Check out our FAQ list for answers to some of the more common questions we get.

Debbie from Mobile, AL writes: I am sharing this web site and information with a local school where my daughter teaches. Great and informative site. I feel warmer already....!!

Thanks for the feed back, Debbie. Be sure to check back in November when the next traverse will begin.

 

Klausfrom Freiburg, Germany writes: Hello scientists and adventurers,we are very interested in your trip across the wilderness of Antarctica. Every day we are looking for news at the homepage of USITASE.We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year. Some questions are tormenting us:

• Have you somewhere met a glacier-snake or ice-worms?
• Is it true that there is no organic life possible without liquid water, even on other planets?
• What temperature has the ice-layer under the surface? Is there an temperature gradient down to the subsoil?
• Is there an idea at what rise in temperature by the greenhouse-effect the ice-sheet of Antarctica is beginning to melt down?
• Could the incident radiation of the sun be sufficient to melt the ice-layer at last, if there were no reflection, for example because of volcanic ash or soot?

No, we have not come across any glacier snakes or ice worms on our travels. Ice worms and other forms of bacteria are quite often found in glaciers in warmer parts of the world, though. For example, the red color often seen in Alpine glaciers is caused by bacteria. There are some forms of life in Antarctica which are able to survive at very low temperatures, without water or apparently sunlight. So that raises the possibility of finding life on other planets and moons in the solar system.

Temperatures measured at 10 m depth beneath the surface are a good approximation for the mean annual surface temperature. In the parts of West Antarctica we have visited, this is about -35°C. The profile of temperature with depth varies, but at the base of the ice sheet it can be quite 'warm' (due to effects such as strain heating of the ice and geothermal heat).

It will probably require a very large increase in temperature to cause a complete melting of the Antarctic ice sheet. However, warmer temperatures usually mean more atmospheric moisture, so if the climate warms we might see an increase in snowfall over Antarctica. The increased snowfall might actually lead to an increase in the size of the ice sheet.

 

Mark from Bristol, NH askes: What about your mental health? How do your team handle their spare time hours? Have many requested to go home?

Actually, we don't have a lot of spare time. Work and other camp duties take up between 12-18 hours each day. If we do have spare time, most of us like to relax listening to music or reading books. Or we might sit around and chat and tell stories. It is quite a contented life. There is no privacy, but luckily we all get along very well together.

 

Despina from Chicago, IL writes: Is there evidence that humans existed on the continent? Thank you.

No. Antarctica has been covered by an ice sheet for as long as humans have existed.

 

Dale of Jeffersonville, IN writes: Hello, I'm sure its beyond words what you are experiencing! You don't hear much about a expedition lead by a man named Mawson, but could you tell me/us what impact his seemingly herioc adventure had on the exploration of Antarctica? I do believe it was politically incorrect at the time (1911) to give him the credit he deserved. If anybody would know I'm sure you people would. Thanks, Dale

Actually, Mawson's story is quite popular among present day visitors to Antarctica. In fact, several of us are reading a book called Mawson's Will on this year's expedition. Mawson's expeditions are important for their scientific accomplishments (locating the South Magnetic Pole, charting several thousand miles of umapped coastline, etc.).

 

Lorenzo from Italy (now in Boston) writes: An experiment you might want to try is to evaluate your latitude using a Foucalt pendulum. This method is never used because at ordinary latitudes it is very error prone (and absolutely useless at the equator), but at your latitudes it should be fine even with a roughly built pendulum. All you need is a pendulum, a watch, a calculator and a goniometer. Of course with the same things you can also build a sextant :-) . A sextant, though, works only in fair weather! If this works, it might be used as an artic emergency device, easy to build and work out. Let me know if you're interested: I can figure out some more details...

Thank you for your idea of building a crude Foucalt's pendulum. We thought of the same thing last week as an answer to a puzzler -- "how could you tell if you were on the Greenland or Antarctic ice sheet?". The best answer we could come up with would be to build something similar to your suggestion. If we have some spare time we will try it.

 

Mark from Bristol, NH asks: Would you go into some of the food and water issues again (i.e.shipping, storage, coffee, calories,carbohydrate sources, etc.)? Do you melt snow continuously or have water shipped in? Is the cook position rotated or permanent?

