The Antarctic Sun - 12/9/2001 - United States Antarctic Program

12 Pages·2001·2.16 MB·English

www.polar.org/antsun
ThAe ntarctic Sun
December 9, 2001
Published during the austral summer at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, for the United States Antarctic Program
Tracking the creation of space
By Melanie Conner
Sun staff
In the beginning a fist-sized,
dense, hot ball of gasses erupted and
flung matter in all directions forming
energy, time, stars and galaxies in an
instant. Fourteen billion years later,
scientists at the South Pole collect
and analyze traces of that original
explosion to help unravel the cosmic
past.
Like a book, some believe space
and time must have a beginning, mid-
dle and an end. Scientists, too, are
reading ahead to the final chapter to
learn the future of the universe.
Will the edges of space curve in
and implode into the nothingness from
which it began? Contine to expand?
Or remain forever balanced?
These are the questions
researchers at the South Pole are ask-
ing themselves.
This month a team of astronomers
from the University of Chicago con-
cluded their second of four years of
cosmic research on data obtained by
a cosmic microwave detector
telescope or the Degree Angular
Photo by Melanie Conner/The Antarctic Sun
Allen Day, science grantee, and Eric Sandberg, science technician, work on one of DASI’s telescope receivers. See DASI on page 7
Getting a safe high in Antarctica
By Mark Sabbatini considered, said Steve Dunbar, field support manager for
Sun staff Raytheon Polar Services Company.
Those on the Ice suffering from altitude sickness after getting "At this point it's just in the preliminary phases, but we realize
off a flight may one day be able to take refuge by getting back at the big camps there's a need to provide treatment beyond a
into an airplane's pressurized cabin - with no flight required. Gamow Bag," Dunbar said, referring to a portable bivy-like bag
The never-before-tried tactic of using a disabled aircraft's that is pumped full of pressured air, temporarily simulating a
fuselage at one or more remote high-elevation camps is one of the lower environment for the person inside.
improvements being considered by officials hoping to reduce the Dunbar said he is also hoping to produce a video or come up
number and severity of altitude sickness cases in Antarctica. The with another way to provide more information to research teams
fuselage would be an alternative to heavy and expensive hyper- before they reach the Ice, and make sure their physicians are
baric chambers that control air pressure, which are also being
See Altitude on page 8
I N S I D E Quote of the Week
Rough and Chef juggles
rugged rugby studies and stews “If I could just see a penguin
I could quit.”
Page 10
Page 3
- Dining assistant at McMurdo Station
2 • The Antarctic Sun December 9, 2001
Ross Island Chronicles By Chico
Dad, I’ve been wondering... who came Well, son, that
first, the penguin or the egg? depends on who you
ask. Theologians,
because of their
fundamental beliefs
would say that Cold, hard
the penguin
came first.
facts
Antarctic geology
Total area of Antarctica:About 8.7
But an evolutionist would Then there’s the
million square miles (14 million sq. km)
agree that it’s the egg cosmologists who
about 1.5 times the size of the U.S.
because of Darwinism see time as linear
and all that. and unidirectional Total ice-covered area:About 8.5 mil-
and therefore lion square miles (13.72 million sq. km)
appears to speed 98 percent, about 11 percent of which
up, slow down, or is made up of floating ice shelves.
even go backwards.
Total barren-rock area:2 percent
Their answer
depends on which Average elevation:About 6,500 ft. to
way you're looking 13,000 ft. (2,000-4,000 m)
at time.
Highest point:Vinson Massif 16,863
ft. (5,140 m)
But you know? Lowest point:Bentley Subglacial
They’re all Trench -8,333 ft. (-2540 m) The lowest
wrong because known point is hidden in the Bentley
the male Trench, where the deepest ice was
penguin came Does Mom recorded and the world's lowest eleva-
first. know that? tion not under sea water is located.
Average thickness of the Antarctic
ice sheet:7,000 (2,160 m) or 1.34
miles
Source: Central Intelligence Agency World
Fact Book Web Site and NSF Web Site
Antarctic animals Answer on page 9
The Antarctic Sunis funded by the National
Science Foundation as part of the United ACROSS
1) First to South Pole; on continent until 1994
States Antarctic Program. Its
4) The largest (1/2") year-round land "animal"
primary audience is U.S.
5) More like giant slugs than circus performers
Antarctic Program participants, 8) When they can’t see the sky, divers still see
their families, and their friends. these
NSF reviews and approves 10) Feed on zooplankton; served with sauce
material before publication, but opinions and 12) Waddle, waddle; no quack, quack
conclusions expressed in the Sun are not 16) Bottom of the food chain
18) A favorite dish of seals and people
necessarily those of the Foundation.
