue - The Antarctic Sun - United States Antarctic

12 Pages·2006·1.03 MB·English

December 10, 2006
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USAP draws on worldwide talent
Story and photos bility compelled she is getting “an American
by Steve Martaindale him to seek a new experience” along with an
Sun staff home in New Antarctic experience.
Maybe all roads lead to Zealand, where he Cori Manka was only 5 years
Rome, but quite a few of them earned citizenship old when her family relocated
pass through Antarctica. in 2000. He land- from Canada to Pennsylvania.
Stefan Pashov’s road started ed employment at She moved to Colorado after
in Bulgaria. In 1985, before the McMurdo Station college to work with her father
collapse of the Soviet Union, as a mechanic and eventually got a full-time
he withstood a year-long inter- because he was job in human resources with
rogation before earning a vaca- able to do a job that Raytheon Polar Services Co.
tion visa. On “vacation” in had not been filled (RPSC) near Denver. After two
Paris, he sought political asy- by a U.S. citizen or years, she decided a trip to the
lum in the United States, won permanent resident. Ice would be fun. She’s now
it and earned U.S. citizenship George Aukon Wayne Lindebaum on her second deployment and
in 1987. lived in Latvia and is planning to stay through the
Rachel Murray started in made his first trip to the United his first trip to Antarctica. winter.
Australia, but it was in Vietnam States shortly before the Iron Helen Thompson is a native
Diversity in action
that she met an Antarctic veter- Curtain was torn down. He and of New Zealand and her road to
an whom she later married and his family moved to America the Ice was more opportunistic. The U.S. Antarctic Program
eventually followed to the Ice. after the fall of communism She was ready for a change and seems to be all about bring-
Wayne Lindebaum spent his “just for a couple of years.” found that, like Lindebaum, she ing a diverse mixture of talent
first 35 years living in Africa. They all became U.S. citizens in could fill a need at the U.S. sta- to the Ice. Recently, it was
Economic and political insta- 2005, just before Aukon made tion as a production cook. Now See FOREIGN on page 8
Project fills in history’s gaps
Quote of the Week
“This is why I clean toilets!”
By Peter Rejcek a new concept in Antarctic drilling.
Sun staff Previously, scientists have been frus- – Janitor during an excursion
A breakthrough drilling technique has trated in their attempts to extract sediments on the Ross Ice Shelf
allowed scientists to get stratigraphic from the shallow shelves close to the conti-
records from the continental shelf around nent using conventional piston and gravity INSIDE
the Antarctic Peninsula that will fill impor- cores. That’s because those techniques can-
tant gaps in the continent’s climatic his- not adequately penetrate the over-compact-
Laugh lines
tory. ed, approximately 10-meter-thick glaciated
Scientists involved in a program to cap- layer on the continental shelves and upper Page 12
ture shallow cores from a ship-based drill- slopes just below the seafloor surface.
Antarctic medical team
ing platform, dubbed SHALDRIL, made Leasing a diamond coring drill rig sys-
two trips on the R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer tem through a grant from the National leads war on germs
to the Weddell Sea in 2005 and 2006 to test See NEW on page 10 Page 3
AntarcticSun.usap.gov
2 • The Antarctic Sun December 10, 2006
Enjoying the Outdoors
Cold, hard facts
Random Antarctica
Number of Web hits when you
Google “Antarctica”: 41.9 million
First hit: CIA World Fact Book
The length of time it takes for the
north and south magnetic poles to
trade places: 200,000 years
Area of Antarctica in square
kilometers: 14 million
Most fearsome name on Ross Island:
Steven Profaizer / The Antarctic Sun Mount Erebus, the son of Chaos
Brian Birkenstein talks with tour leader Peggy Malloy on a walk through the pressure
in the Greek pantheon of gods
ridges near New Zealand’s Scott Base. Pressure ridges are formed when the sea ice
buckles under stress, sending sections of ice jutting out above the surface.
Yeah, but what about Mount Terror:
Ross Island's other volcano was
Correction: The Nov. 19 edition also named after one of the ships
of The Antarctic Sun ran an arti-
under the command of James
cle called, “Organisms abound
below the sea ice.” The article Ross. The HMS Terror was used
included a headline, “Long term by the British in the War of 1812
study of sound not likely to hap-
and was also involved in the
pen” on page 10. The Sun wants
to emphasize that the NSF does attack on Fort McHenry, which
not endorse this opinion nor inspired Francis Scott Key to
does it reflect any NSF proposal
write what became our national
or policy decisions. The head-
line has been removed from the anthem.
online version of the paper.
Level 1 Comix Matt Davidson
The Antarctic Sun is funded by the National
Science Foundation as part of the United
States Antarctic Program (OPP-000373).
Its primary audience is U.S. Antarctic
Program participants, their
families, 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 is encouraged with
acknowledgment of source and author.