All the science equipment we use needs to be shipped from the US in August. Larger pieces of equipment, like our Challenger tractor, need to be shipped almost a year ahead of time so that they can arrive in McMurdo on the annual re-supply ship. As this is our second year of operation, a lot of equipment and supplies were left at Byrd station at the end of last season. All we had to do was dig them out when we returned this year.

Food is carefully planned. Cobi Harris prepared a daily menu, taking into account peoples' likes and dislikes, and packed all the food before we left McMurdo. We eat very well -- lots of steaks, seafood, chicken, pastas, etc. It is not all that different from food we would eat at home. Portions are usually large -- we burn a lot of calories doing physical work in the cold. Only a few of us drink coffee -- most of the others abstain during the field season. They prefer to drink hot chocolate or tea or tang.

All our water comes from melting snow. It is one of the major tasks of daily camp life. We have a water melter (like a small bathtub with a heating element) that allows us to melt and store large quantities of water. It is amazing to see how much water we go through in a day.

We each take turns cooking evening dinner. Usually it's a lot of fun, and allows for lots of different styles of preparation and ideas to be enjoyed by the other members of the group. We usually make our own breakfasts and lunches, depending on our individual work schedules. Some Antarctic field camps have a dedicated cook, but on the traverse we can only take a limited number of people - a dedicated cook would take the space otherwise occupied by a science worker. Preparing dinner for the group takes about 1-2 hours.

 

Alfredo from Williamsville, NY writes: Who does the ITASE team hire? What requirements does a person have to meet in order to join the team?

The people who participate in the expedition are the science investigators and their students. Our mechanic and safety officer are supplied by Raytheon Polar Services, a contractor company that works for the US Antarctic Program.

 

Noah from Iowa writes: I have two questions to ask:

1. Based on your research of the ice cores, would you say that global warming is happening? Or is it just a weather pattern?
2. I am reading a book called Atlantis Found by Clive Cussler. In the book, a company plans to cut the Ross Ice shelf off of the Antarctic ice. Supposedly, once the Ice Shelf is disconnected it will upset the balance of the earth thus causing the poles to shift. Once the polar shift has happened the earth will go into a state of upheaval and desctruction with lots of volcanoes, tidal waves, etc. Do you know if this is possible?

We will know more about the climate records contained in our ice cores later this year, after we have had time to study them in the lab. From our earlier work on other cores, we know that there have been variations in temperature and snowfall in the recent past (the last few hundred years). Whether these variations are due to anthropogenic climate change or natural fluctuations in climate, we are not yet sure.

The scenario described in your book does not sound very realistic (at least the part about Earth's balance being upset and the poles shifting). However, glaciologists are concerned that the removal of all or large parts of the Ross Ice Shelf might lead to an instability in the ice sheet. The ice shelf can be thought of as a kind of barrier that keeps the ice sheet from flowing too fast. Without the ice shelf to buttress it, the ice sheet might start flowing faster and calving off huge icebergs.

 

Paul from Providence, RI writes: Please send information on troubleshooting for a gmc jimmy 4x4 1994. We need info on the transfer case. please send as soon as possible.

Sorry, can't help you there. We can provide advice for Bombardier Alpine II snowmobiles, Caterpillar Challenger tractors, and maybe Tucker Sno-Cats.

 

Joseph from Northampton MA writes: Zach - your wife Ann went to high school with my mom Laurie. I am in the 2nd grade and am studying Antarctica in school and I have a question for you. How big is a regular iceberg? What kind of machines do you use to drill through the ice and why are you drilling through the ice and what are you trying to learn? Thank you. from Joseph

Joseph,
Thanks for the note. I am very excited that you are studying Antarctica in your school. In answer to your questions- Icebergs come in all sizes. There are ice bergs as big as the State of Rhode Island and there are small bity bergs. If you have access to the internet do a search on an iceberg named B-10 and B-10-A. That iceberg was very large and was covered in the national newspapers. We use ice core drills to drill through the glacier and collect ice. Our drills are kept very clean because we are doing chemical analysis on the ice cores. Every time it rains (or snows in Antarctica)some of the chemicals from the sky fall to the ground with the rain and snow. These chemicals are frozen into the ice and remain there for thousands of years. When we drill ice cores and analysis them we find these chemicals. This tells us what chemicals and how much of each chemical were once present in the sky. One thing we have found is that the chemicals in the sky have changed over time.

P.S. We are now at McMurdo base and will arrive home soon but please feel free to contact me anytime.

