The Antarctic Sun, November 27, 2005 - United States Antarctic

12 Pages·2005·1.36 MB·English

November 27, 2005
Sea ice showing signs of aging
By Steven Profaizer
Sun staff
It’s been almost eight years since the sea
ice cleared out of McMurdo Sound, and it is
now scarred with signs of growing old.
The ice makes no attempt to hide its
agony from being pushed by glaciers and
compacted under its own growing weight.
Pressure ridges, cracks and refrozen melt
pockets appear in great numbers across the
sea ice surface. These growing hazards pres-
ent new challenges for operations around
McMurdo Station.
“The ice is very active,” said Larry Cook,
station operations manager. “Even in places
it hasn’t been before, we now see daily
movement.”
The conditions this year are a culmination
of events that were put into motion by the
arrival of iceberg B-15A in January 2001,
said Doug MacAyeal, a glaciologist at the
Photo by Erik Johnson / Special to The Antarctic Sun University of Chicago. That iceberg has
A pressure ridge adjacent to the Erebus Glacier Ice Tongue is a result of the glacier’s west- now moved away from McMurdo Sound,
ward movement into the surrounding multi-year sea ice. The pressure ridge forced the reloca- but another large iceberg in the region may
tion of the sea ice road to Cape Evans. See SEA on page 10
PENGUIn focuses on
Inspired by Science
solar storm prediction
Antarctic workers return to
By Peter Rejcek The Polar Experiment
school to become grantees Sun staff Network for Geospace Upper-
Geophysicists are look- atmosphere Investigations, or
By Emily Stone ing south to Antarctica to see PENGUIn, is the latest effort
Sun staff what’s happening up above the to draw the big picture of cause
After five trips to McMurdo Station working in various Earth. and effect between the upper
science support jobs, Elizabeth Traver said the realization They hope a growing array atmosphere and Earth. Toward
to switch careers came to her “like a kick in the head.” of instruments on the continent this goal, PENGUIn’s multi-
The people she enjoyed working with the most were the will help better predict solar university team is establishing
station’s scientists. She loved sitting down for a meal with storms or lead to a better under- a ground-based array of instru-
geologists or marine biologists and hearing them talk excit- standing of what happens to ments in Antarctica to match
edly about their research. If this was her favorite part of the upper atmosphere when it’s the real-time data collection
being in Antarctica, she suddenly realized, then she should pelted by stellar particles. See SOLAR on page 8
go back to school to get her own science degree.
Which is what Traver is doing right now. At 44, with
Quote of the Week Inside
an undergraduate degree in American studies and environ-
mental studies, and a master’s in American studies, Traver
“We’ve got croutons com- An Antarctic Hero
is working toward her master’s in botany at the University
of Wyoming and plans to go on to get her PhD. Her goal ing out of our ears.” Page 4
is to come back to Antarctica as a scientist, studying plants — Kitchen worker commenting on the Murder most foul
See PASSION on page 7 abundance of food being prepared for Page 12
Thanksgiving.
AntarcticSun.usap.gov
2 • The Antarctic Sun November 27, 2005
That holiday peeling
Cold, hard facts
Greenhouse-grown
Monthly yield for greenhouses in
October:
South Pole
Lettuce: 68 kilograms
Cucumbers: 15 kilograms
Tomatoes: 9 kilograms
Herbs: 2 kilograms
McMurdo
Lettuce: 31 kilograms
Cucumbers: 23 kilograms
Bell peppers: 6 kilograms
Herbs: 1 kilogram
Photo by Peter Rejcek / The Antarctic Sun Jalapenos: 200 grams
Volunteers Karen McCleary, left, and Erica Almlie peel potatoes Thursday morning in the
dining hall kitchen. The two shuttle drivers volunteered on their day off to help prepare for McMurdo crops: Lettuce, cucumbers,
Saturday’s Thanksgiving feast. About 70 people volunteered this week to help prepare the bell peppers, tomatoes (just started
holiday meal for McMurdo Station. and not yet producing), jalapenos,
To feed the station population, the dining hall staff prepared, among other things, 500 kilo- herbs (basil, mint, rosemary, tarra-
grams of turkey, 140 kilograms of tenderloin, 230 kilograms of mashed potatoes and 180 gon, cilantro, parsley, thyme).
kilograms of shrimp cocktail. For dessert, they provided 60 pumpkin pies (with 24 liters of
real whipped cream), 40 pecan pies, 40 apple pies, 1,000 pieces of pumpkin cheesecake and Source: Greenhouse staff
another thousand pieces of chocolate cake.