Senior Editor: Peter Rejcek
Editors: Steven Profaizer, Steve Martaindale
Copy Editors: Ben Bachelder, Jesse
Hastings, Cori Manka, Melanie Miller,
Bethany Profaizer
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: AntarcticSun.usap.gov
Subscribe: Click on the link on the right side
of the homepage and follow the directions.
December 10, 2006 The Antarctic Sun • 3
Keeping the crud at arm’s length
By Steve Martaindale
Sun staff
Early one recent morning, before patients began to arrive, Dr.
Harry Owens, physician at McMurdo Station, talked about the
causes, symptoms and treatments for noroviruses, influenza Type
A and the common cold virus that is typically referred to as the
crud.
He also talked about prevention, much of which was summed
up with his statement, “Wash your hands, wash your hands, wash
your hands.”
McMurdo has gone on the offensive in an attempt to stave
off widespread illnesses, especially in light of problems in
Christchurch, New Zealand, last month. Some hospital wards
were closed to visitors because of noroviruses, according to hos-
pital Web sites.
All the pleadings about washing hands may be paying off. Peter Rejcek / The Antarctic Sun
“We have had a few cases of the upper respiratory flu, influ- Doctors stress handwashing as a key component to keeping small
enza Type A,” Owens said. “We’ve had one case of norovirus. ... communities like Antarctic stations healthy. Despite best efforts, sev-
We’ve had some folks with some of the symptoms, but we haven’t eral cases of the crud are reported nearly every day.
been able to prove that it was a norovirus.”
As for the crud, he said he has seen a “fair amount” of that, He said the flu will normally cause a cough, sore throat,
three to five cases a day. headache, runny nose, a general ache, shaking chills and a fever.
Reports from the smaller U.S. stations on the continent are However, the cases he’s seen this season have exhibited minor
even better. Dr. Bruce Staeheli said he has seen three cases of symptoms. Coughing and sneezing can spread influenza through
gastroenteritis that arrived on a recent flight to South Pole Station. microscopic droplets. Then, there’s the hand thing again.
There have also been two secondary cases. “If you don’t wash your hands, you’re picking up the salad
At Palmer Station, Dr. Malcolm Arnold said that he has treated tongs, the buffet line serving spoons, that kind of thing, so that’s
one person in three months with transient diarrhea. why we keep pleading to everybody, ‘Wash your hands, wash your
hands, wash your hands.’”
Norovirus
The crud
Noroviruses are a group of viruses that cause the “stomach
flu,” or gastroenteritis, in people. The term norovirus was recently “Any time somebody new arrives in town with a new virus,”
approved as the official name for this group of viruses. Several Owens said, “it’s going to bounce around and that’s airborne. You
other names that have been used include Norwalk-like viruses, can’t really isolate against it; it’s floating through the air. There
caliciviruses and small round structured viruses. again, you minimize it by hand-washing.”
What makes noroviruses so formidable is their highly con- He explained that they can treat the symptoms but that they do
tagious nature. Staeheli added that “the attack rate of this virus not administer antibiotics.
can be 50 percent and that’s why we absolutely have to keep it “Normally, if we give antibiotics to somebody who has a viral
contained.” illness, we can quite often make it worse,” he said. “Not only
Owens explained that the disease passes principally through doesn’t it work against a virus, but it kills off what might be
surface contamination. normal bacteria, then the virus has no competitor and it wins the
“It’s fecal-mouth,” he said, “and if folks aren’t washing their football game.”
hands good and they touch a countertop and somebody comes He said they have been asking folks proven to have influenza
along and touches the same countertop and licks their fingers ...” or diarrhea to stay in their rooms and use whatever toilet facili-
That’s where it comes back to staying vigilant about washing ties are available to them, washing their hands regularly. After the
one’s hands, particularly after using the toilet and also before symptoms let up, usually in two to four days, they will be able to
entering the dining hall. return to work.
Owens said that hand sanitizers, like the foaming agents dis-
Preventative measures
pensed at various spots around the station, also work very well. He
said only one push on the dispenser is required and that it should Owens said that it seems people are doing a reasonably good
be rubbed until it has all evaporated. job of keeping their hands clean, but he’s pressing the message
Confirming norovirus involves sending a stool sample to further. He also said he wants to encourage people to report their
Christchurch for a special viral study. symptoms, especially “the intestinal stuff because then we would
As for treatment, he said physicians give medicines to treat the like to say, ‘Stay in your room and we’ll have food brought to you
symptoms, which include aches, pains, stomach cramps and diar- until you’re symptomatically better and then you’re less of a risk.
rhea. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say there is And keep washing your hands and take it easy.’”
no antiviral medication that works against norovirus and there is There are other efforts under way to keep the diseases at bay,
no vaccine to prevent infection. Though it makes its victims feel he said.
rather miserable, symptoms usually pass in 24 to 72 hours. “I think we’ve been super vigilant,” Owens said, “and I know
that, in terms of the dining room, those folks have just doubled
Influenza Type A their efforts at cleaning all the tables, cleaning every doorknob,
The only flu virus seen here this season, Type A, was included all that stuff. They’re doing that frequently during the day, not just
in the vaccines given in the Northern Hemisphere and those given once. The janitorial folks are doing a super job at doing the door
on station, Owens said. The Medical Center can test for the flu knobs multiple times a day. It’s, you know, where are folks going
itself and have a result in 15 minutes. to touch the most?”