 

'philomenegates' from New York City writes: Merry christmas to all of you,especially lili whom we miss so terribly, but are toasting constantly and are sooo proud of her and her group. Hope you are keeping well and staying warm. We will sing a special carol to you all at St. James tomorrow.

 

LL et al, Fairbanks Alaska writes: Hey Mark (W),You boys & girls better get a move on. Longest night is past us here. We'll keep the home fires burning until you come back. Special Islay single malt on the shelf awaiting the next debriefing. Easy on the Fifi brown protruberences. Cheers to all your party. P&S&W&B

 

Klaus of Freiburg, Germany writes: Hello scientists and adventurers,we are very interested in your trip across the wilderness of Antarctica.Every day we are looking for news at the homepage of USITASE. We wish you a merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

 

Marc from Bruges, Belgium says: Merry Christmas to everyone!

 

Karl of Fairbanks, Alaska writes: Wishing you all a great Christmas, and wishing I were with you. Bonks is still a hug-junkie, and our weather is about the same as yours. Merry Christmas! Stay warm...

The entire ITASE team thanks you for your warm greetings, and wishes you all a Happy New Year.

 

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Don, from Heidelberg, Germany writes for Markus: Hey Mexico-Markus, sagemol ... was machst Du bitteschoen am Suedpol ... fernab der Waerme, des Weines, der Frauen und vieler anderer Genuesse ... in Baden kann es doch auch schoen sein ... oder? Aber trotzdem: Dir eine schoene Weihnacht und einen guten Rutsch ins Jahr 2001, viel Spass noch, Ruhm und Ehre sei Dir,
Don

Don,
also hier mal die antwort zu Qs und As (ICH FREUE mich ja, ueber die message aus der heimat), noch 2 wochen, dann gehts zurueck nach McMurdo, das wetter is echt gut, an diesem site, -5°C tags, -23° nachts, Mt. Sidley (3600 m) vor der Nase, unheimlich ruhige Gegend hier, keine Touristen oder Autobahnen in der Naehe.
Wie gehts Dir? Es ist durchaus wahrscheinlich, das ich mich mal in Heidelberg beim Inst. fuer Umweltphysik blicken lasse. Sonst, im Maerz nach FR. Und Du ?? So ein MTB Tuerle nach St.Peter, um die verflossenen Monate zu rekapitulieren waere nicht schlecht, oder??
un abrazo, viva Don Simon,
markus.

 

Ron, from Binghamton NY askes: I was curious if you are doing any measurements on the ozone hole. Does the thinning of the ozone layer over Antarctica affect you or your equipment in any way?

We are not involved in any ozone monitoring. For the 7 weeks that we are in Antarctica we will probably not see any effects, though folks on longer expeditions have noticed that their brightly colored clothes faded much more quickly here than elsewhere.

 

 

Mark and Lynn from, Lima, Ohio ask: Will the temperature of the ice change between the surface and the deeper you drill? As the density of the ice changes, the deeper you drill, will this effect the rate of depth per time of drilling? Do you keep the drill bit lubricated? How long will it take you to set up the drill rig in relationship the time you are actually drilling? Mark W! You may be a great distance from your friends but we think about you daily, take care and hope your efforts bring success. Mark & Lynn

Yes the temperature of the ice does get colder as you get deeper. And yes the density does increase with depth. Just yesterday we were plotting the densities of the ice cores from our last three drill sites and to a depth of about 50 the densities of the ice cores at each of the three sites has an almost linear relationship, e.g. for every meter of depth the density increases an equal amount. After about 50 meters depth the densities of the ice cores at the three sites diverge and the higher densities were found at the sites that had the highest annual accumulation. Yes, it does take longer to drill a meter of ice the more dense the ice is. When we drill, we do not need to lubricate the drill bits, but with deeper drill holes (in excess of 2000 meters) that are drilled over many seasons you do need to add fluid to deep the drill hole open. We are drilling on moving glaciers and the drill holes will close if not filled. "Dr. Drill" (Mark) can set up the drill in no time at all.
Greetings Mark and Lynn. It only takes about an hour to set up the drill. Because we are not interested in preserving the borehole we don't fill it with fluid. We also do not use drilling fluid as Zach mentioned above. Things have been going well and we should be done in about 3 more weeks. I will e-mail you from McMurdo when we have a better satellite connection. Hope all is well. Mark

 

 