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 and distribution are
encouraged with acknowledgment of source
and author.
Senior Editor: Emily Stone
Editors: Steven Profaizer, Peter Rejcek
Copy Editors: Robert Ford, Ed Hyatt,
Bill Jirsa, Rob Jones, Traci Macnamara,
Melanie Miller, Erin Popelka, Laura Wright
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
November 27, 2005 The Antarctic Sun • 3
Listening in on the Earth
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The study has a long history at the Pole. Photo courtesy of Kent Anderson / Special to The Antarctic Sun
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longest running, continuously monitored there can detect earthquakes on the other Island event on Dec. 26, 2004, the ringing
project at the station, said Kent Anderson, side of the world with an intensity as small was measurable for several months after
the Incorporated Research Institutions for as 4.0, which is described as noticeable the earthquake ended. In places besides the
Seismology (IRIS) operations manager for shaking of indoor items and rattling noises axes, the ringing is distorted, like taking a
the GSN. directly over the source. The South Pole bell and spinning it while it rings.”
“Any phenomena that directs significant monitoring station is typically so far away This ringing is known as free oscillation.
energy into the ground, like earthquakes, from these small earthquakes that they only To get a pure sound of it, scientists must
explosions, or even storms, we can typical- generate displacements of a few nanome- measure it from one of the two places on
ly pick up,” Anderson said. Several stations ters (about one billionth of a meter). the planet that are not moving — the north
in the network even registered the collapse However, because the monitoring sta- and south poles. With no land mass at the
of the Twin Towers on Sept. 11, 2001. tions typically need to be located close to North Pole, scientists would have to use an
The network is installed and one of the U.S. Antarctic Program’s ocean bottom seismometer, which creates
operated by IRIS in partnership stations for logistical reasons, even many more logistical challenges than the
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with the U.S. Geological Survey. small seismic disturbances created operation of a land-based facility.
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cal research through funding from team is trying to detect. over the course of many years. They have
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4 • The Antarctic Sun November 27, 2005
Perspectives sevitcepsreP
Paying the Hero a visit
By Cara Sucher Bill apologized for the
Special to the Sun mess, explaining he was fin-
Driving down the coast of Oregon this summer, I decided to ishing some repairs. He asked
make a stop in Newport. I had heard a piece of Antarctic history if I wanted a tour, even though
was moored there, and after five seasons at Palmer Station I was the power was out and he was
more than a little curious. removing some nasty interior
In my mind, the wooden-hulled 38-meter Hero was almost insulation in the ceiling above
mythical. Named after the ship captained by 1820s sealer the dining room.
Nathaniel B. Palmer, the Hero served as the primary U.S. We went inside the main
Antarctic Research Program vessel from 1968-1985. The Hero deck, visiting the captain’s
is legendary for its tight quarters and rough crossings. Some of quarters first. Unbelievably,
Photo by Cara Sucher / Special to The Antarctic Sun
our current Palmer researchers experienced their first taste of the it was almost exactly as Capt. The former research ship, the Hero.
Antarctic on the Hero. Ask the right questions and stories about Lenie might have left it. The
the ship and the colorful Dutch Capt. Pieter Lenie abound. bed was made, his issue bag held cold weather gear, and original
As I drove through the narrow streets toward the waterfront, I files filled the shelves and drawers. An old typewriter sat against
wondered if I would be able to find the ship. I figured I could ask one wall, and a clipboard with a list of requisitions hung on the
around and eventually come across her, probably in the back of other. Antarctic stickers covered the doorway.
some derelict boatyard. I needn’t have worried. Sitting regally at As we climbed down the steep stairway and walked through
the first dock in Newport Harbor was the Hero, a big sign draped the lower deck, I was amazed at how many other original items
across her side proclaiming in large capital letters, “HISTORIC remained from the vessel’s research days. The labs still had
RESEARCH VESSEL.” It would have been impossible to miss microscopes, test tubes and chemicals for developing pictures; the
the green-hulled ship if you tried. galley was filled with pots, pans and other utensils; the fo’c’sle,
Because she was so prominently located and proudly deco- or forward part of the upper deck, had shelves full of spare motor
rated, I decided to head down the dock for a closer look. Although parts; and the communications room had lists of radio call signs
she wasn’t in tip-top shape, she still looked mostly as she did in for contacts in the Antarctic and the United States.
