Friday, August 31, 2007

Medevac Mission by Air Force

This is somewhat old news, as I have been too busy to post about it, but I still think it is interesting. On August 28 that Air Force did a Medevac mission out of Antarctica. I found this article about it quite interesting. It seems quite a lot of work does go into flying a medevac mission in this situation. It is also interesting in that they had just finished their winter flights, but since the research season has not quite begun the Air Force was needed to do the medevac. Also, since it was after the last fly in it took even more preparations because the runway at Pegasus had already begun to be disassembled.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Antarctica: The Big Ice

This is the name of an exhibit made by the Otago Museum. I found this article about it being on display in Christchurch, New Zealand, starting September 3. The exhibit about the 50 years that New Zealand has played a role in Antarctic scientific expeditions. One focus of the things on display is artwork such as the works of Grahame Sydney. There are also historical artifacts including Sir Edmund Hillary's (he is the guy that first climbed Everest and New Zealander for those who do not remember why he sounds familiar) ice pick used on his trek to the South Pole. It sounds like totally interesting exhibit to check out if you happen to be in this area.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Robot to Help China in Antarctic Expedition

I found this interesting article about a flying robot being used by the Chinese in an Antarctic expedition. They will be used in the October expedition the Chinese are doing to set up seismic stations. It sounds very cool, as the robots will help keep the people safe by observing the ice. They are also able to glide over the ice and work in the extreme weather.

Photo of the Day on Hold

I got a new job and am currently in the process of getting stuff together to move to D.C., so for right now I will not have time to do the daily photo of the day postings. I am going to try to continue to post some news stories I find about Antarctica, but until I am at least in D.C. next week I will probably be not posting much. Also, once I am there I will be working on finding an apartment and stuff, so I am going to put the Photo of the Day on hold until that is done, which is hopefully by the middle of September.

Submissions are still welcome during this time. I will just keep them ready for posting until I have the time to continue this. Also, by getting your involvement it will make it easier to start back up sooner, as part of the move will involve me putting all my desktop photos onto my new external harddrive and then I will need to get them on my laptop before I can upload them here to post. So it will be much faster if I have user submissions when I start back up instead of having to wait until I get my photos onto my laptop.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Photo of the Day

Today's photo of the day was taken by me.




Elephant Island , December 2004

To submit a photo to be featured in a future Photo of the Day post send me an e-mail at antarcticpostcards@gmail.com with the subject line of Antarctic Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

Photo of the Day

Today's photo of the day was taken by me.




Elephant Island , December 2004

To submit a photo to be featured in a future Photo of the Day post send me an e-mail at antarcticpostcards@gmail.com with the subject line of Antarctic Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Photo of the Day

Today's photo of the day was taken by me.





Birds Near Elephant Island , December 2004

To submit a photo to be featured in a future Photo of the Day post send me an e-mail at antarcticpostcards@gmail.com with the subject line of Antarctic Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

New Book: Antarctica -The Global Warning

Just read about this new book being released in October here. It looks like it is an interesting photo book, however with the hefty of a price tag I do not think I will be getting it. It won the Professional Photographer of the Year in the book category of the International Photography Awards. The link above does mention an exhibit that is going to be in Los Angeles that sounds well worth checking out for people in the area when it is on display.

Photo of the Day

Today's photo of the day was taken by me.




Elephant Island Appearing, December 2004

To submit a photo to be featured in a future Photo of the Day post send me an e-mail at antarcticpostcards@gmail.com with the subject line of Antarctic Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo.

Monday, August 20, 2007

Penguins as Signs of the Planet's Future

Back when I was researching Antarctica for my research projects I often heard about the Antarctic being considered the early warning sign for global climate change. Today I found a recent article about Adelie penguins that talks about how they are being affected by climate change. It discusses the decreasing amount in the penguin populations that are in particular occurring on the Peninsula where most of the Antarctic warming is occurring. It also talks about the last Emperor colony on the Peninsula being in danger of disappearing. It is sad to see that these species of penguins could be heading towards the endangered list where 3 of the 17 world penguin species already are.