19) Antarctica's most common penguin
Use:Reproduction and distribution are
20) Seals with teeth, not spots, of namesake.
encouraged with acknowledgment of source 21) North Pole natives seen with penguins in
and author. Coke commercials
Senior Editor:Kristan Hutchison DOWN
Editors: Melanie Conner 2) Scavengers with wings
Mark Sabbatini 3) Brit-named seals love the nightlife
4) Most common and southerly land animal
Copy Editor:Lynn Hamann
6) A large seal that packs its own trunk
Publisher:Valerie Carroll,
7) Big fish can survive subzero temperatures
Communications manager,RPSC 9) Splice these with fish and create Squish
Contributions are welcome.Contact the 11) "Lion” of the Ice; half the size of a rice grain
Sun at [email protected]. In McMurdo, visit 13) Not a fish, but a big catch
our office in Building 155 or dial 2407. 14) No need to ask what these seals dine on
Web address:www.polar.org/antsun 15) They ruled Rome, and now the Ice
17) Wingspans can be longer than you are tall
December 9, 2001 The Antarctic Sun • 3
Game
on
9 - 3
Photo coutesy unknown photographer/McMurdo Common Drive
A player on the McMurdo Station rugby team, far right, prepares to place the
ball in play during a match with New Zealand employees at Scott Base on Dec.
2. The Kiwi team won the match by a score of 9-3.
By Mark Sabbatini proud of," said Wilson, who was play- when the game ended.
Sun staff ing her first rugby game. "If the game had gone on much
They lost the rugby match, but Only five members of the longer we would have kicked Kiwi
scored style points by keeping the McMurdo team had played rugby ass," Wilson said.
game close and making it to the before, with the remainder of the 14 Morlock, a resident of Big Lake,
barbecue afterward without any men and three women learning the Alaska, said he has been playing
serious injuries. rules during eight practices before the rugby since 1975 because he wants to
Seventeen workers at McMurdo game, Morlock said. be among the "one-percenters" in life.
Station took on employees at Scott "I was trying to convert football "Either you're in a motorcycle gang
Base last Sunday, losing by a score of players to rugby players," he said, or you play rugby," he said.
9-3, said Rick Morlock, a safety con- adding the Kiwis "grow up playing For those who missed out or are
sultant who "caught hell" because of rugby like we play football or base- craving more punishment, Morlock
his job for being one of McMurdo's ball." said the Kiwis want to play a rematch
two coaches. He said the New Zealand McMurdo E-mail Administrator in January.
team scored three "tries" compared to Lee Parker said learning to play rugby "I think they wanted to play a game
one for the Americans, a marked for the first time wasn't too difficult of American football, too," he said.
improvement over last year's 21-3 "especially if you get out there and try Riley said a beach volleyball game
tally. to play it." The finer points of the at Scott Base in January is also a pos-
"It was very competitive," he said. game take more time, she said, but it's sibility. In the meantime, he said the
"It wasn't a blowout by any means." an addictive sport. Americans should expect a tougher
Chet Riley, base services manager "I like it better than football challenge during the rugby rematch.
at Scott Base, offered a mostly similar because it's faster - it keeps moving - "We'll be looking at doing a little
assessment. and better than soccer because you can bit of practice for the next game now
"It was a pretty close match pick up the ball," she said. that both teams have played," Riley
because the snow's a great leveler," he The 18-member Kiwi team, con- said.
said. sisting of most of the employees at Besides Morlock, Wilson and
Playing what's already a brutally Scott Base, didn't practice, Riley said. Parker, members of the McMurdo
tough sport on a field of snow and ice "We named the team at 3 o clock team included Philip Mitchell, Dean
resulted in the expected assortment of and then we played at half past 3," he Jarosh, Dan McCloskey, Chris Morris,
bumps and bruises, but no serious said. Kanari, Brent Rosato, Tad Hoening,
injuries, Morlock said. The worst The game was scoreless during the Shane Coffelt, Mark Owen, Jay
injury was suffered by Jennifer first of three 15-minute periods, but Gilder, Ben Murray, Matthew
Wilson, a dining attendant who got a the New Zealand team took a 2-1 lead Charnetski, John Hughes, Charlie
severely bruised eye after wrestling at the end of the second period. The Langfeld and Health Woolfe. The
the ball away from a Kiwi and passing Kiwis scored once more in the final team also featured one New Zealand
it to a teammate. period, but Morlock said the U.S. player, Shane Pretty, who works for
"It was the one play I could be team was about to make its second try Kiwi Cargo at McMurdo.
4 • The Antarctic Sun December 9, 2001
Chemical warfare
speaking
of science... in the
animal world
By Chuck Amsler world, nitrogen limitation should not
Our project (BO-022-O) studies have constrained the evolution of
how marine organisms use chemical defenses (or other physiologi-
chemicals to defend themselves cal processes) in Antarctic marine
from predators. plants.