her research days. The bridge, the pilot house above it, and the rig- Bill recounted the Hero’s post-Antarctic history. The National
ging were all the same. The wooden workboat, Heroine, and two Science Foundation put her up for auction in 1985. Some folks
small dories were missing, but the red sails were still there. from Reedsport, Ore., were interested in starting a floating restau-
A friendly, grey-haired man working on deck saw me and rant, but realized she was better suited to be an Antarctic museum.
waved. We started chatting, and he invited me onboard. He was The Port of Umpqua in Reedsport purchased the ship and raised
Bill Wechter, a retired U.S. Coast Guard navigator and commer- money for an elaborate Antarctic center with the Hero as a major
cial fisherman — and the Hero’s current owner. He has owned attraction. Eventually visitors could tour the ship, but the center
many vessels, but none, he says, as interesting or with such a rich itself never came to fruition.
history as the Hero. About 10 years later, the foundation that owned the Hero ran
into money problems and the ship was put up for auction again.
The high bid, around $40,000, didn’t pan out. After a bit of legal
wrangling, the Hero went to the next highest bidder, Bruce Norris,
for $5,000, and she sailed to Raineer, Ore. In 1998, family health
problems led to the sale of the Hero once again, this time to Bill.
Bill sailed the ship to Portland and put her into dry dock for
repainting and recaulking. In April 2000, he sailed the Hero
to her current location. He hopes to sail her to Victoria, British
Columbia, this summer for more extensive dry dock work.
Although the Hero’s future is unknown, it is clear Bill wants
to preserve the ship in a way that will honor her place in Antarctic
history. Whether it be as a museum, a bed and breakfast, or as a
tour ship, I don’t know. But I do know that I am optimistic. The
Hero represents a different era, one where Antarctica was still a
faraway place, where you couldn’t pick up a phone and call home
or log onto a computer and read any newspaper in the world. And
that’s an important perspective to remember.
Photo by Cara Sucher / Special to The Antarctic Sun Cara Sucher is the supervisor of laboratory operations at Palmer
The historic Hero, now a private ship, sits in dock in Newport, Ore. Station.
November 27, 2005 The Antarctic Sun • 5
a r o u n d t h e c o n t i n e n t
SOUTH POLE
Thanksgiving at Pole
By Mike Mulvihill
South Pole correspondent
Just as the pilgrims celebrated a bounti-
ful harvest on that first Thanksgiving in
1621, Polies are getting ready for their own
Turkey Day feast this weekend.
The similarities between the two events
are quite remarkable. Pilgrims had to
cross treacherous seas and endure numer-
ous hardships on their way to the New
World. Polies have to travel many thou-
sands of kilometers on several airplanes
over many days to get to a place that is
unlike anything that they could have imag-
ined. Getting off the LC-130 for the first
time, one can almost imagine what the
pilgrims felt when they dropped anchor in
Plymouth harbor all those years ago.
Coming to a far-off world and trying
to create something different and new
is exactly what is happening here at the Photo by Cara Sucher / Special to The Antarctic Sun
South Pole, and the 239 people working A pod of orca whales make a rare visit to the waters near Palmer Station. It’s much more
common to spot humpback and minke whales in the area.
to establish a thriving community is some-
thing worth celebrating.
Traditionally, in the United States, folks kilograms of fried turkey, 55 kilograms of
get a four-day weekend for Thanksgiving, potatoes, 23 kilograms of shrimp, plus two PALMER
which begins on the fourth Thursday in kinds of stuffing, candied yams, roasted
November. At the South Pole, there is veggies, green bean casserole, peas, salad
always much work to do, so the celebration and cranberry-orange relish.
takes place on Saturday with the traditional People are working hard outside the Orcas, ship visit
turkey and mashed potatoes dinner split up kitchen as well. As you walk around sta- By Kerry Kells
between three seatings to accommodate the tion, you see a hive of activity, hear planes Palmer Correspondent
large summertime population. on the flight deck, and watch loaders The winds came in briefly and pushed
The festivities start at 4 p.m. for the first moving the cargo. Ironworkers are weld- the pack ice away. The seas calmed, and
seating, with the last meal at 8 p.m. It’s a ing in the old garage, and the mechanics the researchers were able to set up their
busy day in the kitchen, so there are many keep the equipment tuned-up and running. Zodiac boats and sample at sites in the
welcome volunteers who have signed up to Painters, carpenters and others continue area. Recreational boating opportunities
help with everything from peeling potatoes to work away on the elevated station. It’s were available for a few days as well, with
to making pies to doing dishes. an around-the-clock operation to keep the calm seas and sunshine.