4 • The Antarctic Sun December 10, 2006
Perspectives sevitcepsreP
White Christmas to wipe away holiday blues
By Steve Martaindale
Sun staff
A handful of people met last Sunday
to hold the first practice for McMurdo
To help him find
Station’s Christmas choir, a group that will
the Christmas
sing at different events later this month. spirit, the
We were singing “White Christmas” Sun’s Steve
and I made the mistake of listening to the Martaindale
words, “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas, has joined the
just like the ones I used to know.” It is true McMurdo choir
and even saved
that I can get sentimental rather easily, but
a little fake
even I was surprised to be affected by this
Christmas tree
song. from the rubbish
My choking up a little bit had nothing to to use for the
do with snow. I’m far more likely to have holidays.
a white Christmas here than back home in
Texas. Nor does it have anything to do with
sleigh bells or the writing of Christmas
cards.
Peter Rejcek / The Antarctic Sun
No, the Christmases I’ll be dreaming Anyone who makes the decision to go to occur as often or as thoroughly.
of during my first season in Antarctica Antarctica for a few months surely must There are non-family links to
will be the ones I’ve always known: go through an extensive self-examination Christmases past, too. Take the folks sing-
Helping the kids leave food for Santa’s exercise. And cross-examination. At least ing in the choir. I did not know most of
reindeer. Getting up early to turn on the the first time. I certainly did. them prior to Sunday and may still be
tree lights and yell “Merry Christmas” Eventually, my whole family played weak on their names, but we’ve already
when the young ones enter the room. a role in the decision. My wife pretty forged a bit of a bond. We enjoy singing
Opening gifts and trading thanks with much said I would be crazy to not take Christmas songs and we’re willing to stand
relatives. Cuddling with my wife on the advantage of such a great opportunity. My up alongside others to do just that. By the
sofa and contentedly watching everyone daughter pointed out that I would still be time we finish our performances, at the rate
enjoy Christmas. there for the baby’s first couple of months relationships develop here, we could know
Missing out on the family Christmas and would then return in time for most of each other rather well.
does not come as a surprise, of course. It the interesting stuff. My father said I was Of course, there is also the chapel.
Christmas, for all its wonderful effects
So, my first Christmas away from my family ... ever ... will be on familial relations and department store
sales, is also a religious holiday. As such,
spent with several hundred strangers. those of us spending the season here can
probably find links between church obser-
was discussed several times as my wife crazy and expressed his hope that I would vances back home and the chapel services
and I carefully walked through the many not pass the physical. here.
changes necessary for me to take a jour- So, my first Christmas away from my You see, even a shy new guy can’t feel
nalist job at the world’s southernmost family ... ever ... will be spent with sev- all that alone during his first Christmas
newspaper. eral hundred strangers. No, that’s not true. more than 11,000 miles from Santa’s work-
My wife would have to assume respon- While there is only person whom I have shop. It’s like all of these new friends are
sibility for things I had been doing at known for more than a couple months, I family, right?
home. I would miss out on some of our cannot call them strangers. Right?
grandson’s early development. My daugh- You get to know people rather rapidly Well, no, not for me, though I’ve heard
ter and I could no longer exchange text in Antarctica. It starts with orientation and some Antarctic veterans say that. All these
messages about ball games. I wouldn’t accelerates once you’re on the Ice. “My new friends will not replace my family.
be able to run up and help my father if he name is Steve. What’s yours? Where are That’s not the point. However, I think one
needed me. My wife, my daughter and I you from? What do you do? How long would be hard-pressed to find a better
would all have birthdays while I’m on the have you been coming down? What have place to have to be alone with scads of new
Ice. And ... and we would be separated you done previously?” And then there are friends at Christmas.
for Thanksgiving, Christmas and New all the diversions into family, other jobs, Steve Martaindale is a journalist with
Year’s. travels, hobbies, etc. Sure, that can hap- The Antarctic Sun. This is his first season
Yes, we talked about all those things. pen stateside, too, but you just don’t see it in Antarctica.
