Antarctic Field Course - Study Abroad

• Course |
• Past Years |
• Links |
• Contact |

• Interactive Tour|
• Journals|

April's Jouranl

QA

Please use the links below to view a specific date further down the page. December - 2003 Sun. 14 Mon. 15 Tue. 16 Wed. 17 Thu. 18 Fri. 19 Sat. 20 Sun. 21 Mon. 22 Tue. 23 Wed. 24 Thu. 25 Fri. 26 Sat. 27 Sun. 28 Mon. 29 Tue 30 Wed. 31 January - 2004 Thu. 1 Fav. Photos

Photos credited to April. Click an image to enlarge, hover over an image for a description.

Sunday 14 December 2003

The snow-capped mountains take my breath away. It amazes me and leaves me feeling somehow more complete. There are so many beautiful places in the world and there is so little time to see them.

We checked into our hotel, the Cap Polonio, and went out for some lunch. The weather is decent enough: cloudy and 50°F with a slight breeze. The air smells fresh and clean. We wandered around the town and then headed back to our hotel for a quick shower before dinner.

I spent some time reading our Antarctic Primer and learned that the fish can actually lower their freezing temperature in order to escape death. It's amazing how many adaptations animals and plants alike have in order to survive in this extreme environment.

We had dinner at a wonderful steak restaurant, where I had the most tasty, juicy, and tender piece of steak in my entire life. It, along with a beer, only cost me ~22 pesos, or a little over eight dollars. It ceases to amaze me at how far the US dollar will go here. The society is mostly dependent on the tourism brought by the city itself and by Antarctica.

Monday 15 December 2003

The first museum, Museo de la Yamana, was very interesting and addressed the paleohistory of Tierra del Fuego and the tribes that inhabited the area, specifically the Yamanas. I was interested to learn that Tierra del Fuego, meaning land of fire, was given its name because as the explorer, Magellan, was traveling through the Beagle Channel he saw many bright lights (fire from the tribes) all along the shore. The museum had much information about the Yamana tribe. There were intricate models of the coastal landscape and within this landscape the tribesman. Some of them were building huts, some of the women were collecting crabs and sea urchins from the sea, and one was even killing a whale.

The second museum, Museo del fin del mundo, was larger than the first and went into more detail about the exploration of Ushuaia and it had an area with stuffed penguins, seals, and aerial birds. It was really intriguing to see that the leopard and crabeater seals have modified teeth that allow them to strain krill from the seawater. I also discovered that the early missionaries took four of the tribe's people back to England for 2 years in order to educate them. When they brought the people back, some of the family members of one of the tribesmen taken killed seven of the missionaries.

That afternoon Kannan, Brad, Justin, and I climbed up half of the mountain to get a better view and to burn off the calories from the hamburger we had just eaten. It was quite breathtaking and I realized that no camera could ever capture the beauty of this place.

Tuesday 16 December 2003

Dustin, David, Karalea, Bethany, and I went grocery shopping to get some crackers and beverages for the ship, after which, we had lunch and I ate empanadas for the first time (they are similar to pasties.) We then headed out to our last museum, Museo Maritime. The museum was actually the orginal Ushuaian prison that had been renovated for historical use. They had left some parts in their orginal condition...and boy was it spooky. Although the prison had been built around 1888 and was only used for 40 years, it was in pretty bad shape. I was told that prison was closed due to the fact that the government changed and also due to humanitarian conditions.

After the museum I went to the boardwalk and took some pictures of the channel, it was a beautiful sunny day. We had a meeting at six to discuss our projects. Karalea and I are studying the amount of tree cover/density over a south to north direction and how it varies with elevation. We talked it over for a bit, but she, Craig, and I are going to have to trek up there to really see what our situation is.

For dinner, I had crab stuffed ravioli...heaven. Then a few of us headed over to the Irish Pub for a few drinks and bonded. I had a really nice day.