The sixth grade from William Cohen Middle School, Bangor ME write: Dear ITASE Team, We are a 6th grade class that is located in Bangor, Maine that is following you from the WS Cohen School. We're studying Antarctica and we're interested in the information that your team is finding out down there.
Our class is going to keep track of the temperatures. We've already done one experiment with ice and water, but would like to know more, especially from experts. We have some questions we are hoping you can answer. First of all, we would like to know what you mean when you said that you were at 80 degrees south and 200 degrees east. What do you mean by 200 degrees east? You then put down in your log that you were at 119 degrees east, but you were at Byrd camp, so we thought you ment 119 degrees west. Were we right? We hope you will write back as soon as possible. Our class will be excited to receive the secrets of the ice from your project. Thanks, W.S Cohen Students ( Note from the webmaster: The notation of 200 degrees was a typographical error on my part. Good Catch WS Cohen sixth graders! )

Got me there kids. Unfortunately the 119 degrees East was a mistake. You are correct and it should have read 119 degrees West. McMurdo is located in East longitude and Byrd is located in West longitude and I forgot to make the change. The exact location of Byrd is at 119 degrees and 25 minutes West longitude but we have noted its location at 120 degrees on earlier daily reports. Check out the answer to the class from Crystal Lake, Illinois. We did some freezing experiments with Tang, peach juice and cold water.

 

Jim from Denahm Springs, LA writes: Hi Y'all. I'm a grandfather of three who who would love to do an expedition of that magnitude. Can you tell my kids how to do what you are doing?

As with any company there are positions at almost every level. There are a number of support personnel in McMurdo that do everything from change light bulbs to organize the flight schedule. Some of these folks get out to field camps but most stay in McMurdo the entire season. The company that runs the support side of the work in Antarctica is Raytheon Polar Services and they can be contacted for information on their job openings. Most of the science expedition personnel are from universities or research facilities. There are a few undergraduates studying with a principle investigator that get to come to Antarctica as field assistants (like Benjamin) but largely everyone else has a graduate degree in some science field.

 

Betty Trummel from Crystal Lake, Illinois writes: Hello to Zach from our class! We are now keeping up with the log book more regularly and we are learning a lot about your expedition in Antarctica. The class wanted me to ask you if all liquids freeze at the same rate in Antarctica. They would like you to boil some water and time how long it takes to freeze. Then, they want you to try any other liquids you have available, and record how long it takes those to freeze. Remember, I have fourth graders....we are going to try a similar experiment in our freezer here at school. Let's see what happens and compare results. The class wants to know if the ECW gear is working! They've seen my set of gear used for TEA ( Teachers Experiencing Antarctica ) presentations, and they still need to know if it all works in the field. The kids also want to know how the Geobear is doing....is poor little Curly bundled up sufficiently to keep him from freezing to death? Let us know and I hope you are safe and well. Write when you can....we will be more determined to keep up with the journals and daily logs. Stay safe. Aloha! and Hugs, Betty and Class

Betty and class, Cobi spent a little time on that experiment and found that boiling water freezes (outside) within 2 hours and cold water is only &fraq34; frozen after 2 hours. She also tried the experiment with Tang and canned peach juice and found that after 4 hours both liquids were only &fraq34; frozen. The day she tried the experiment it was 12°C with a windchill of -18°C. Please let us know what your results are when you have completed your experiment.

As for the ECW gear (extreme cold weather) it is OK. It keeps us warm but none of it fits extremely well. The ECW gear is issued to us and we have little choice in what we get. I would prefer my own cold weather mountaineering gear for comfort but then again most of our gear is ruined from use on this expedition and we can just return it back in Christ Church, New Zealand.

Geobear is fine and hibernating in my bunk. When it gets warmer I will take him out for a few more pictures. I hope that all is well in Crystal Lake.
Aloha

 

Nick Houtman, from Orono, ME writes: Go team! The photos and regular updates are great. One of the snow pit photos seems to show dark horizontal lines. Are they made by dust or lines of denser snow or something else? Do the lines separate annual snow layers? How do you determine where to collect samples in the pits?