The organisms we study are macroal- We are taking advantage of the rich
gae (seaweeds) and a variety of immo- peninsular macroalgal flora and the dis-
bile and sluggish invertebrate animals tinctive nutrient environment of coastal
that can't get up and run or swim away Antarctica to help separate and under-
when something is trying to eat them. So stand the effects of carbon and nitrogen
their alternative is to make themselves limitation on the production of defen-
unattractive as a food. Some do that by sive compounds in macroalgae and, by
physically making themselves too tough analogy, in other plants as well. The
to eat while others produce chemical results from our first Palmer season
compounds to make themselves taste (March through May 2000) have helped
bad to potential consumers (and some cast doubt on some long-standing theo-
organisms do a bit of both). Our group is ries about why plants make differing
here in Antarctica to study the function but specific kinds of defensive com-
and evolution of those chemical defens- pounds in contrasting environments.
es. The project is a collaboration Another goal of the project is to
between three Principal Investigators at understand the evolutionary and physi-
two institutions, Jim McClintock and ological trade-offs that organisms make
Chuck Amsler, biologists from the in allocating their resources between
University of Alabama at Birmingham, growth, reproduction, and chemical
and Bill Baker, a natural products Photo by Margaret Amsler/Special to The Antarctic Sun defense. This aspect of the work
chemist from the University of South The organisms we study ... includes invertebrate animals and their
Florida. larvae in addition to macroalgae.
Our work here at Palmer Station is in can't get up and run or swim Palmer Station is ideal for all these
many ways an extension of work our away when something studies not only because macroalgae
project did in the late 1980's and the are abundant but also because inverte-
1990's on the chemical ecology of is trying to eat them. brate larvae can be more accessible
Antarctic marine organisms in here than at McMurdo.
McMurdo Sound. We are focusing our So, their alternative is to Scuba diving is a major research tool
present efforts on questions concerning make themselves for our group. Although we do a lot of
the evolution of chemical defenses that laboratory based work to isolate defen-
share underlying assumptions concern- unattractive as a food. sive chemicals and to bioassay their
ing the costs and benefits of producing effects on potential predators of
these compounds. The marine environ- Above, Katrin Iken, left, and Chuck Amsler dive macroalgae or animals, first we must
ment of the Antarctic Peninsula is, in through brash ice off the Palmer Station boat put a great deal of effort into collecting
many respects, uniquely suited for our dock. Below, divers return to Palmer both predators and prey from the ocean.
studies. Macroalgae are exceptionally Station.Bill Baker sits on the far right beside Like virtually all of the diving at
abundant along the western side of the Jim McClintock, who is driving the zodiac McMurdo, when we were working
Peninsula, with biomass levels that rival from there we would routinely dive
the giant kelp forests off the west coast through holes drilled, blasted, or
of the United States. Also, nitrogen and chipped from the land-fast sea ice. But
other nutrients rarely, if ever, are the here at Palmer we normally dive in
limiting factor for growth in Antarctic open water using zodiacs, much like
macroalgae (light usually is). Although divers operate with small boats in other
this can be true locally in other parts of parts of the world. When we first
the world, it is true in coastal waters all arrived in early November the waters
around the Antarctic continent and prob- adjacent to the station were still cov-
ably has been true for millions of years. ered with fast ice. So we spent a week
Therefore, unlike other places in the See Science on page 6
Photo by Charles Amsler/Special to The Antarctic Sun
December 9, 2001 The Antarctic Sun • 5
around the continent
PALMER the station store.
The visit was reciprocal. During the
Making room for foreigners four and a half hour visit, crew members
as well as British Antarctic Survey (BAS)
By Tom Cohenour
scientists from the ship enjoyed tours of
Palmer Station correspondent
the Palmer facilities. And station person-
The call came in unexpectedly. "Palmer
nel and scientists had the opportunity to
Station, Palmer Station, this is the James
visit and tour the JCR. Pizza and drinks
Clark Ross. Do you copy?"
were enjoyed in the station lounge, shop-
It was Chris Elliot, the captain of the
pers enjoyed PalMart (station store) and a
325 foot (100 m) British research vessel
British film crew had a chance to conduct
RRS James Clark Ross (JCR) requesting
interviews with some Palmer scientists.
permission to make an early port call at
The BBC (British Broadcasting
Palmer Station. The JCR wasn't expected
Corporation) crew traveling on the JCR is
for another 10 days. Because of heavy sea
doing a program about science in
ice in the southern part of the Lemaire Antarctica. They were pleased to be able Photo by Kevin Culin/Special to The Antarctic Sun
Channel a change in schedule was needed. Bill McCormick and John Penney exorcise a
to interview Dan Martin with the prey
"We can make that work," responded broken tunneling machine.
component of the Long Term Ecological
Station Manager, Bob Farrell. "We'll be Research (LTER) (BP-028-O), and Dr progress, sometimes with the tunneler
happy to see you again." Charles Amsler and Dr Bill Baker. Both machine, sometimes by hand. They say they
An influx of visitors to a small station Amsler and Baker are part of a team of can do at least as much by hand as with the
requires careful planning and a well-coor- seven conducting research on the machine, but the machine is easier on the
dinated effort for it to go smoothly. After Chemical Ecology of Shallow-Water body. So when the machine breaks down,
years of such activity, Palmer has it down Marine Macroalgae and Invertebrates we do what we can to get it back online.