Wednesday 17 December 2003

After our lecture a few of my group mates and I headed out to find a grassy knoll. While the boys shopped for picnic food, I traversed the eastern part of the town and ended up north of the old prison. A small brook blocked my path, but then I noticed a piece of wood laid across it. So, I crossed it and found a nice green patch of grass with the mountains directly behind me and the channel directly in front of me. While the boys and I munched on our food, I realized that that thin piece of wood connected many of the locals to another small village or location because we saw at least 15 people from the town cross it and head over the hill. I think that I will follow the trail when we get back into town; I've always been a curious one.

We then made our way back to the Hotel Albatross and left to board our ship. After a few meetings about the ship and its regulations, we had a wonderful steak dinner and all went on deck to watch us travel down the Beagle Channel. Little did we know the turbulent waters we were heading toward.

Thursday 18 December 2003

When the waves calmed a little bit and I was starving, I made my way to dinner and had some soup and a baked potato. After dinner, I went out to the stern to look at the waves. I realized at that moment that there was no land in sight. How often does that occur? I felt tinier at that moment then I ever have. The ship was rocking pretty badly, but you can't really feel it when you're on the deck. I stayed out for a bit to calm my stomach. I watched the different birds following our ship. I can't imagine the early explorers searching out for new land. A wooden sailing ship crossing Drake's Passage with no map...I don't think so. Bravery or stupidity? Perhaps, it was a little of both. Either way, their discoveries are allowing myself and fellow classmates to safely explore the last inhabited and most isolated continent.

I don't have any pictures from this day because I was sick most of the time.

Friday 19 December 2003

After lunch I spent about 5 hours or so outside. I saw wandering albatross, storm petrels, and two fin whales; hopefully, they all came out clearly on my handy cam. When I first went outside it was reasonably warm, I had to undo my coat and take off my scarf. However, after about 45 minutes or so the wind change from west to east to east to west, the temperature dropped at least 5 C, and the wind picked up dramatically. I went from being hot to being freezing. I had to run back inside to put on all my polar gear. This change in wind direction meant that we were leaving the northern part of the Southern Sea and heading into the southern part of the Southern Sea.

After a few more hours the temperature dropped even more and some penguins were even sighted. Then all at once a thick fog surrounded the ship…in a matter of 20 seconds or so. I filmed this fog on my camcorder, but I don't have any pictures of it because I had no camera. This fog was occurring because the air itself was cold, but the water was still relatively warm so condensation was occurring. Therefore, when the fog lifts, then we will truly be in Antarctic waters and the continent is close.

At our meeting tonight we found out that we will have three landings tomorrow where we will see, hopefully, 3 species of penguin and elephant seals. I really want to see the seals, they are mammoth and quite intimidating…or so I've heard.

Saturday 20 December 2003

The second island was Yankee Harbor. This area didn't impress me much when compared to the first site. It had all Gentoo penguins, but we did see one Macaroni and Adelie that were visiting.

The third stop was Half Moon Island. I helped Justin collect data on Chinstrap penguin feeding behavior by counting the number of penguin species entering and exiting the water. This took up quite a bit of time, so I only had a few minutes to enjoy the scenery. I climbed up the first slope and what I saw was the most beautiful landscape that I've ever seen. There was a marvelous glacier and mountains behind a small lake. It formed more of a valley from the point at which I was standing. The lighting was superb; since it was 10pm, the sun was beginning to set. Even though it was cloudy, there was some blue sky playing around the peaks of the mountaintops.

We celebrated the night with a small fiesta and our group bonded. It was lots of laughs.

Sunday 21 December 2003

It was a very windy day, making the water extremely choppy. Once again, Justin and I collected feeding data on these penguins. We sat down on the pebble beach and observed. At one point I turned to my right and a penguin was standing there staring at me…he was only a half a meter away. Then he walked behind me and was even closer. I was so excited and I even got it on video.