The holidays are about being with fam- South Pole humming. The seabird researchers, known on sta-
ily and friends. Here at the Pole, the people The weather is getting nicer, with the tion as “the birders,” reached the islands of
you work with and see everyday are your daily temperatures averaging in the mid- Torgersen, Humble, Litchfield, Cormorant
family and many become lifelong friends. to upper-negative 30s Celsius. After a few and Christine. They will begin taking a
The traditional dinner will include: 16 weeks of temperatures that were below census of the birds and recording reproduc-
turkeys served smoked and roasted, 27 negative 40, this is a welcome treat. See CONTINENT on page 6
the week in weather
McMurdo Station Palmer Station South Pole Station
High: 28F / -2C High: 47F / 8C High: -19F / -28C
Low: 6F / -14C Low: 25F / -4C Low: -37F / -39C
Max. sustained wind: 24mph / 39kph Max. sustained wind: 42mph / 68kph Peak wind: 32mph / 51kph
Windchill: -29F / -34C Precipitation: 0mm Max. Physio-altitude: 3,246m
6 • The Antarctic Sun November 27, 2005
Continent ing that he and his wife, Bija Sass, did after thick and very flat, ideal for helo opera-
From page 5 working at McMurdo for a full year. They tions. Second, the underside of the ice
traveled to New Zealand, Australia, Bali, was teaming with phytoplankton, so the
tion as egg-laying has begun. Thailand, Ecuador and Peru. ice coring team was able to core until they
Palmer Station hosted the Clipper could core no more. Finally, the area was
Adventurer, a cruise ship carrying 101 pas- full of with curious penguins. At one point,
sengers, which made an unscheduled visit. SHIPS a group of 15 emperor penguins lined up
The visit was arranged to help some of next to the gangway, seemingly waiting
our community members get home. Seven to board.
people were waiting to leave when the LMG Helo operations were delayed, so the
ice conditions prevented the Laurence M. Compiled from reports by Herb Baker Palmer stayed put, waiting for evening
Gould from reaching station on its last trip. Marine Projects coordinator helo operations. It was another beautiful
A nearly full ship meant that the Clipper After the Laurence M. Gould’s failed day. The helo arrived on schedule at 7:30
Adventurer could only take four of the attempt to reach Palmer Station on Nov. 14, p.m. The ship got underway an hour later.
seven people north to Ushuaia, Argentina. it headed to King George Island to possibly The next day the Palmer headed east in
They will then fly to Punta Arenas, Chile. transfer passengers and some cargo using the polynya, mapping surface concentra-
During the ship’s arrival, a pod of orca Twin Otters from the British program. If tions of chlorophyll along the way. There
whales cruised into Arthur Harbor, appear- conditions were favorable, the airplanes were distinct patches of increased chlo-
ing interested in the Zodiacs and the people would transfer passengers from Palmer rophyll along the route, which was a big
taking photos on shore. Unlike the hump- Station to the Chilean Frei Station on King change from a survey the week before.
backs and minkes, orca whales are not so George Island, and passengers and critical After a day, the crew picked a spot that met
common a sight at Palmer Station. cargo from the island back to Palmer. its needs and headed west.
A limited number of cruise ships visit The Gould arrived at King George Island Nov. 18 was packed with conductivity,
Palmer every year from mid-December on Nov. 16. It received approvals from the temperature and depth (CTD) casts, and
to mid-February. Palmer works closely British and United States science program light measurements. A lot of water was
with the expedition leaders of each ves- officials for the transfer of passengers and collected early in the morning for various
sel to offer passengers tours of station, cargo. Unfortunately, the weather condi- incubations in the helo deck incubators. Af-
and an opportunity to learn about the U.S. tions — low clouds and light fog — pre- ter the water collection, the crew conducted
Antarctic Program firsthand. This year, we vented the transfer. The ship steamed away various light measurements and more CTD
have 18 cruise ships scheduled (including the same day for Punta Arenas, Chile. casts throughout the day.
three off-shore lectures where the passen- Winds of 28 kph through the Drake The next day was also busy, with of lots
gers don’t come ashore) and some sched- Passage slowed the ship to an average of CTDs for incubations, light measure-
uled yacht visits. Private and charter yachts speed of 14 kph for the next couple days. ments, and various other water column
arrive at station from time to time during The Gould was expected to arrive in port at measurements. The evening was beautiful
the summer season as well, and tours of the Punta Arenas by the morning of Nov. 21. with sunshine and completely calm water.