to a science. The entire station pulls (BO-022-O). We'll even go to extremes. Like hold an
together to make it happen. Each summer Even on such a short notice, the visit by exorcism for the poor thing. People brought
they host approximately 1,400 visitors the JCR was a huge success and marked amulets, drums and cowbells. There was
over a 10-week period; on average, 140 another milestone in the long standing dancing, chanting, preaching, bagpipes, vio-
visitors per week. Keep in mind that cooperative relationship the USAP enjoys lins and Korean exorcism music. Offerings
Palmer reaches maximum population at with the British Antarctic Survey. were made to appease the tunneler machine
only 46. Now imagine adding 140 new gods (don't ask). Our prayers and wishes for
faces. SOUTH POLE future tunneler machine good health went
The arrival of the JCR marked the up and we're hopeful for success.
beginning of the visitor season. Space ships, an exorcism The Operations department is pushing
"They'll be here in five hours," and Polar tourists the last of the snow mountains away from
announced Farrell over the intercom. the station and out past the cargo berms,
Immediately the call went out for vol- By Judy Spanberger which are on the very edge of our little vil-
unteers to act as tour guides, set up the gal- South Pole correspondent lage. It takes a while to move these long
ley, bake brownies, make coffee and work The weather this past week at Pole has piles of snow. A dozer pushes the snow into
been clear, sunny and warm. Temps in the
a pile and then starts at the end of the pile
minus 20s, which feels like a heat wave to
and pushes the snow over the top of the pile
us. Perhaps it's due to the measly 4 percent
in the direction that the snow will eventual-
humidity here, but if you stand in the sun
ly end up. It's like watching a very slow
and out of the wind, the effect of the radiant
caterpillar make it's way out to the edge of
heat is intense. Many people are walking
the berms.
around with slight sunburns on their faces.
We've had a couple visits from the
Thanks to the clear weather we've been
Twin Otter crew this week. The ATRS
getting up to five flights a day and the
(Advanced Technology for Radar
cargo people have been quite busy.
Sounding of Polar Ice-formerly known as
Material is coming in and construction
SOAR) project came through and spent
continues to make visible progress on the
the night. ATRS is the under-the-ice radar
Photo by Tom Cohenour/Special to The Antarctic Sun elevated station.
The British ship James Clark Ross The tunnel crew continues with their
approaches Palmer Station on Nov. 30. See Pole on page 6
the week in weather
McMurdo Station Palmer Station South Pole Station
High: 37F/2.5C Low:13F/-10C High: 42F/5.5C Low:25F/-4C High: -21F/-29C Low:-32F/-35.4C
Wind: 58 mph/93 kph Wind: 62 mph/100 kph Wind: 26mph/42kph
Windchill: -29F/-24C Precipitation: 1.67 inches/40mm Windchill: N/A
6 • The Antarctic Sun December 9, 2001
Pole Science
From page 5 From page 4
mapping project that looks for lakes and other "reliving" McMurdo-style diving until a make a great start at collecting for labo-
anomalies under the polar ice cap. Last year strong storm broke up the fast ice. Now ratory assays. The lab work is now well
they mapped Lake Vostok. I had a chance to on some days we have open water suit- underway and we are looking forward
talk with one of the scientists on that project able for boat diving in the diverse and to another great season in Antarctica!
while they were here and asked about the beautiful communities that surround the
rumor of a space ship being the cause of the Palmer-area islands. Other days the Dr. Chuck Amsler is Associate
heat that keeps Lake Vostok liquid. Not true, winds and/or currents bring pack and Professor of Biology at the University of
according to their data. There's a small mag- smaller brash ice into the harbor that is Alabama at Birmingham.
netic influence, but that could easily be caused too dense for zodiacs to pass through. Read more about the day to day div-
by many of the rocks found on the continent. So those are days for the lab or for div- ing and other research activities on an
They believe that there's a small somewhat ing through the packed ice bits right off interactive Web site designed and oper-
active volcano at one end of the lake that might the station boat dock. ated by the UAB media relations depart-
be providing the warmth. Oh well, there goes a Fortunately, even the marine com- ment for K-12 school and general com-
great story. The other Twin Otter took out the munities right beside the station are rich munity outreach. The URL is
AGO group for a two week camping trip. and diverse so we have been able to www.wow.uab.edu.
We had our first tourist plane of the season
this past Sunday morning. A DC3 operated by
Adventure Network flew over from Patriot
Needed: A dose of
Hills. Six tourists from Taiwan, two field
guides and three crew members spent three
hours at Pole. They gathered for pictures at the
original thinking
Pole and were given a small tour of the station.
That's right, it was a three-hour tour.