After our data was collected, we wandered around the area and walked into what I would call Penguin Paradise. In the valley and all along the sloping hills were hundreds of penguin pairs, all nesting. It was noisy and stinky as ever. Yet, I will note that the guano smell is not bothering me as it did at the first landing. I saw a recently dead penguin and Bethany was picking at it and opening its mouth - I got it all on film. I've gotten everything on film!

After lunch we went to our second landing, which was called Whaler's Bay on Deception Island. There is a dormant volcano that is located there that caused a sand slide that destroyed the scientific bases around 1969. Originally, though, it was where whalers obtained whale oil from the blubber in the early 1900s. They would leave the carcasses on the shore or just push them back into the bay. This caused quite a stench and finally they cleaned it up.

We saw the abandoned buildings and oil-holding cylinders. Then a few of the crew dug a moderate sized hole next to shore line, which filled with steaming hot water located right under the soil surface. The magma flowing close to the ground surface heated the water. Then the whole group, except Mark and I, jumped in to the Antarctic waters and then into the steaming tub. It was hilarious.

We all made it home for a Russian dinner and performance, after which we attended a penguin lecture and decorated the ship with Christmas decorations. All in all, it was a great day.

Monday 22 December 2003

After lunch we went through the Lamaire Channel to reach our second landing, Petermann Island, but we had to stop because two icebergs had floated into the center of the channel, blocking the way. So we had to turn around and get to the island from the opposite side.

Since, it would take longer, we had some extra time to ourselves. We decided to watch for whales because we needed to get data on behavior, number and species. We saw only one Minke whale and one seal. Hopefully, we'll have better luck tomorrow. After whale watching, we had a BBQ outside…no one is ever going to believe this! We ate bratwurst, drank gluwine, and listened to music.

We finally made it to Petermann Island later that evening and saw our first Leopard seal and Adelie penguins. They were nesting close to Gentoos, which I thought was interesting. I suppose they fight more amongst eachother than they do between species. We also found one of two vascular plants found in Antarctica called hair grass. It grows in small tufts in order to keep a bit of heat in so that it can survive in the cold climate. It was a beautiful island with icebergs that floated like sculptures in the water. It was a magnificent place.

Tuesday 23 December 2003

The group that went on the cruise first had a wonderful experience with a Minke whale. Supposedly, the whale was swimming next to and underneath the Zodiacs for quite awhile. Unfortunately, by the time we went out for the cruise, he had tired of playing and went off on his own. Regardless, the cruise was wonderful and we saw some beautiful jade ice. Jade ice is the oldest ice in a berg that has a bluish green color due to the fact that the air within the ice has become so compressed that the reflectivity is dramatically lessoned.

Then Olle, our expedition leader, said that we were going to be able to walk on an iceberg. I thought he was joking; however, he was not. It was crazy; we actually walked on an iceberg that was grounded at one point on the sea floor.

After lunch, the day's excitement finally reached its climax. Two humpback whales, a mother and her calf, were swimming along side the ship. They were diving and breeching. This carried on for at least ten minutes and I was completely captivated. Words cannot express the beauty and power that these two mammals conveyed.

Our last landing was something of a farewell to Antarctica. We stopped at the Cuverville Island and said goodbye to the Gentoos. We did get to see the sun's halo - which is caused from ice crystals that form in the atmosphere and reflect the sun's rays.

After our last landing we attended a lecture about killer whales, which aren't actually whales, but dolphins. We learned that there are three subspecies of orcas: residential, transient, and offshore. Their differences are mainly due to their location and feeding habits.

I had to run to bed early this evening - 8:30pm - because my stomach can't handle the Drake Passage. It's a choice of either getting sick, or just sleeping it off.