Nick,
The dark horizontal lines are layers of more dense snow. At our locations we have not found any obvious dust layers. The lines are not annual layers but different event layers, for example melting events from extremely warm weather. In our last core we found a considerable number of melt layers concentrated at about 50 meters depth. Annual layers can be seen when the ice cores are placed on a light table in the lab but are difficult to distinguish in the field in a snow pit. The sampling within the snow pit is done every 2 centimeters. We measure with a ruler within the pit, and then take the samples. The objective is to have a continuous set of samples the whole depth of the pit. The locations of these drill sites were determined long before we got to the field. Using satellite imagery and an understanding of the accumulation rates in this area we chose the drill locations based on where we thought we would obtain the most complete ice core records. The sites on US ITASE are approximately 100 kilometers apart and over all four years of the program will provide excellent coverage of West Antarctica.

 

Doug Buchanan, from Fairbanks, Alaska asks: If this information has been ascertained for any reason, what are the compression rates in the drill-holes of this project, after the holes have been abandoned, at representative depths? That is, at what rate does the ice squeeze shut to fill the void at representative depths? Thank you.

The hole closure rates increase at depth. Some closure can be measured in hours although it usually does not effect the drilling of a dry hole to 200 meters. In a month or so the hole will be completely closed unless it is filled with a fluid with the same temperature/density profile as ice. This problem could be remedied if all participants would uphold their sworn legal duties as Alaskan residents.

PS Are we an independent nation yet? 3 more weeks and will be back at Byrd Camp and then back to McMurdo for the final pack up to head North. May spend some time in NZ to play some music if that option exists. Hope all is well.
Dr. H. Noodleman

 

Erika from Pennsylvania writes: Hi my name is Erika I go to MMI preparatory school. I am sure you have e-mailed my teacher Mr. Ginaro. Part of our homework was to e-mail you and ask you a few questions.

1. How cold does it get at night, and how do you survive?
2. How do you communicate with your family members here in America?
3. Has anyone ever froze there while sleeping?
4. When will you be coming back?

Sincerly yours,
Erika
p.s. I think it would be really awsome when you back if you could come to my school and teach us some other things

Hi Erika, It is 24 hours of daylight here and though it does get colder at "night" than during normal waking hours it is not that much colder. It might be -10°C here while we are awake and -20°C when we are asleep. We survive by staying dressed warmly during the day and huddled in our sleeping bags at night. Most of us are sleeping in the "blue room" science shelter and it is a few degrees warmer than sleeping in a tent. No one that I know of has even frozen while they were sleeping. Our sleeping bags are rated to -40 degrees and keep us warm. We are scheduled to fly from Byrd camp back to McMurdo on the 31st of December. Most of us expect to be in the states by mid January.

PS. Tell Mr G. hello and have him e-mail me in late January and we can talk.

 

Anthony from Freeland, PA asks: Hey! This question is mainly for Zach Smith. Right now, I'm in Mr. Gennaro's class at MMI. He says hi. Anyway, I was wondering, what do you eat there? Also, is there ever the possibility of earthquakes or seismic events there?

Anthony, Let's see- most of us had hot cereal for breakfast and tuna fish on pita bread for lunch. We are traveling to our next site today at W124 00 and S77 41, so dinner will be crackers and cheese. Last night we had burgers and the night before we had halibut steaks. We eat well here but that does not stop us from having food fantasies. Right now I could use a huge fresh vegetable salad and my wife's amazing pizza.

Antarctica is bigger than the United States and, unlike the US, it only has one active volcano, Mt. Erebus. We will probably not experience any volcanic or seismic events here in West Antarctica. Check back to our earlier daily reports when we talked about Mt Erebus near McMurdo. Mt Erebus is monitored daily by scientists in McMurdo. There are scientists that do research on volcanic tephra in the snow layers in Antarctica and on the volcanoes that exist above and below the ice sheet but not as a part of US ITASE.
Hi, Mr. G.

 

Ray Petty from Deering, NH and Ponce, PR writes: Just a note for Benjamin Cavallari- Greetings from Puerto Rico. I won't mention the temps here! I summer in Deering and read your article in the Deering Connection. Way to go! I was in Deering for Thanksgivving and temps dropped into the single numbers (ice on the lake) - cold for me, but a summer day by your standards. I am off tomorrow for a month traveling in the Caribbean, but hope to correspond further on my return in mid-January. Best of the season.