Henry Kaiser, a participant of the NSF-
sponsored Antarctic Artists and Writers
Program, was here for the weekend. Henry
travels all over the world and creates guitar Get your best work published in the
music to remind people of a particular place.
On Saturday night he played with our own
Prose, Poetry and Photography Contest
band, ThunderJug, in the summer camp lounge
Jamesway. We have a remarkably good band
here at Pole, but when Henry played with sponsored by The Antarctic Sun
them, the music rose to a level that you might
see in a cool seedy jazz bar in Chicago (if you
were lucky, and had gotten there on a good Photos:Categories for wildlife, scenic, people and other. One entry per category.
night). It was great, and by their grins it
Prose:A complete fiction or nonfiction story in 300 words or less.
seemed the band was having as much fun as
we were. It was hard not to stand there, maybe Poetry:Whatever inspires you.
swaying with the beat, grinning and reminding
yourself that you were standing in a large insu-
E-mail entries by Dec. 31 to [email protected], or bring them by
lated tent at the South Pole. It was delicious
The Sun office in building 155. Call x2407 for more information.
fun, and one of those things that makes being
down here a special experience.
“A CD of photos “How about a pic- “I’d put a piece of the
of Palmer Station ture of our LC- World Trade Center
What would you put in or a bag of 130s?” in there and I'd put a
Cheetos.” Rich Fabio, note in there saying
a time capsule at the Jennifer Tabor 109th Crew Chief at ‘This is the day the
Food Service McMurdo Station, from world changed.’”
South Pole? Supervisor Assistant Saratoga Springs, N.Y. David Ricks
at Palmer Station, Avionics Systems Specialist
from Sterling, Alaska at McMurdo Station from
Albany, N.Y.
December 9, 2001 The Antarctic Sun • 7
Photo by Melanie Conner/The Antarctic Sun
Eric Sandberg, science technician for the DASI project, climbs up
the ladder into the DASI telescope to check the instruments.
University of Chicago’s Degree
Angular Scale Interferometer (DASI)
at the South Pole records slight
temperature variations in the after-
glow of the Big Bang. The latest
results from DASI substantiate the
predictions of the leading theory
regarding the origins of the universe.
Photo by John Yamasaki/Special to The Antarctic Sun
DASI
From page 1
Scale Inferometer (DASI). Only nine in the leftover radiation of the Big Bang. Big Bang means working with the most
months ago, the team made headlines in The DASI telescope records data from state-of-the-art instruments in the most
newspapers and science magazines across temperature fluctuations of the Big Bang space-like atmosphere on Earth - the
the U.S. by revealing evidence of a afterglow or microwave emissions, which South Pole.
decades-old inflation theory that states hot were first discovered in 1965. In turn, this Astronomers at the Amundsen-Scott
gasses expanded to ignite the Big Bang. data allows scientists to study the details South Pole Station work in a sky lab
"I would not say inflation was con- of the universe. observatory located on the 9,300-foot
firmed, but it is certainly looking good," The data allowed the team to make one (2,835 m) Polar Plateau near the geodesic
wrote astrophysicist and project leader of its biggest discoveries to date - the mat- dome. The lab is in the Dark Sector - an
John Calstrom in an e-mail. "Most known ter that make up the universe. area free of artificial light or other electro-
alternate theories can be ruled out." "We found that ordinary matter - the magnetic radiation that could interfere
This was the second year in a row stuff that you and I and the stars are made with science activities. The Dark Sector is
astronomers at the South Pole made front out of only accounts for about 4.5 percent home to the Center for Astrophysical
page headlines for their discoveries. of the universe," wrote Calstrom. Research in Antarctica (CARA) founded
In April 2000, a team from the For the first time ever, scientists deter- by the University of Chicago.
California Institute of Technology stunned mined the universe is made up of about 4.5 The most active time for telescopic data
the world when it revealed the images percent regular matter, 30 percent dark or collection at the South Pole is during the
from a balloon-borne experiment that pro- unseen matter and about 65 percent "dark austral winter months and in the fall,
vided evidence of the inflation theory, as energy." This energy does not interact with before the sun makes an extended stay
well as evidence that the universe is flat. light and "appears to cause the expansion high above the horizon.
Flat, meaning that space is not curved or of the universe to accelerate," according to "The telescope does not have value in
warped. Calstrom. the summer because there is too much sun
"(It's) not flat like a pancake," Calstrom These discoveries are all a result of and ambient noise," said Sandberg, who
wrote. "Rather this means that light rays DASI - the highly-sensitive Cosmic spent the winter at South Pole station
travel in a straight line." Microwave Background radiation detector operating the telescope, "In the winter, we
Scientists from the University of telescope. can get a clear, stable shot at the sky."