December 10, 2006 The Antarctic Sun • 5
a r o u n d t h e c o n t i n e n t
PALMER
TerraLab packed with science
Cathy Borowsky,
By Kerry Kells left, directs a Zodiac
Palmer correspondent with Steve Barten,
Brilliant weather greeted Palmer Station Palmer Station boat-
ing coordinator,
early this past week with sunshine and low
looking on, during a
winds. The Ocean Search and Rescue team
training exercise for
trained in the Zodiacs on Tuesday after- the Palmer Station
noon and the Glacier Search and Rescue Ocean Search and
team also trained last Friday. The cruise Rescue team last
ship originally scheduled for Wednesday week.
was canceled this week, but we were vis-
ited by a cruise ship on Monday called the
Sarpik Ittuk, new to Palmer Station. This
is a 73-meter vessel built in Denmark and Kerry Kells / Special to The Antarctic Sun
designed to navigate in heavily ice-choked tude of the December 2004 earthquake poles radiating from the geographic South
waters, particularly Western Greenland. that spawned the tsunami that devastated Pole.
The 68 passengers on board were mostly Indonesia and other nearby countries. The study – formally known as The Ohio
from Europe with Italy being well repre- The winds increased later in the week State University South Pole Accumulation
sented. and have been hindering science sampling Network – is in its 14th year. Although an
Our weekly science lecture was an on the water and at the local islands. ongoing study, its principal investigator,
introduction to the science at the TerraLab Next week, we will make preparations Ellen Mosley-Thompson, published a paper
building, the newest building on station for the R/V Laurence M. Gould, which will in 1999 called “Late 20th Century Increase
and the home of Palmer’s geophysical make a scheduled port call at the station. in South Pole Snow Accumulation.” In it,
science. Christina Hammock, the Palmer she reported that the rate of snow accumu-
research associate, presented the “Choose SOUTH POLE lation has increased by 30 percent since the
Your Own Adventure”-style lecture, where 1960s at Pole and said this may be further
the Palmer audience selected the lecture evidence of global warming.
topics from a list of the research conducted Getting away from it all at Pole The 40-kilometer round trips to measure
at the TerraLab. a year’s snow accumulation takes anywhere
The TerraLab is part of several glob- By Charles Redell from four to six hours in a PistenBully, a
al networks, including the International South Pole correspondent tracked vehicle that is not the most elegant
Monitoring Station network (which is one The South Pole crew may have been or comfortable of rides. But the bouncing
of the main reasons TerraLab was built; hoping for a standard week of operations and motion sickness don’t dissuade many,
IMS tests for radioactive particles in the after the run up to Thanksgiving, but it was since Polies have so few chances to get
atmosphere), the U.S. Geological Survey’s not to be. From snow stakes runs with the off station. Losing sight of the station is a
global positioning system and a seismo- meteorological department, to a visit by the main attraction of the trip, giving one a true
graphic network. station’s design team and a raucous night of grasp on the intense isolation we live in at
The adventure science lecture also bingo, things at the world’s southernmost the bottom of the planet.
addressed the very low frequency stud- outpost continued to roll in high gear. The relatively few spots available this
ies, which look at the upper atmosphere The annual snow stakes runs were high year (only five people besides the met
through worldwide lightning detection. on the list of everyone’s things to try to team member can go on each trip) were
The VLF monitors thunderstorm activity, take part in, as they are every year, accord- offered first to the dining hall staff since
space weather and radio communications. ing to John Gallagher, senior meteorolo- they get to go outside so rarely and had just
Palmer also has a seismic vault and is part gist. The meteorology (met) team makes produced an amazing array of food for the
of a global seismic network. The three six trips every December to measure the Thanksgiving holiday.
seismometers even recorded the magni- accumulation of snow on six lines of 40 See CONTINENT on page 6
the week in weather
McMurdo Station Palmer Station South Pole Station
High: 43 F / 6 C High temperature: 40 F / 5 C High: -15 F / -26 C
Low: 13 F / -10 C Low temperature: 30 F / -1 C Low: -30 F / -35 C
Max. sustained wind: 22 mph / 35 kph Max. sustained wind: 42 mph / 68 kph Peak wind: 22 mph / 35 kph
Min. wind chill: -6 F / -21 C Melted precipitation: 10 mm Max. physio-altitude: 3,227 m
6 • The Antarctic Sun December 10, 2006
Continent using everything from candy bits to cereal created concerns about the upcoming heli-
From page 5 to mark their cards. All hoped to win one of copter operation.
four gift certificates to Christchurch, New Dec. 1, the day of the rendezvous,
Elsewhere on station, Polies are work- Zealand, restaurants or to cash in on the arrived, and the NBP spent the day waiting
ing hard to complete the last details on the night’s big jackpot of $213, the largest ever for the weather to allow the exchange to
construction of the IceCube Laboratory, in South Pole history, according to Brown. take place. But it never did.
where data for the neutrino observatory The games ended with Amanda Hunter and The crew made the most of the time,
buried in the ice is collected. Currently, John O’Connor splitting the jackpot and though, and obtained a number of ice cores
the station is playing host to a five- were followed by an evening of dancing during the wait. After dinner, people were
member design team, which is inspect- in the galley. allowed to walk on the fast ice around the
ing work on the lab and will hopefully ship.
grant Conditional Occupancy (CO) for the The next day, the weather finally pro-
building. This will allow plans to drill the SHIPS vided a window for the meeting to take
next 14 holes for the detector array this place, and the helicopter made it to the
summer to go forward. NBP around 11 a.m.