station are often given to the passengers On Nov. 20, the crew deployed a floating
and owners. We expect another cruise ship NBP array of instruments in the morning under
visit this week to take the remaining three Compiled from reports by Alice Doyle minimal ice conditions. Unfortunately,
departing Palmer workers north. Marine Projects coordinator these conditions did not hold; temperatures
Paul Smotherman, our waste technician, On Nov. 15, the Nathaniel B. Palmer dropped, and ice started forming through-
presented a slide show on Nov. 16 titled made its way south toward its helicopter out the day. The array once again got stuck
“Climbing Around the World.” Some of rendezvous site. It reached fast ice in the in the ice. But the ice this time was much
you may know Paul from McMurdo, but morning and found an area where a helo thinner, which made the instruments easier
this year, he has joined the Palmer team for from McMurdo Station could land. to retrieve. The array drifted northward at
the summer. His slide show featured the 10 The site proved great for various rea- less than two kilometers an hour through-
months of mountaineering and rock climb- sons. First, it was more than one meter out the day.
What do you miss least from home?
“People talk- “Wal-Mart.” “Cell phones.”
ing on their cell
phones while
driving.”
Silver Williams, Kerry Kells, Julie Calkins,
WAIS Divide sous chef Palmer senior graduate student at
from Salmon, Idaho, administrative coordina- McMurdo from
fourth season tor from St. Paul, Minn., San Louis Obispo, Calif.,
eighth season third season
November 27, 2005 The Antarctic Sun • 7
Passion for science
turns into new career
From page 1
on the Antarctic Peninsula.
“The science community at McMurdo is amazing,” Traver
said by phone from her lab in Laramie. “There are so many dif-
ferent people — all of them are very excited about what they’re
doing. … And I want to be like them.”
There are stories like Traver’s sprinkled throughout the U.S.
Antarctic Program: people who came here as support staff and
left wanting to become scientists. No one tracks these numbers,
but most people who have worked in Antarctica a year or two
can name someone they know who fits this mold.
Like Susan Kaspari. An environmental studies major whose
primary focus after college was skiing as much as possible,
Kaspari first came to Antarctica more or less on a whim. She got
a job in 1998 and 1999 in the McMurdo fuels department.
“When I first got to Antarctica, I was absolutely thrilled to
just be there,” she said via e-mail from an ailing computer in
China, where she’s doing field work for a PhD in glaciology.
But she soon grew tired of being stuck on station and noticed
that the scientists seemed to be doing exciting work all over the
area. Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Traver / Special to The Antarctic Sun
Inspiration came when she got a three-week gig refueling Elizabeth Traver works on equipment on the C-16 iceberg. A for-
mer support services employee, she’s now working toward a science
helicopters at Marble Point on the edge of the McMurdo Dry
degree after being inspired by researchers here.
Valleys that first season.
“After work I would spend hours walking around Marble
Point, climbing the hills and looking at the Piedmont Glacier,”
said Kaspari, now 31. “I was so intrigued by the glaciers and the
ice sheets. But I didn’t understand much about glaciology and
wanted to learn more.”
She read through the summary of the year’s science projects.
Then she started e-mailing scientists whose projects she found
most interesting and met with numerous researchers on station
during the two years. She continued to find herself drawn to gla-
ciology, especially as it related to climate change.
“I left the Ice in 2000 determined to return, but not until I
could come back as a scientist,” she said. The next summer, she
was invited to work as a field assistant in the Dry Valleys with
a Long Term Ecological Research group that was studying gla-
ciers. She brought along her graduate school applications and
filled them out in the field.
She was accepted to the University of Maine, and spent
the next two field seasons working with the International
Transantarctic Science Expedition, traversing the continent while
taking ice cores. She’s now working toward her PhD, focusing
on Asian climate variability.
“After five seasons in Antarctica, I decided to move on to
other regions,” she said, having just finished collecting ice cores
from the Chinese-Tibetan border. “But I miss the Ice and hope to
work there again someday.”
Kelly Brunt managed to go from support staff to scientist
without leaving the same McMurdo building.
She has an undergraduate degree in geology and a master’s
degree in geophysics, and spent four years with Raytheon Polar
Services Co., working as the Geographic Information Systems
(GIS) mapper at McMurdo and in Denver. She spent much of
her first season here mapping the movement of the giant icebergs
that calved off the Ross Ice Shelf in 2000.
Glaciologist Doug MacAyeal is studying those icebergs. After
a year or two of working with Brunt, he asked if she would like
Photo by Levi Littrell / Special to The Antarctic Sun
to join him back at the University of Chicago as a PhD student.