Chicago later obtained more conclusive "The telescope is a time machine," said For now, scientists return home and
data from the DASI (pronounced daisy) Eric Sandberg, South Pole science techni- prepare for further studies on the Ice.
experiment at the South Pole. That provid- cian, "It is looking back into time and see- Thus, allowing them test the inflation the-
ed the best evidence yet for a flat universe ing leftover energy." ory and "learn more about its underlying
by measuring the temperature fluctuations Viewing the afterglow radiation of the physical cause."
8 • The Antarctic Sun December 9, 2001
The three types of altitude sickness
(cid:81) Acute Mountain Sickness (AMS). This is typi-
cally the most common and least severe, with those
afflicted suffering flu-like symptoms such as
headaches, dizziness and nausea. It usually occurs
within 12 to 24 hours of being at high altitude. Chris
Simmons, a field and safety instructor at McMurdo
Station, said rest with light exercise is better than
staying in bed because the body's oxygen intake
decreases during sleep. A person suffering from
mild effects can acclimatize, but those developing
more severe symptoms of AMS such as decreased
coordination and shortness of breath while at rest
generally need to descend at least temporarily.
(cid:81) High Altitude Pulmonary Edema (HAPE). A Pat Plaia,
left, Philip
buildup of fluid in the lungs prevents effective oxy-
Kyle, cen-
gen exchange, with symptoms including fatigue,
ter, and
shortness of breath even at rest, a feeling a suffoca- Henry
tion, a persistent cough, a gurgling sound in the Kaiser
lungs and a tight feeling in the chest. HAPE usual- inspect a
ly occurs 24 to 72 hours after a rapid gain in alti- Gamow
Bag during
tude. Immediate descent of at least a couple thou-
a training
sand feet and evacuation to a medical facility are
class at
generally considered necessary. U.S. Antarctic McMurdo
Program policy forbids anyone who has suffered Station.
HAPE from going above 3,000 meters (about 9,800 Photo by Mark Sabbatini/The Antarctic Sun
feet) without medical approval.
Altitude
(cid:81) High Altitude Cerebral Edema (HACE). From page 1
Caused by a swelling of brain tissue from fluid leak-
age, symptoms include headaches, altered vision, involved in the screening process. Once people reach the Ice, he said,
loss of coordination, weakness and decreasing lev- it's vital to ensure they follow guidelines requiring them to rest and
els of consciousness. It generally occurs after a acclimatize upon arriving at high elevations.
week or more at high altitude and can be fatal with- Three people were evacuated from East Camp near Lake Vostok last
in eight hours of its initial onset. Those suffering season due to altitude sickness or other problems complicated by being
from it must be evacuated and receive medical treat- 11,500 feet above sea level, Dunbar said.
ment. USAP policy states "individuals who have "In some cases there were people who went to work (prematurely),"
experienced a prior episode of HACE shall not be he said. "I think that as big an issue is when people have early altitude
allowed to ascend to altitudes in excess of 3,000 sickness symptoms they need to make the person in charge at the camp
meters." aware. I think everybody is in a bit of denial, especially when the per-
The only cure for altitude sickness is acclimation son next to you is performing well."
or descent, with the latter usually being the only Altitude sickness is common in Antarctica - about three-fourths of
option in more severe cases. A Gamow bag, bottled people at the South Pole experience symptoms during their first week at
oxygen or other temporary pressurization can pre- 9,300 feet - with potential effects ranging from fatigue to death. Safety
vent a person with severe sickness from getting instructors note that being at 10,000 feet on the Ice is harder than the
worse until evacuation or descent is possible, but same altitude elsewhere because the Earth's rotation flattens the atmos-
generally won't cure a person. phere at the poles, resulting in a loss of air pressure. The South Pole's
The drug acetazolamide is often used for preven- effective altitude is about 10,500 feet, for example, while East Camp's
tion and treatment of AMS symptoms. Support for is about 12,800 feet.
it is strong, but not universal. The drug can cause The continent's dry, cold climate can also play a role. Dehydration
side effects such as tingling in the fingers and blur- slows people's ability to acclimatize and common illnesses such as the
ring of vision, and some worry that the pill merely flu can be confused with altitude sickness. But often the greatest prob-
masks symptoms and a person may therefore be lem is people misjudging their abilities or ignoring symptoms.
unaware they are at an unsafe altitude. Most cases at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station aren't severe,
USAP policy requires field teams to spend at said Will Silva, lead physician at McMurdo Station and a former South
least 24 hours of restful acclimatization every 1,000 Pole doctor. He estimates 5 to 12 percent of the station's total popula-
to 1,500 feet if they are ascending above 8,200 feet tion might seek a doctor's treatment.
(2,500 meters). If deploying immediately to alti- Silva said the only case he saw at the South Pole of High Altitude
tudes above 12,300 feet (3,750 meters), a 72-hour Pulmonary Edema - one of the most severe forms of altitude sickness -
rest period between 8,200 and 10,000 feet is "was in a healthy young marathoner who hit the ground running."
required. Short deployments of less than eight hours Short stays at high altitude, such as working an eight-hour shift at a
do not require acclimatization and “in certain high mountain camp, generally are considered safe if those making the
instances, generic ascent plans may be developed trip drink lots of water and don't overexert themselves. More serious
for a particular location (e.g., Mount Erebus, polar concerns arise if one or more overnight stays are involved.
plateau).”