Photo of the Day

Today's photo of the day was taken by me.



First Iceberg, December 2004

To submit a photo to be featured in a future Photo of the Day post send me an e-mail at antarcticpostcards@gmail.com with the subject line of Antarctic Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Antarctic Kiwis Crave Peas, Crumpets, and Sun

During the winter there are no supply flights, so those on the Scott and McMurdo bases are anxiously awaiting the first flight with fresh fruits and veggies since February. The New Zealanders on the base made a list of requests that include wasabi peas, melon, and tomatoes. Read about their requests here.

What do you think you would crave after six months of winter isolation in the Antarctic?

I think the number one thing I would miss would be tomatoes, especially grape tomatoes. Also, I would probably crave fresh berries.

Southern Ocean Nearing CO2 Capacity

In an article about Earth approaching the climate tipping point I found a link to another story about the CO2 content in the Southern Ocean that surrounds the Antarctic. So far the Southern Ocean has done most of the work of keeping so much of the carbon dioxide we release out of our atmosphere, but there is only so much it can take in as a carbon sink. It efficiency is lessening to the point where it will not hold much more, thus more of the carbon dioxide we release is staying the atmosphere.


Does this make you think more about your energy use?


I have been conscious of my energy use for years, but this really does make me think that we really need to be more committed to lessening our carbon dioxide release.

Photo of the Day

Today's photo of the day was taken by me.



M/V Polar Star, Drake Passage, December 2004

To submit a photo to be featured in a future Photo of the Day post send me an e-mail at antarcticpostcards@gmail.com with the subject line of Antarctic Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

Photo of the Day

Today's photo of the day was taken by Linda Terrill.



Gentoo Penguins, January 2006

To submit a photo to be featured in a future Photo of the Day post send me an e-mail at antarcticpostcards@gmail.com with the subject line of Antarctic Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Call of the Ice by David Harrowfield

I just learned about this new book by reading this article. It is written by a man who has visited and reported on Antarctica for over 30 years. It is focused on the history of New Zealand involvement in Antarctica drawing on interviews, personal accounts, and records. The author considers it easy to read. It certainly at least sounds like the kind of book I would read.

Photo of the Day

Today's photo of the day was taken by Linda Terrill.



Tabular Iceberg, January 2006

To submit a photo to be featured in a future Photo of the Day post send me an e-mail at antarcticpostcards@gmail.com with the subject line of Antarctic Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

China to Build 3rd Antarctic Research Station

China already has two stations in Antarctica. They have now announced that they will build a third one. It is planned to be built in two years on Dome A, which is Antarctica's highest ice cap. I find it interesting that the people to go there in October are already going acclimation training in Tibet. It just seems odd that acclimation training is being seen important enough to begin so early. You can find the article about this new base here.

Into the Caldera

Below is part of a travel journal I wrote on my experience in Antarctica in December 2004. This one is about hiking Deception Island.

Deception Island is a dormant volcano. The most recent eruption was in 1991-92. The water filled caldera was formed when the volcano’s cone collapsed. The caldera provides one of the world’s safest harbors, except during the occasional eruption. At Bailey Head, where we started our hike, we encountered a lot of guano, penguin droppings. Guano is very smelly; during the first part of our hike it was everywhere. I was part of the majority of the group that ended up with the product that produces one of the strongest scents in Antarctica on my boots. Guano also added to the colors of Antarctica being available in red and green. Perfect for Christmas some said. In the middle of our hike at the edge of the Chinstrap Penguin rookery we stopped for 10 minutes of silence to listen to the Chinstraps sing. They may be flightless birds, but they sure can sing. By being able to sing I mean they are loud, but most would not consider it harmonious. I found it a delightfully loud sound to hear in the ever so soft-spoken Antarctica. Whaler’s Bay is named for its use in the days of whaling in Antarctica. Floating factory ships use to work in the Bay. After WWI a shore-based station was set up to process the over 3,000 whale carcasses that littered the beach. Whaler’s Bay, where our hike ended, offered another of the strongest scents in Antarctica. The steam from the water smelled like sulfur. It did not fully hit me that Deception Island was a volcano until I got a whiff of the sulfur when I reached the beach of Whaler’s Bay. It was also a pleasant surprise to step into warm water with my boots instead of cold. Although my boots were waterproof, often the cold or warm temperature of the outside penetrated them. The hike begins among the half a million Chinstrap penguins of Baily Head on the Penguin Highway. The hike is over three ridges, the highest being 1900 feet, through snow. Over the last ridge appears the abandoned whaling station. The best way down is sliding on your bottom. Most in our group who tried to walk down ended up on their bottoms anyway. The view of the water-filled caldera from the last ridge was worth the guano-scented boots I ended up with.