Thanks, Dr. Petty. Please write again, I would enjoy corresponding with you. Benjamin

 

Ashton, from Tallmadge, Ohio asks: I am doing a report on Antarctica and I just wondered how the scenery was. Or how cold you got and if you had to do something to stay warm on some occasions. Thank you

The scenery here in West Antarctica is flat and white and has been the same at each of our locations. Between our locations (every 100 kilometers) the elevation has been about the same (within 50 meters). We get cold every day and to warm up we work harder, when possible, or go inside our shelter and have hot drinks.

 

Prudence Humphreys, from Cambridge, MA writes: Dear Everyone, I just wanted you to know that I thoroughly enjoy reading your past questions and answers series that you so kindly organized with the Science Museum to allow this wonderful Antarctica expedition to be followed by the Internet. It's truly very exciting for me to read how everything is going. Thank you all for this. It's very exciting. Well, we still don't have a President.
Just wanted to wish you all on the team a Merry Christmas and may you continue to explore in good health and excitement in the coming New Year. Prudence

Thank you, Prudence. We are glad you are enjoying the site. Happy Holidays to you.

 

David Hyman, from Aspen, CO wrotes: Thanks for the website. I'm sending to all my worthy friends. Tell Bob Zook we miss him.

Thanks, David.

Klaus and Ingrid Frey, of Freiburg, Germany write: Hallo scientists and adventurers, from Freiburg, Germany, near the black forest, where are living the dwarfs. We send greetings and wish good success by gathering environmental dates. We have also some questions.
The cold weather does it cause many chills to you?

At temperatures of -22 C and wind speeds of 50 km/h wind chill drops down to -40 to -50C, which is chilly. Exposed skin can freeze within minutes.

Have you hot or cold showers in the morning?

If anyone feels like it you could be rolling in the snow or jump into a snow pit. But liquid water is precious and is saved for preparation of chemical reagents and cooking.

How old are the deepest ice-layers of Antarctica?

The deepest ice core so far recovered on the Antarctic Continent at Vostok is about 3.5 km long and contained ice at the bottom of 450,000 years old. Deeper down there might be even older layers.

Was Antarctica always covered with ice?

About 35 million years ago the Antarctic continent started to cool down and ice over. It is under debate if there was a significant warming event between 3 and 15 million ago. Temperatures have been very low during the last 3 million years.

What is the relative humidity of the air? Have you problems by electrostatic charges on your clothes or measuring tools?

RH is less than 15 %. One result of that is in order not to dehydrate, everyone needs to drink at least 6 L of liquid a day. We are not having problems with electrostatic discharges. We are experiencing some difficulties due to solar flares which affect the ionosphere and thus communication via VHF (Very High Frequency) Radio. During the last 5 days there was no radio communication with McMurdo, only via e-mail and the GOES satellite.

 

 

Kendra Mooers from Bangor, Maine writes: Hi! I'm one of the kids that will be following you throughout your expedtion. I'm in Mrs Lewis' and Mrs Jamison's sixth grade class. I find this expedtion very intersting. I mean, you get to hear what it is like to actually be there. I've been reading your logs and I'm sorry for you that you have to go back now to fix that thing. I have a couple questions for you and hope that you might respond to them. Personally, how do you feel about this expedtion? Do you enjoy it? Are you having fun? Before you went on this expedtion did you know any of these people that you are now spending your days with? Have you ever worked with these people before? I got to go now. Hope that you write back. Kendra

Dear Kendra,
Thanks for the questions. I hope that all is well in Bangor. Do you have any snow there yet? I love the entire idea of being on this expedition; being in Antarctica and doing this type of field work. I did know most of the people on this expedition before I came but I got to meet a few new expedition members and lots of scientists doing other experiments in Antarctica. I have worked with many of these people before. Some of them are also from the University of Maine. I climbed with one fellow in Colorado, and others I have met at meetings. Being on an expedition is hard work but very exciting. Thanks for following the trip. Hopefully, one of us can visit your school when we return, and talk to you.
Aloha
The US ITASE team

 

Dave from Fairbanks, AK writes; I am an Earth Science teacher from Fairbanks Alaska. My class was wondering how the weather down their compares to the weather up here in Interior alaska and farther north?

The summer weather in Antarctica is comparable to the weather in interior Alaska in the winter. Lots of cold windy days between -10°F and 10°F. Except we have 24 hours of sun light.

 

Marcel from Summit, New Jersey writes: Just received the Emperor Penguin card from Bert Yankielun. Reading the ITASE team log makes me homesick for Byrd, Siple, McMurdo, Mt. Erebus and the South Pole. In the 1972 -1974 era we didn't have this great internet and email system. Have a great Summer on the Ice and good luck with your experiments. We may even have a President when you return.