According to BK Grant, South Pole area The NBP departed immediately after
NBP
director, things are going well with the the operation was complete and headed for
lab construction, though a few areas need Compiled from reports by “Skip” Owen Lyttelton, New Zealand, conducting more
to be addressed before CO can be given. Marine Projects coordinator science research along the way.
Grant said she is confident the fixes can The crew of the Nathaniel B. Palmer
be made in time for an end-of-the-week kept its eyes on the weather this week as
LMG
final inspection with CO being granted on it made its way to the rendezvous point
Dec. 9. where the crew was to meet a helicopter Compiled from reports by Herb Baker
With all that is going on, Polies needed coming from McMurdo with one passen- Marine Projects coordinator
to let some steam off at the end of last ger and cargo. The Laurence M. Gould continued its
week. Just in time to fill the bill was the The NBP moved westward along the northbound transit of the Drake Passage
year’s first installment of James Brown Ross Ice Shelf conducting a battery of sci- this week through choppy seas. Poor
Full Contact Bingo hosted by none other ence tests and collecting samples along the weather slowed its progress, but the LMG
than the station’s executive chef, James way. The weather was clear through most arrived at Punta Arenas, Chile, late on
Brown. The galley was filled with Polies of the day on Nov. 29, but incoming clouds Nov. 30.
Cancer claims long-time Antarctic researcher
Noted researcher John Wrenn died on Nov. 28, 2006, after a His contributions to Antarctic research
lengthy battle with lung cancer. and field work include the Dry Valley
John was a notable researcher in palynology, the study of Drilling Project (1973-1974) and the
organic-walled microfossils. John received degrees from Northern Cape Roberts Project (1997-1999). John
Illinois University and Louisiana State University following ser- also published work from the Ross Ice
vice in the U.S. Marine Corps. He earned numerous accolades Shelf Project (1977-1979) and conducted
and contributed tireless service to the scientific community. John research elsewhere around the world.
had a long and productive career in both academic and indus- He was an unusually humble, kind
John Wrenn
trial research, as both professor and in petroleum exploration. He and thoughtful man, and deeply liked and
retired earlier this year from Louisiana State University, where he respected by all who knew him. He is survived by his wife Allison,
served as professor and director of the Center for Excellence in daughters Lora Lee and Margaret, granddaughters Mallory and
Palynology. Alexandra, as well as his mother and other family members.
If you weren’t here, what would you be doing?
“I would be “Brewing, skiing “I would be help-
studying mas- and curling.” ing to open a
sage on Maui, Mexican restau-
while hopefully rant in Perth,
living in a yurt Australia.”
that is as energy
efficient as pos-
sible. However,
I currently am
Ruth Hampton very satisfied Phil Spindler Will Watkins
McMurdo Station with life here at Palmer Station South Pole Station
barber McMurdo.” assistant lab supervisor sous chef
Chattanooga, Tenn. Duluth, Minn. Denver, Colo.
second season third season first season
December 10, 2006 The Antarctic Sun • 7
Getting older or getting better?
Scientists studying
Weddell seals for
Felicia, a 10-year-old
effects of aging Weddell seal, shows off
the various devices that
By Steven Profaizer had been recording her
activities. She was soon
Sun staff
back in the water with
Getting old is difficult on everyone
the equipment removed.
– seals included.
A science group is currently studying
Weddell seals in McMurdo Sound to dis-
cover exactly what toll time takes on the
Steve Martaindale / The Antarctic Sun
animals and to understand how they cope
cal balancing act, the group is trying to The first is that the McMurdo Sound
with getting older.
identify what specific effect aging has on Weddell seals have been studied and docu-
“We have a crazy notion that diving
the seals and determine what, if any, coun- mented thoroughly by previous science
animals may be particularly suited ani-
termeasures are in place that decrease or groups, Horning said. This gives the sci-
mals for the study of aging,” said Markus
eliminate those negative effects. entists the ability to study seals of very
Horning, who is principal investigator (PI)
The group is in its first of two field specific ages, as almost every seal born
of the project together with co-PI Jo-Ann
seasons. This summer it is using two study into the population over the last 30 years
Mellish.
groups of adult seals to start gathering the has been tagged and recorded. (See the
That logic comes from the metabolic
data it needs. Nov. 20, 2005, issue of The Antarctic
processes that occur when mammals are
The first group is a biochemical sam- Sun.) There has also been a lot of research
deprived of oxygen.