Photo of the Day

Today's photo of the day was taken by Linda Terrill.



Gentoo Penguins, January 2006

To submit a photo to be featured in a future Photo of the Day post send me an e-mail at antarcticpostcards@gmail.com with the subject line of Antarctic Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Update on the Antarctic Workers Must Pay Taxes

I just discovered an updated article on this issue I was disgusted at earlier. While I am still disgusted by them wanting to be tax free, I now see that there is also a obnoxious government part of it, too, which I suspected must exist to some extent as usual. The thing is that the workers in Antarctica do not get paid overtime even though almost everyone ends up working overtime. Raytheon gets away with it because the government rules that when it comes to labor laws the U.S. considers the Antarctic a foreign country. I think the tax thing should stand firm, but I really think that for the same reason it stands firm in that Antarctica does not have a government taxing the workers that because there is no government to enforce labor laws that the workers on the U.S. bases should work under the U.S. labor laws. The updated I article can be seen here.

Court Rules U.S. Antarctic Workers Still Have to Pay Taxes

Apparently some people who worked down in Antarctica decided that there wages should not be taxed by the U.S. government since they were living and working in Antarctica. They think they are eligible for the tax exemption U.S. citizens get when living in another country for at least 330 days of a year. Well, two things are very wrong with this idea. First off, Antarctica is not a country, so technically you are on a international territory just like international waters. Secondly, you are not paying taxes to an Antarctic government because of the fact that it is not a country and has no government. I think it is absurd that they even thought that they could get away with paying absolutely no taxes, especially when if I am not mistaken at least some of our tax money goes to the National Science Foundation that allows them to be working down there even if they are being employed by Raytheon. The fact is without the scientific work being done by the National Science Foundation the Raytheon support staff would not be needed. I totally get them saying that they were not living in the United States for the tax year, but the thing is that the tax exemption law is meant to give U.S. citizens living in a foreign country and paying taxes to the country a break from paying two countries taxes on the same money. Here is the article from where I heard about this.

Photo of the Day

Today's photo of the day was taken by Linda Terrill.



Iceberg, January 2006

To submit a photo to be featured in a future Photo of the Day post send me an e-mail at antarcticpostcards@gmail.com with the subject line of Antarctic Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo.

International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences

From August 26 through August 30 this year the 10th International Symposium on Antarctic Earth Sciences with take place at University of California - Santa Barbara. It will be a gathering of over 400 scientists from over 35 countries. The first such symposium was held in 1963. The title chosen for this, the 10th one, is "Antarctica: A Keystone in a Changing World." It should be an interesting topic with the Antarctic showing so many of the early and/key signs of climate change, as well as its role in telling about past climate and its potential to cause further climate change. You can read the news article I heard about the symposium from here.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Going to Antarctica as a Firefighter

Believe it or not they do have firefighters in Antarctica. Here is a story about one man getting ready to head to the McMurdo station for seven months. Sounds like one of the biggest risks for fires are the airplanes that land there. Personally I think that is cool that he can do the same job down there that he does at home. I have often looked into the Raytheon jobs offered in Antarctica, but I can never find any that I qualify for.

Photo of the Day

Today's photo of the day was taken by Linda Terrill.



Drake Passage, January 2006
There were definitely more typical Drake Passage rough seas during her trip.

To submit a photo to be featured in a future Photo of the Day post send me an e-mail at antarcticpostcards@gmail.com with the subject line of Antarctic Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo.