Thanks

 

Gloria and Kay, from Allentown,PA asks: When the scientists are on the ice how long does it take to bring back the ice samples to McMurtie or to be sent out for the analizing process.

The ice cores are air lifted to McMurdo then sent to the National Ice Core Laboratory in Denver, Colorado and the University of Maine. From the minute that the ice samples leave here in January, it will take about 6 weeks to arrive in Denver. From there the individual researchers still need to process the ice cores and ship them back to their home institutions for analysis .

 

Kay from Mechanicsburg, PA writes: Zach, hoping your expedition and endeavors are successful.

Thanks

 

Tim from Fairbanks, Alaska, writes: Would like to say hi goodluck and have fun to Mark Wumkes.

Thanks

 

Tim from Fairbanks, Alaska, asks: Living in Alaskas cold weather can be hard on equipment and it is required to plug vehicles in to a power source before trying to start engines!!Could you explain to me what type of generators you use for power and the brand names and any other details such as what you do to make sure they to can be started in cold weather?

Our Tucker is prewarmed with a Herman-Nelson gas powered air blower and our Catepiller has it's own preheater. We need to start our vehicles 1 hour before driving. All of our generators are Hondas.

 

Doug, from Fairbanks, Alaska, writes: For the analysis of Dr. Mark Wumkes: Does a Farach cigar taste as repugnant in Antarctica as is does Alaska?

Good cigars are good cigars

 

Amy from South Carolina asks: Do the people in Antarctica celebrate any holidays, or do they have any festivals?

Because there are no indigenous people in Antarctica, there are no special customs or holidays. People here celebrate the same holidays as at home. These are usually a great way to bringing station personel together and the celebrations are often quite elaborate.

 

Children's House Montessori School, Rye, NH writes: The children at CHMS are very interested in the wildlife of Antarctica. Here are some of their questions:
Have you seen any penguins yet?
Have you seen any whales or seals?
Have you seen any fish?
They'd also like to know how you can sleep when it's light 24 hours a day.

We haven't seen any penguins or seals yet. This early in the season, the ocean around McMurdo Station is still covered by ice. Once the ice starts to break apart in the next 1-2 months, penguin and seal sightings will become quite common. We saw some fish in the science aquarium. The marine biologists catch them and bring them back here to study. Because the water is so cold, these fish have special adaptations for survival, like having antifreeze in the their blood to stop it from freezing.

Sleeping in perpetual daylight takes some adjustment. Usually after a few days we start to sleep normally again. Quite often we have to wear something over our eyes to make it seem dark.

 

Matt Jordon from Redlands, California writes: Do you ever accept volunteers for your expeditions in Antarctica? If so, how might I apply?

Usually we like to take along students in our research programs. But there are many other science groups working down here, and quite often they bring along interested volunteers. The best way to find out about possibilities is to search for websites of Antarctic researchers and then write to the investigator. If they don't have any openings, they will often know of other investigators who are looking for field assistants. The best time to start making enquiries is in late winter. So, if you are thinking about coming next season you should start to make arrangements next February. Most investigators have their teams arranged by May.

 

Sarah Matthews from Owensboro, KY asks: How would the ecosysyems of Antartica be affected if polar bears became extinict? Is loss of biodiversity a large problem in Antartica?

Biodiversity in Antarctica is a really interesting topic. Polar ecosystems are characterized by a relatively small number of species. However, the species that exist typically occur in abundance. Think of krill, fish, whales (before human exploitation) and penguins -- they are all quite plentiful. There are no polar bears in the southern hemisphere. But as you can imagine, with so few species in the ecosystem, the loss or reduction in one species will have a huge impact. Particularly troubling is the potential for overfishing of krill -- the basic building block of the southern ocean's food chain. Also, there is some concern that increased UV radiation, resulting from the ozone hole, will affect certain species directly (and therefore the rest of the ecosystem indirectly).

 

Megan from Chenango Forks, NY asks: How will you communicate with McMurdo or with your US liaison when you are doing remote sampling on the ice?

We have high-frequency radios for communication with McMurdo Station. We check in once a day to let them know that we are safe and update them with our activities. These radios are usually quite reliable, except when there is a solar storm which disrupts Earth's ionosphere. Right now we are in the middle of a 72 hr solar storm, so radio communications in Antarctica are virtually impossible.