pling group. The team interacts with these performed on the seals’ population ecol-
“Weddell seals are one of the more
seals just long enough to gather blood and ogy and diving physiology, which allows
extreme examples,” he said. “They often
muscle samples once during the season. scientists to look for deviations from the
use their muscles for swimming while
The second test group is the telemetry norm due to aging.
holding their breath for 30 minutes and
group. In addition to taking the biochemi- The second reason this population of
sometimes an hour or more in extreme
cal samples from them, the team outfits Weddell seals was chosen is that the seals
cases.”
these seals with devices that record feeding are forced to live within one breath’s dis-
This behavior leads to a condition called
behavior and measure vital signs and flip- tance of the nearby cracks in the sea ice, as
hypoxia, or low oxygen, in certain tissues.
per strokes. other openings are out of reach. This cre-
If a mammal’s system is then suddenly
The seals wear the equipment for five to ates a glassless aquarium where the seals
re-oxygenated, such as when a seal returns
six days, and the team then recaptures them are contained but remain in the wild.
to the surface for air, it typically creates
to add another device intended to increase “That scenario creates accessibility
high levels of reactive oxygen species,
the drag on the seals while they’re swim- to a diving animal to an unprecedented
which are highly reactive molecules that
ming. This means the seals have to work degree because you have access to it in its
can cause major damage to cells. This
a little harder to swim at the same speeds. natural environment where it decides what
effect has been observed in high-altitude
The scientists then wait three to four days to do on a dive-by-dive basis,” Horning
athletes, like mountain climbers, through
before removing all the devices, so that said. “Everywhere else, we can do some
the field of sports medicine.
they can observe how the seals deal with of the things we can do here – attach
The science group speculates that seals
the increased workload. dive recorders and monitor them – but
are producing these damaging molecules
Horning compared the “drag block” to the chance of recovering the equipment
at a rate reflective of the hypoxic state they a scaled down version of an electrocar- is reduced and the opportunity to observe
enter during their regular dives and may diogram treadmill test that U.S. Antarctic them after each dive is essentially non-
therefore exhibit more rapid aging than ter- Program participants over the age of 50 go existent.”
restrial mammals, Horning said. through as part of the program’s physical This project is an exploratory study and
But from what is known about the seals’ qualification process. the group is not sure what the implications
life cycle, there is very little evidence of With all of the data combined, Horning of its findings may be, but Horning said he
aging at the rate they would expect, he said the team will be able to look at the is hopeful that the results may have mean-
said. Even the oldest Weddell seals in complete physiological spectrum of aging ing for a wide range of animals.
the McMurdo Sound population, about 30 effects and any possible ways the seals and “Initially, what we need to find is what
years old, breed and remain active mem- their behavior might be compensating.
kind of adaptations are there. … If we find
bers of their community. Of particular interest to the team is the
that, you could argue that similar mecha-
“So that suggests that the animals may dive response – changes to blood flow and
nisms could be in effect for other animals,”
be able to compensate for the tissue- heart rate during diving. They also watch
he said. “The results might ultimately be of
level damage we are speculating may the aerobic dive limit, which is the amount
interest to humans and to the understand-
exist, either by adjusting their [behav- of time an animal can stay submerged
ing of our own aging process.”
ior] or through special protective mecha- without its organs running out of oxygen.
nisms such as high levels of antioxidant Weddell seals are not the only animals
NSF-funded science in this story: Markus
enzymes,” Horning said. suited for such measurements, but this popu- Horning, Oregon State University; and Jo-Ann
To solve the equation of this biologi- lation of seals has a lot of things going for it. Mellish, University of Alaska Fairbanks.
8 • The Antarctic Sun December 10, 2006
Foreign-born program participants
bring varied backgrounds to the Ice
Continued from page 1 learn from every one of those people.”
Manka said she has seen an adjustment
determined that 48 of the 50 states are
in her priorities.
represented among the 863 RPSC contract
“I think that I am less materialistic
workers then on the continent. Those peo-
than I used to be,” she said. “When I was
ple also represent all flavors of American
at home, all that I could think about was,
culture and backgrounds. Workers who
‘Oh, I wish I had a nicer car,’ or, ‘I wish I
started their lives in another country add
had nicer clothes.’ You’re kind of trying to
yet another spice to the melting pot.
keep up with the Joneses, but when you’re
Common themes do emerge, however,
here, it’s more about the places you’ve
such as the respect held for co-workers
been, the people you’ve met, instead of the
and the land.
things you have.”
Murray said she resisted joining her
Lindebaum said he relishes the idea of
husband, James VanMatre, in Antarctica.
playing a role in the scientific research tak-
She said she came from “a really hot place
ing place in Antarctica.
in Australia” in central Queensland and did
“It is interesting and, indirectly, you are
not like the cold. However, after moving
actually helping in some way,” he said.
to Colorado, she decided to give it a go.