See Altitude on page 9
December 9, 2001 The Antarctic Sun • 9
Sun-soaked ice softens
Both icebreakers are on their way to slice ice channel to McMurdo Station
By Kristan Hutchison The Polar Sea embarked from Seattle on Dec. 3, though she
Sun staff was slowed by heavy seas outside the Straits of Juan de Fuca,
As both Coast Guard icebreakers head south to break a chan- Coast Guard Commander April Brown wrote in an e-mail. The
nel to McMurdo Station, the sun is doing its part. Sea will make a beeline for the Ross Sea, where she will catch up
The McMurdo Sound sea ice still extends north of Beaufort with her sister ship, the Polar Star.
Island, about 50 miles farther than normal, but those first 50 The Polar Staris already on its way and was expected to stop
miles have softened. in Hobart, Australia, on Dec. 7. The Star is still on schedule to
"It's just baking in the sun," said Ted Dettmar, lead instructor reach the sea ice edge Dec. 28.
for the Field Safety Training Program. "The ice, for the most "The fast ice is still holding tight. Looking at the satellite shots
part, is slush."
today, I don't think it's going to disintegrate that easily," Brown
The last week of November, Dettmar checked 10 of the 15
wrote. "Time will tell."
monitoring stations set up along the possible path of the ice-
The width of the channel will depend on the prevailing winds,
breakers. The ice averages about 1.5 meters thick and has
Brown wrote. A good southerly wind could help blow ice out of
warmed to just below thawing, Dettmar said. It is saturated with
the channel.
water to the point that holes he drilled in the sea ice filled with
The difficult ice may change the path of the channel as well.
water before he broke through the bottom of the ice.
"This year there will probably be a dogleg in the channel
"I think the breakers won't even have to slow down for the
because of severe ice conditions, which may muck up the works
first 50 miles," Dettmar said. "They'll hit the ice and it should just
a bit because it introduces a bend," Brown wrote. "This may be
disintegrate."
avoidable, but we won't know until a little later."
Though the ice formed this winter is melting, last year's ice is
still insulated under a layer of snow, Dettmar said. The question Sunny days have also warmed the sea ice runway, which was
remains whether it will break away easily, or become spongy and moved Saturday. When it was checked Nov. 30 the ice averaged
simply bounce back when the Coast Guard icebreakers hit it in a 11 feet 10 inches and 20.9 F. The ice runway was actually 11
month. inches thinner when the first measurements were taken in
Both Coast Guard icebreakers are heading toward McMurdo September, but colder at -4.8 F.
Station this year because the sea ice is much farther out than Recreational trips on the sea ice ended this week, but the
usual. The iceberg B15 blocked the currents that generally help Armitage Trail on the sea ice to Scott Base remains open for a lit-
carry out the sea ice. tle longer.
Altitude
From page 8
U.S. Antarctic Program policies ago, said his worst case of altitude sick- acclimatization is never more than tempo-
require people deploying to high-altitude ness occurred years earlier on the 14,410- rary. Chris Simmons, a field and safety
sites to make interim stops and/or take rest foot summit of Mount Rainier. He said instructor at McMurdo, said the rate of
days upon arriving. At East Camp last such altitudes can still give him problems. declimatization is the same as acclimatiza-
year, for example, no work was supposed "I tend to get good cases of altitude tion.
to be performed during a person's first two sickness at 10,000 feet unless I take it "If it takes you a week to get used to the
days, with light duty the following two slowly and acclimatize the way I'm sup- South Pole, then by the time you get to
days and monitoring of the person's posed to," said Schutt, who is working as McMurdo it will take about a week to lose
response to an increased workload after- a field safety officer for a research project all the acclimatization you gained," he
ward. near McMurdo Station. said.
Experience and physique play a role in Placing a pressurized facility at East
a person's risk of getting altitude sickness, Camp before researchers begin drilling the
experts said, but being strong in both frozen lake - a project sure to boost the
won't necessarily help someone who fails camp's population - is one of the goals of
to take precautions. Philip Kyle, a New field officials, Dunbar said. He noted the
Mexico Tech researcher who has spent 29 camp has significant resources already,
seasons doing research at 11,000 feet and including a paramedic, an EKG machine,
above on Mount Erebus, said sometimes oxygen, medicine and a Gamow Bag.