Monday, August 13, 2007

Don't Take a White iPod to Antarctica

That is the advice that one young man gave at one of his stops talking at schools in New Zealand. Jamie Fitzgerald lost his iPod a few weeks into his trek to the South Pole. Even me who wants to go back to Antarctica does not want to do what he did. Sure I want to summer down there, but I would like to stay at or near a base and even if I am going to the South Pole I would want to do it by vehicle or plane. It is not the cold that I do not think I could deal with (with plenty of layers of course), but rather I had enough of trekking in the snow from my December 2004 unexpected climb from the edge of Deception Island up and down into the caldera. You can read more about Fitzgerald's trip here.

Will Steger to Attend Christchurch Antarctic Festival

Searching the news today I learned about the Antarctic Festival from an article about the famous explorer, Will Steger, being one of the people who will attend the 50th anniversary of New Zealand's Scott Base. The 50th anniversary is being celebrated at the Antarctic Festival that takes place annually in Christchurch, New Zealand. The dates this year are September 24 through 30. It looks like an interesting festival that celebrates the connection between Christchurch and many Antarctic expeditions. I think I will add attending the Anarctic Festival in Christchurch to my list of things I would like to do in my lifetime.

Photo of the Day

I have decided to start a daily series in which I post a photo from the Antarctic. I will start by using my own photos. While I could probably go a year doing that, I would love to feature your photos, too. Whenever I have a reader's submission photo available I will post that instead of one of my own. With the photo submission I will display the person's name and a link to their website if they choose to include one. To submit a photo send me an e-mail at antarcticpostcards@gmail.com with the subject line of Antarctic Photo. In the e-mail attach your photo and include your name, date of the photo (just month and year is necessary), website you want me to link to, and a description of the photo.



Drake Passage, December 2004

This was a pretty calm day on the Drake Passage as you can see from this photo. It definitely did not seem like the roughest seas that day like it is supposed to be.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Romantic Proposal in the Antarctic

I never really thought about someone proposing in the Antarctic even if they work there until I stumbled upon this news article. The article is called "A Midwinter's Night Dream Proposal". It is a quite a romantic story of a couple who recently got engaged and both work in Antarctica. It sounds like it is a great uplifting and exciting thing to take place while they are in the middle of the winter with 24 hours of darkness.

Antarctica Brings Works To California Museum

Another news search brought up this article. It is pretty short and brief. It just discusses some photographers that went to Antarctica and there work being shown at a California Museum. The meaning to me about, though, is somewhat more significant. One of the photographers went to Antarctica with the National Science Foundation Artists and Writers Program. That is the program I submitted a grant to in June that I really hope to get, thus it was interesting to read a little about one of the person's work that came from doing the program.

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Cool Antarctica Website

The Cool Antarctica website is one of my favorite websites about Antarctica. The site has some great photos in their Antarctic pictures gallery. You can use the photos within the guidelines for free and also purchase them as stock photos. The website also has plenty more to offer including information on Antarctic cruises, facts about Antarctica, the history of Antarctica, information about whales, and a store.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Life-Forms "Resurrected" After Millennia in Ice

Looking up Antarctica on the Google News search I found this article titled Life-Forms "Resurrected" After Millennia in Ice that I thought was interesting and worth sharing. The article talks about scientists from Rutgers University bringing back to life microbes when they thawed ice from Antarctica. You can read the whole article here. The whole idea of these microbes still being alive leads to another story I found about this discovery. This article discusses how with Antarctic ice melting it may release germs with unknown consequences. Can you imagine what implications these long dormant germs could have on animal/human populations and possibly the environment as well? It will certainly be interesting to see how this new discovery plays out. The second article is located here.

Postcards From Antarctica

I have started this blog to write about topics related to Antarctica. I have been to Antarctica once back in December 2004 on a Students on Ice expedition. Ever since I interned at WWF-US and researched Climate Change in Antarctica back in 2006 I have wanted to return to Antarctica.

If you have any requests for topics comment on the most recent post on this blog and I will do what I can to make a blog post(s) on that topic/question.