“The whole idea of the program down here Rachel Murray / Special to The Antarctic Sun
She’s now in her fifth season, this year as Rachel Murray
is to try to improve the world for the gen-
the Berg Field Center supervisor. erations to come. So, I can actually say I’ve education by accepting whatever job was
“I do enjoy it,” she said, adding that the been part of it.” assigned him, which was teaching children
people are great and the mere potential for While they sounded like a chorus sing- in fifth to eighth grades in a nearby vil-
seeing exotic wildlife is exciting. During ing a refrain praising the land and people lage. It wasn’t a bad job, but it was not his
her second season, the channel opened of Antarctica, albeit with various accents, choice.
up and “there were penguins all around their individual stanzas were markedly “I would have chosen some other
there.” different. career,” Pashov said, “perhaps a university
“It was like, every day I would wake teacher, but you have to fulfill your obliga-
up and go see the penguins,” Murray said. Born to run tions. Otherwise, there are other sets of
“That is something that is so great.” There were positive and negative things ramifications that are much more unpleas-
Pashov said the people on the Ice have about growing up in Sofia, Bulgaria, said ant, like you have to pay money back or
affected him. Stefan Pashov, who was born in the Soviet- it may reflect on your family. They may
“I’m in the incredible company of peo- controlled country in 1958. lose their benefits, they may lose their
ple who range from accomplished artists On the positive side was a good edu- pension.”
to accomplished writers and poets and cation, an offering of which he took full After fulfilling his requirements, he
musicians,” he said. “This place works as advantage. However, even that and the taught linguistics and literature to fresh-
a natural selection. It brings the best and guaranteed medical coverage were not men at university.
the brightest, the most courageous and the enough to make up for his lack of choice. “I did that for a couple of years, and
most interesting people. I think I could He said he was required to pay for his then I decided that the world is much big-
ger than what I found myself in,” he said.
“I started looking for options to leave
Bulgaria.”
He said that he had many failed attempts,
the first having come when he was only 16.
He stole a water bicycle with the intention
of crossing the Black Sea to Turkey.
“That’s probably well over 500 miles
or something,” he said. “Of course, the
patrol caught me, and I ended up in jail.
It was probably safer that way than being
lost at sea.”
As a side note, he and a friend wrote a
song about it while in college. When he
returned to Bulgaria after it was again an
independent nation, he learned that the
friend became a successful musician and
had quite a hit with the song.
Another aborted attempt was remark-
able in the quietness of its failure. He said
he attempted once to falsify a train ticket
out of the country. The soldier who caught
him took him to a bar, bought him a drink
George Aukon See GETTING on page 9
December 10, 2006 The Antarctic Sun • 9
Getting to USAP
not always easy
Continued from page 8
and said, “Good luck next time.”
Define
Pashov’s success finally came
happiness through a method that was more
... or what conventional, though perhaps far
more taxing.
makes you
He filed for a regular one-week
happy? vacation visa. The process included
undergoing interrogations with the
“I’m happiest secret police two to three times a
when outdoors, week for three to four hours each
session. He said it went on for a
when I’m close to
year before he was granted the
nature.”
visa, which he used to travel to
– Helen Thompson
Paris, where he filed for political
asylum in both France and the
“What makes me United States. He said the inter-
the most happy rogations were difficult, trying to
is traveling. For not appear uncooperative while not
me, that’s the most tipping your hand concerning your
fulfilling, the most true intentions or exposing friends
complete form of to danger.
life.” “It was a really hard balancing
act,” he said. “I couldn’t just tell
– Stefan Pashov
them to bug off, you know, because
that means that I’m not going to
“I love surfing. I
leave for the rest of my life. ...
could do it every
You had to play both sides without
day. Well, three compromising your integrity with
times a day.” your friends and with your moral
– Rachel Murray consciousness.”
After waiting for a year in Paris, Helen Thompson
“If my daughter he received offers of asylum from
will come here ... both France and the United States American papers.” months in the winter. He saved his
on the same day, Sept. 12. In New York he found construc- money and started traveling.
it will be a very
“So, I had to make a choice,” tion work and a year later he was in “That’s been always my goal,
happy moment in
he said, “and at that time I didn’t Seattle, where he took a job fishing to travel. So, finally I was doing
my life.”
think very long, and I opted for the in the Bering Sea for a couple of what I was planning and dreaming
– George Aukon and intending to do. It took me
a while. It was kind of a convo-
“Happiness is luted way of getting there.”
a state of mind. He is in his sixth season on
It’s the opposite the Ice, working as a materi-
of depression. alsperson. His American wife,
So, if you’re not Amy, also works here.
depressed, you’re
Gentler trip
happy.”