 

Hilary from Laramie writes: Are there any dogs in McMurdo?

There are no more dogs or dog teams in McMurdo. Some of the dogs that lived and worked there in the 1950s were relocated to Maine.

 

James and Matt from Schoharie, New York write: Have you seen any seals or whales, eels, or penguins? Are there any kinds of birds? Does your breath freeze? Do you go skiing? Ice skating? Is it slippery? Do you go ice fishing? What do you have to eat?

No, we did not see any whales, penguins, seals, or eels while we were near the coast in McMurdo. There were birds though, mostly gulls. Just like a winter's day in New England you can see your breath when you breathe. Recently, we did have a chance to "ski" but where we are was so flat that it was cross-country skiing and with our huge snow boots it was very awkward. It snows almost every day but only a little. Most of the falling snow is not new snow but blown up from wind. The surface of the snow is very compact so we can easily walk and snowmobile on it. There really is not any skating on the Ross Ice Shelf but Mark did have a chance to go fishing and caught a three-foot Antarctic Cod. Our meals are basically the same as yours though most of our food is dried "camp" food. We eat a lot of soups.

 

Kay from Claremont, Florida writes: When the ice cores come back to the lab is the information that they find actually helping to interpret information from past climates?

Yes, the information that has been recovered from ice cores has helped advance our understanding of past climates in many parts of the world. The 400,000 year ice record from Vostox, Antarctica and the 120,000 year ice core record from Summit, Greenland are just an example of the important records that have been found so far. There are other types of natural climate records from which scientists can determine past climatic conditions but ice cores are the most detailed and complete.

 

Miranda from Binghampton, New York writes: Is it really, really, really, really cold?

Yes, it is very cold. The daily temperatures are consistently well below zero degrees centigrade. We need to make sure that we are always bundled up and constantly checking each other for frostbite.

 

Cassidy from Binghampton, New York writes: Is there an abominable snowman?

No, there is no abominable snowman in Antarctica. The abominable snowman, if it exists, would live somewhere in the Himalayan mountains in Asia.

 

Christina from Shavertown writes: How cold was the coldest day, so far? How many layers of clothing do you wear to keep you warm? Do you eat generally more or less food?

Our coldest day so far was around -21 C. With the wind chill that is about -40 C. We wear lots of layers all the time and generally we eat a lot of food, more than at home.

 

Danielle from Honolulu writes: Hi. My name is Danielle and I was wondering if you saw and touched a pengiun? If so, what do they feel like? I was wondering because I love pengiuns! I don't think I will get a chance to ever touch a penguin!

No, we have not seen or touched penguins. Penguins need to be on the coast near water and tend to stay in groups. It is actually illegal to touch or disturb the penguins so we will not get a chance to touch them even if we see them once we return from the interior to McMurdo station.

 

Maria from Freeland writes: Has anyone ever gotton hypothermia? Why was this expedition made?

No, no one has gotten hypothermia. We carefully monitor our own and each other's conditions. Anyone showing the preliminary signs of hypothermia would immediately be attended to by another team member.

Our United States team is part of an international effort that is trying to gain a better understanding of changes in the climate across the entire continent of Antarctica and back in to Antarctica's past. Over the next four years we will be collecting data from snow samples and shallow (60-80 meters deep) ice cores in West Antarctica. From this data we will learn more about the climate variability of West Antarctica during the past 200 years.

 

Newbury Elementary School from Newbury, Vermont writes: Hi Dr. Y (Bert) [and the team]! Glad to know you are doing fine and we wanted to let you know we are keeping track of you (and the team).

It is good to know that your radar equipment is working great! Yeah!! We are glad that our school flag is with you because it makes us feel that we are right there with you too.

How far have you traveled from Byrd Station? And how far (and how long will it take) do you travel to your next testing site?

We all are anxiously awaiting your safe return, but in the mean time we will follow you via the internet! Take care!

Thanks for the great support. Yes, my radar equipment is working well which makes us all happy. Once we left Byrd camp we traveled about 90 kilometers to the first drill site and then about 90 kilometers to this last drill site. Since we travel only about 10 kilometers an hour, it takes over 12 hours to reach a new location. The trip back to Byrd camp will take us two full days. I look forward to seeing you all again when we return.

 

 

To read past Visitors' Q&A, click here.

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