Kelly Brunt, right, and Jonathan Thom deploy an automatic weather
Brunt said it felt too early to switch jobs, but asked him to station tripod at the Drygalski Ice Tongue in late October. Brunt went
See SCIENTISTS on page 8 from mapping icebergs to working on them as a scientist.
8 • The Antarctic Sun November 27, 2005
Scientists also switch to other careers
From page 7 upcoming science and then travels to Palmer and puts the plan
keep her in mind in the future. He did, and when he asked again into place.
a couple years later, she accepted. She’s now in her second She’s thought about doing research again, but she said she
year with the program. She spends two months each summer in likes what her current job offers.
a lab downstairs from her old office in the Crary Science and “What I really like about this job is I kind of get an overview
Engineering Center, preparing for of all different kinds of science,”
trips out to the icebergs. she said. “I don’t have to spend
She likes the constant puzzles my time focusing on one very nar-
that scientific work offers — a row area.”
challenge that she got occasionally There are likely people at each
in her old job but now gets more of the U.S. stations contemplating
consistently. making their own move across the
Switching from support staff to divide between science and sup-
scientist was a fairly seamless tran- port staff. Gifford Wong has been
sition, she said. eyeing the other side of the line
“It was different, but it wasn’t for several years.
like I was going to be a penguin He started at McMurdo five
researcher,” she said. years ago as a general assistant
Not everyone making a career and came back the next year as
move within the Antarctic program a carpenter helper. Now he’s
goes from support staff to scientist. returned as a helicopter technician.
Susan Kaspari left the Ice The path goes the other way, too. The next time he’s here, he hopes Cara Sucher started her
in 2000 determined not to career in Antarctica as a
Cara Sucher, supervisor of labo- it’s as a scientist.
return until she could work scientist but now works as
ratory operations at Palmer Station, He made a summer road trip
in science. a lab supervisor at Palmer
started as a scientist. She went to a few years ago, driving to eight Station.
graduate school in oceanography and spent eight weeks in 1995 different schools to talk with sci-
collecting ice cores in East Antarctica, then helped on a couple entists whom he’d met here. A job offer with AmeriCorps won
research cruises. out over going to graduate school at that point. But he’s ready
After that, she spent time in two jobs in Washington, D.C., doing this time. He took the graduate school entrance exam two days
policy work and grant reviews. It didn’t suit her. Antarctica did. So before leaving for Antarctica and plans to talk to as many scien-
she decided to return and got the job with Raytheon Polar in 2000. tists as possible while here to hone his plan. He knows he wants
“I wasn’t really satisfied with what I was doing. A lot of what to study climate change with a focus on public policy, but he
I did was planning for so far in the future and I never actually hasn’t settled on what scientific avenue to take.
got to see it come to fruition,” she said. “Here it’s very satis- “I’m on the diving board,” he said of his plan to go back to
fying.” She spends the off-season in Denver planning for the school. “I would like to make that jump.”
Solar storms may affect radio comms, ozone hole
From page 1 “There’s a real need to understand or kilometers above the Earth.
going on across the equator. predict when these storms occur and when In addition to light, the sun emits an
“The northern hemisphere is very well they might be detrimental,” Weatherwax electrically charged gas known as solar
instrumented,” noted Allan Weatherwax, said. “We’re looking at disruption in com- wind, which carries part of the solar mag-
the project’s principal investigator and munications, chemistry of upper atmo- netic field along with it as it streams away
associate professor of physics at Siena sphere, radio communications: We’re try- from the sun. The solar wind is composed
College in Loudonville, New York. “The ing to understand what the Earth’s response almost entirely of electrons and protons.
Antarctic isn’t as well covered.” is to these phenomena. We’re trying to The magnetic cavity carved out of the
Understanding the sun’s influence on understand the sun-Earth connection.” solar wind by virtue of the magnetic field
Earth’s global space environment requires Solar storms can also cause changes in surrounding Earth is called the magneto-
detailed knowledge of the polar upper atmo- the very chemistry of the upper atmosphere. sphere.
sphere, according to Weatherwax. “This Scientists are just now asking questions The ionosphere forms the inner edge
extremely complex natural system involves about how that might affect something like of the magnetosphere, and is important, in
many different interacting elements, and the ozone hole. For instance, does it become part, because it influences high-frequency
Earth is the only planetary system that we more pronounced during a solar downpour radio waves to distant parts of the plan-
can expect to study in detail,” he said. or after a series of solar storms? et. The other magnetized planets, Jupiter,
“What we’re trying to do now is ... “This is a question we’re going after,” Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, also have a
predict when solar storms might occur,” Weatherwax said. magnetosphere.