George Aukon also was
– Wayne Lindebaum
born behind the Iron Curtain
in Riga, Latvia, but the Soviet
“I think it’s the Union was deep into Mikhail
balance of all the Gorbachev’s 1980s perestroika
different parts of before Aukon made a trip to the
your life, when United States.
everything’s He had been actively involved
aligned.” in whitewater rafting for several
years when RAFT – Russians
– Cori Manka
and Americans For Teamwork
– held an international competi-
tion in Siberia in 1989. He was
not able to attend but resolved
to make the next event in the
Cori Manka See TEMPORARY on page 11
10 • The Antarctic Sun December 10, 2006
New drilling technique
reveals ancient secrets
Continued from Page 1 That information is impor-
tant to understand what could
Science Foundation (NSF),
happen to global sea levels with
SHALDRIL recovered a num-
a significant loss of ice mass in
ber of shallow cores, most less
the Antarctic.
than 50 meters long, during
its two field seasons despite
Keep her steady
severe sea ice cover. Its success
The concept of a mobile
now opens up areas of the con-
drilling platform is not new
tinent heretofore thought terra
to the Antarctic, but previous
incognita to science.
attempts were located far from
And just as important, the
the continent. The problem
investigations helped shed light
was not only the thick, hard,
into the Miocene and Oligocene
glaciated layer that protected
time periods, between 5 and
the ancient sediment below the
35 million years ago when the
seafloor. Operating close to the
continent stopped fluctuating
continent involves working
between warm and cold peri-
in a rough environment that
ods and entered into its cur-
requires drilling through sea
rent deep freeze. The Antarctic
ice while avoiding icebergs and
Peninsula was the last part of
other dangerous ice floes.
the continent to undergo glacia-
In addition, the vessel must
tion when most of the flora and
be able to remain immobile,
fauna began to disappear.
“It’s a key time and one what’s called maintaining sta-
poorly represented in the strati- tion, during the drilling opera-
graphic record,” said John tion, even in high winds.
Anderson, principal investiga- “Icebreakers by their nature
tor for SHALDRIL, during a are not drilling platforms,”
phone interview from his office Anderson explained. “We were
at Rice University in Houston. very pleasantly surprised to
“In that regard, we managed learn that the Palmer and her
to fill some gaps and collect mates did a marvelous job of
core in the time intervals we maintaining station in winds of
[wanted] to sample.” 30 to 40 knots.”
Anderson said SHALDRIL The Palmer is equipped with
scientists could now say with dynamic positioning (DP), a Courtesy of John Anderson / Special to The Antarctic Sun
Ages past are opening their secrets to scientists as a result of shal-
certainty that the final glacia- system to automatically main-
low cores obtained through a breakthrough drilling technique. The
tion on the peninsula occurred tain a ship’s position and head- SHALDRIL platform is pictured here aboard the research vessel
in the late Miocene, as late as 3 ing by using her own propellers Nathaniel B. Palmer.
million years ago when the ice and thrusters. This allows oper-
sheet advanced far out onto the ations at sea where mooring or comfortable starting the hole, Despite the difficulties, the
continental shelf. anchoring is not feasible due wind increased, fog and rain Palmer was able to maintain
“The most exciting thing to deep water. But DP doesn’t moved in and the ice started station at many of the sites
to come out of SHALDRIL mean the ship’s crew can sim- blowing down on us (including previously selected based on
is yet to come,” he said, as ply relax. a very sizeable iceberg),” he geophysical surveys that indi-
the researchers begin to pub- “In the ice, we can’t sim- wrote. “We spent several more cated condensed sections with
lish their data. For example, ply rely on DP alone to keep hours evaluating ice conditions rich fossil records.
the cores can help scientists the ship on station; we have and practicing evading floes “Every one of our sites tar-
piece together what was hap- to manually evade ice floes while maintaining station with- geted these condensed sections
pening with the flora on the as well,” wrote Jesse Doren, in the limits … [required] for and every one of these sites
peninsula by examining fossil the marine projects coordinator safe drilling.” yielded good microfossils and
pollen and spores when the on the Palmer, in a log dated Anderson said weather and age control,” Anderson said.
last glaciation took place. In a March 7, 2006, during the sci- ice conditions during the sec- “Sampling datable material has
broader context, their research ence cruise. ond field season presented the been one of the biggest chal-
will complement other data In the same log, Doren worst-case scenario for opera- lenges in drilling the Antarctic
records – such as that being noted that the ship must stay on tions. The problem was not continental shelf.”
unearthed by ANDRILL on the location within 10 percent of only sea ice, he said, but multi- The scientists were also able
Ross Ice Shelf this season – to water depth. During a training year ice with thick and hazard- to sample areas at Maxwell Bay
understand how the ice sheets exercise, the weather offered ous pressure ridges. and the Firth of Tay for longer
will react to global warming plenty of variables as the crew “That ice had to be treat- sections with much younger
based on ancient behavior dur- practiced drilling operations. ed essentially like icebergs records, between only 12,000
ing similarly warm periods. “As soon as everyone was because of its nature,” he said. See SHALDRIL’S on page 11