the strongest people are the ones who get "That's pretty much the level of service 2
sick first. they get at the Pole," he said. e
g
"They tend to run around and bust a Many of the same items are also avail- a
p
gut," he said. able on Erebus, where about one person a n
Similarly, past experience isn't always year has to be brought down, said Bill o
an indicator of how a person will react in McIntosh, who has spent 14 seasons doing d
r
the future. research on the mountain. He said most wo
John Schutt, a former mountaineering are suffering from a complicating factor s
s
guide who scaled the 27,800-foot such as asthma or bronchitis. o
r
Himalayan peak of Makalu about 10 years Even for the most experienced person, C
10 • The Antarctic Sun December 9, 2001
Profile Cooking up a degree
By Kristan Hutchison
Chef studies geography by the book and in person
Sun staff
C
ooking and books come together in
Osvaldo Torres' life. Not the cook-
Osvaldo
books found on other chefs' shelves, Torres
but college textbooks. works on
Torres worked his way through college a paper
in kitchens. The only difference now is required
for his
that the kitchen is in Antarctica and his
masters
graduate school classes are online.
degree in
From 5 a.m. to 3 p.m. Torres' job geography
description sounds like an ad for Gingsu from New
knives - chopping, slicing, dicing, frying, Mexico
sautéing and flambéing. And there's more. State
University.
More soups to make. More fish to grill.
He writes
After all the more is done, Torres strips off
all his
his white coat, showers away the layered notes in
smells of breakfast, lunch and dinner, and Spanish,
finds a spot in a lounge to study for his then trans-
masters in geography. lates to
English.
"Not the galley, because I work there,"
Torres said. "So you will never see me Photo by Melanie Conner/The Antarctic Sun
there with a book."
Las Piedras, or The Stones, on the south- right next to an elementary school."
Torres is taking classes in urban and
east side of the island. Torres' grandmoth- Torres wants to bring in development
regional geography through New Mexico
er raised him because his parents were in standards so Mexican buildings are
State University in Las Cruces. He also
the military. She died while he was at planned with more attention to their
has a paper due on Antarctic geography
Iowa State University earning a Bachelor neighbors. Building practices also need to
and another professor asked him to report
of Science in soils. Torres said he has no change in Mexico, such as the common
on how people interact with the Antarctic interest in moving back to the Spanish- use of asbestos, he said.
environment. speaking commonwealth. "You can buy it at the lumber store,"
When Torres told his advisor and pro- "I don't think that I can live there any- Torres said. "They use it because, for one
fessors he was considering a job in more," he said. thing, it's cheap for them."
Antarctica they encouraged him to take it, At Iowa State, Torres got a job working While in graduate school Torres went
but not to stop his studies. for the college food service to pay for his back to work in the kitchen to pay his way,
"As a group of geographers, we love to classes. He started as a dishwasher. cooking at a steak house and a deli. Still,
see our students travel and learn anywhere "Since I didn't speak English, nobody his student loans mounted up.
around the globe," wrote his graduate else would hire me," Torres said. In July he met a neighbor, Salvador
advisor, Bob Czerniak, in an e-mail. "We By the time he graduated, Torres had Rascon, who was coming to McMurdo
have never had a student in Antarctica and worked his way up to cook, working 20 Station to work as executive sous-chef.
we saw this as a special opportunity for hours a week while studying. The idea of working in Antarctica and sav-
Osvaldo and NMSU." Degree in hand, Torres went to work for ing up money in the process drew Torres'
Czerniak has posted pictures Torres Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a seed com- interest, so he applied as well.
sent from Antarctica in the NMSU geog- pany, as a research assistant. He worked in "I got to know him pretty good,"
raphy department and sent copies to the Mexico and Honduras, eventually moving Rascon said. "He's a good worker, fast
dean of the college. into a sales position. Then Dupont bought learner, follows direction real good and
When Torres returns he will give a pre- Pioneer and Torres lost his job in the everything."
sentation to the department and probably takeover. He decided to go back to school Though Torres' has cooked in larger
be interviewed by the student newspaper for a masters. Tired of agriculture, he kitchens - at Iowa State the kitchen served
or university communications department, switched to geography after enrolling at 4,000 students - Antarctica presents more
Czerniak wrote. New Mexico State University. challenges. If a needed ingredient runs
Torres' girlfriend in Chihuahua, "Osvaldo has always been a very good out, he can't just go to the store.
Mexico, was not so pleased with his deci- student with tremendous enthusiasm for "Sometimes we have to do miracles,
sion to go to Antarctica. learning," wrote his advisor, Czerniak. really," Torres said. "because we run out
"She was O.K. when I said I was going "He is a risk taker, a personable young of so much stuff every day."
just for the summer, but when I sent an e- man and willing to help other students." Torres will see a few more miracles
mail that I was staying the winter she After he graduates, Torres plans to look before he returns to New Mexico
didn't like that," Torres said. for a job doing urban development in University, since he signed on for the win-
Antarctica is about as far as Torres can Mexico. ter.
get from the tropical heat of Puerto Rico, "In Mexico, so long as you have money "This is for me the easiest way to pay
where he was born 29 years ago and grew you can build anything you want anywhere off my student loans," said Torres, who
up. His home was in a small town called you want," Torres said. "For example, a bar will now graduate in 2002.