he added. “If we can understand our own space
Observing space weather
Such storms, also called coronal mass environment, we will better under-
ejections, can affect everything from GPS Weatherwax and his colleagues are par- stand other planetary systems as well,”
signals to radio communications. Aurora ticularly interested in the planet’s upper Weatherwax noted.
can also induce currents in the ground, atmosphere, consisting of the magneto- Currently, there are three ground-based
disrupting power grids and causing the pre- sphere and the ionosphere. That’s where automatic geophysical observatories
mature corrosion of pipelines. so-called outer space begins, about 90 See NEW on page 9
November 27, 2005 The Antarctic Sun • 9
New observatories cater to PENGUIn project
From page 8
(AGOs) in Antarctica collecting data for
PENGUIn. The observatories exist along
an axis with and including the South Pole
Station, running in a rough line between
the Weddell Sea and Dome C for several
hundred kilometers.
The AGOs track auroras in the sky and
observe the impact of solar flares on the
upper atmosphere. The observatories con-
sist of a suite of nearly identical instruments,
including optical and radio wave aurora
imagers, magnetometers and narrow- and
wide-band radio receivers. They have been
in place for previous projects. But most
of the infrastructure, including the Iridium
modems, is new and redesigned, according
to Weatherwax. Additionally, as part of the
PENGUIn project, new low-power instru-
ments such as magnetometers and VLF
receivers are also in development.
The Iridium modems are particularly
important, he said, because they allow
researchers to get the data in real-time.
That’s key for studying upper atmospheric
space weather because real-time models
Photo by Jeff Chang / Special to The Antarctic Sun
require real-time data. Automatic geophysical observatories, like this one on the polar plateau, measure solar events
Eventually, the AGOs will create a chain in the upper atmosphere.
from low to high latitudes so that scientists
can observe auroral phenomena over a wide said. for transport. And while the AGOs were
region. They will also be able to compare Weatherwax said he plans to arrive at modified by PENGUIn researchers to run
such observations with those in the north McMurdo shortly after Christmas. Part of off solar and wind power, the ARRO mod-
since energetic particles can bounce back his task this season will be to continue the ules are specifically designed to run with
and forth between hemispheres, guided by transplant of instruments from the Skylab only the help of Mother Nature. Lessard
the Earth’s magnetic field, similar to a bead science building at South Pole Station to the said the prototype can operate up to 11 days
as it slides along a string, he said. science module of the new elevated station. on a full charge in windless conditions.
“A lot of the phenomena we see — the The South Pole instruments are the model “So far, we believe we can do [11
aurora, the northern lights, the southern upon which the AGO instruments were days],” he said of the wind-driven generator
lights — occur in the north and south polar based, he said. in the ARRO.
regions,” Weatherwax explained. Being “The PENGUIn team has done a really
Changing technology
able to see what’s happening in both hemi- good job of resuscitating the AGOs, keep-
spheres will further reveal the asymmetries When the last kinks are worked out of the ing them going on wind and solar power,”
between the two magnetic poles and make current AGOs, more observatories will like- Lessard added. He explained that research-
space weather predictions more accurate. ly be added. Researchers at the University ers need continuous observation to paint the
Satellites offer another pair of eyes for of New Hampshire are already designing fullest picture possible of what’s happening
researchers studying the upper atmosphere, the next generation of these observatories. in the upper atmosphere. “You never know
working in concert with the ground-based The current buildings are orange and rect- when you might miss something exciting,”
observatories. The THEMIS satellite, to be angle-shaped, and could fit in the back of a he said.
launched in October 2006 by a University mid-sized pickup truck. Weatherwax said that like in other fields,
of California, Berkeley-led team, is headed The new modules, called Autonomous the technology available to researchers for
into space and will help scientists study auro- Remote Real-Time Observatories, or this science would continue to evolve and
ral substorms, according to Weatherwax. ARROs, are expected to get their first get better. He pointed out that only five
“We’re putting our instruments under- test run in Antarctica next season, said years ago there was no Iridium connection.
neath where satellites are going to be,” he Marc Lessard at the University of New A decade or so ago, winter data from Pole
explained. “So we look up and they look Hampshire. wasn’t available until the first planes flew
down.” While the new ARRO modules are not in during late October or early November,
So far, scientists are pleased with the specific just to PENGUIn, many of the about eight months since the last visit.
results from the unmanned observatories, designs were done with that project in “[Modern communications] actually
with nearly 95 percent of the data being mind, according to Lessard. opened up the Antarctic for this type of
transmitted via Iridium modem. The AGOs “It’s a redesign from the ground up,” he research,” Weatherwax said.
run mainly on solar and wind power. said, adding that the observatories can be
Researchers from Berkeley and Stanford disassembled and reassembled in the field,
NSF-funded research in this story: Allan
University will visit the three remote sites meaning they can be transported to remote Weatherwax, Siena College, http://polar.
in line with the South Pole to troubleshoot field sites in something as small as a Twin umd.edu; Marc Lessard, University of New
and conduct maintenance this season, he Otter. The AGOs required the larger LC-130 Hampshire, http://esp.sr.unh.edu/mirl
10 • The Antarctic Sun November 27, 2005
Sea ice may blow out this season
From page 1
continue to influence the sea ice.
“While B-15A has been the major culprit over the past four years
in maintaining high sea ice coverage in the area,” MacAyeal said, “C-
16 has provided a smaller, but still important influence on the local
sea ice conditions near where the icebreaker begins its channel into
the sea ice near Beaufort Island.”
The age of the sea ice is another complication. The ice has grown
each year and now presents a much more formidable opponent for
winds whipping across the ice, which used to blow it out to sea.
“It’s possible that the ice will break out this year, but the fact that
it is now so thick will make it harder,” said Jim Mastro, interim Crary
Science and Engineering Center supervisor. “The only reason we
have any hope of that happening is that the big icebergs are gone. The
sea ice can go out now, if it wants to.”
U.S. Antarctic Program participants at McMurdo have been tra-
versing the sea ice for the last 50 years, but the last two years have
challenged the way science teams conduct research, surveyors design
runways, and fleet operations personnel plan and maintain snow
roads.
“This is a new situation than we have ever faced before,” said
Mastro, who recently completed his job as interim lab supervisor.
“These conditions have never been seen by the U.S. Antarctic
Program.”
And there’s not a lot anyone can do to improve the situation.
Scientists and logistical workers must adapt their efforts to overcome
the challenges the sea ice presents.
“There are two major ways that the sea ice affects the science
groups,” said Mastro. “The first is on the logistical capacities to get
out into camps and into the ice to dive. The second is on the science
itself. The conditions affect the animals that scientists are trying to
study.”
Few understand these factors better than Bob Garrott, who is the
co-principal investigator of a science group studying Weddell seals
from a camp at Big Razorback Island.
The sea ice conditions of the last two years have cut the seal popu-
lation in Erebus Bay by about 60 percent.
Photo by Peter Rejcek / The Antarctic Sun
From its camp on the sea ice, the team has been able to watch the
Trevor Deighton, with the field safety training program, demonstrates
ice degrade at a faster rate than normal. By the time they closed down how to profile a sea ice crack to determine if it’s safe to cross during
last summer, pools of melted ice surrounded the four huts. a training course last month.
“We know there is a chance we will have to be pulled in early this
year,” Garrott said. “We are trying to get ahead of schedule to make be a good location and size for the runway, Cook said. If they find
sure we get everything done.” a feasible location and secure the needed support, this plan should
The sea ice has been speeding up operations all over the McMurdo allow fleet operations to build the runway on the much smoother and
Sound as teams work to keep ahead of constantly changing ice condi- more predictable first-year ice.
tions. This season’s runway is the first that had to be built in the previous
Surveyors and fleet operations personnel are getting an early start year’s icebreaker channel. The survey team has seldom had to worry
on next year’s ice runway by investigating the about where to put the runway until it was almost time to construct it,
possibility of having the ice breaker Cook said. But the sea ice bears the marks of seven years’ worth of
clear out an area that would runways now, and the team has simply run out of good places to put
them. Building the runway in the channel instead of on the old sea ice
allows teams to take advantage of the smooth ice that formed in the
path of the ice breaker after it left, he added.
The ice runway is used until early December, when the sea ice
begins to weaken to an extent that one would not want to land a
45,000-kilogram aircraft on it. The runway facilities are then relo-
cated by tractor to Williams Field on the permanent ice shelf.
This move itself is also proving to be a considerably larger task
than normal this year, as the direct road to Williams Field is closed
due to poor stability.
“It’s just really bad ice through there,” said Gary Cardullo, airfield
manager. “We’re not going to take a D-8 [tractor] through it and risk
someone falling through a hole.”
A sea ice disturbance near the Erebus Glacier Tongue. See WILLIAMS on page 11