Wednesday 24 December 2003

We talked first about the different types of Pinnepeds, or seals, of Antarctica. There are 3 families of seals: the eared seals, the true seals, and the walruses. I was interested to learn that the seals are thought to have evolved from a bear-like terrestrial animal. They are also very sensitive to motion through the whiskers on their face. There are 6 species of seal found in Antarctica: Weddell, Ross, elephant, fur, leopard, and crabeater (most abundant). These mammals have special adaptations that allow them to survive in the cold. First, they have very small extremities so as not to lose heat. Secondly, they have a thicker layer of fat and fur to keep heat in. Thirdly, they can constrict their blood vessels on the surface of their skin so that they don't lose heat while lying on the ice.

After lunch I took a quick snooze to fight off the oncoming nausea caused by the Drake Shake. When I awoke I attended a lecture by Charles Swithenbank on how he was part of the first International Antarctic Research Expedition in 1949 that took place in Queen Maud Land. The three countries that were involved were Norway, Sweden, and Britain. The purpose of the expedition was to look for possibilities of global warming. Charles and the other scientists wintered over for over two years to collect their data. Three men died after going over a cliff in dense fog and one man lost his eye while chiseling rock.

Olle gave the last talk of the evening about Otto Nordenskjord's Swedish Expedition in 1901. To make it brief, the expedition was split up into three groups: one being the researchers, the messengers, and the crew. Over the period of a year they wintered over on the continent, not knowing how the other men fared. When spring came they traveled to the main base and all three groups met up with each other right about the same time an Argentinean ship arrived to rescue them. Talk about good timing!

Thursday 25 December 2003

As we rounded Cape Horn we also watched the film Around Cape Horn by Irving Johnson. It was hilarious. He narrated a film that he made while he was on the schooner Peking in 1929 rounding Cape Horn. The sailboat he was on was incredible. I believe I counted about 5 or 6 sails on the multi-masted ship. In some of the storm scenes, Johnson must have been up on one of the masts with the camera pointing downward because you could see the ocean waves crashing across the deck. I've never seen so much water on a boat and not have it actually sink it.

There was a Captain's Farewell party followed by our six course Christmas dinner with drinks on the house! It was so wonderful; actually, every meal on this ship has been excellent. We have been totally spoiled and I know we'll miss it when we get back to Ushuaia. We partied with the crew and guests to celebrate the holiday. It was quite memorable and I do look forward to talking to my family tomorrow when we get back on land.

Saturday 26 December 2003

We needed to take a trip up to it first in order to see what we were dealing with. The plan was to have the class help us collect data the following day. So the professors and Karalea and I began our hike at the Glacier Martial. It was the most intense and exciting hike of my life. I got muddy, wet, and obtained all kinds of cuts and bruises…it was great. It was interesting to see the trees shrink in size, but increase in number on the way up. Also, as we climbed the trunks we severely bent in a 'L' shape. This bending occurs as soil erosion takes place. The tree may start to 'slide,' essentially, down the steep slope; it bends in order to grow upward and, therefore, will not fall over. As we approached tree line, we were no longer able to walk on the ground, but rather were walking atop the compact trees themselves.

Once above tree line, the landscape was breathtaking. As Callista said, "It's still raining in Chile." In place of trees were lichens, mosses, metamorphic rocks, and cushions plants. These cushion plants are some of the neatest vascular plants I've seen. They grew in formations called poulestres, meaning they had dense, thick, stiff, foliage that grew close to the ground. It was so stiff; in fact, that you could step on it and your foot would not leave and imprint.

It took us about an hour to climb up and about an hour to come down (this was the fun part.) We jumped over brooks and streams that were mountain fed, pouring down toward Ushuaia. It was a bit treacherous, but wonderfully exciting. We made it back to the hotel where I stuffed my face and passed out from exhaustion.

Sunday 27 December 2003

The morning began with many lectures about climate change, climate in the Antarctic, and different chryptogams to be found on the mountainside. We discussed that the three main drivers of climate were radiative energy from the Sun, the circulation system (wind and ocean), and the hydrologic (water) system. I feel like a meteorologist now after learning how pressure gradients force air to move and that the coreolis effect controls the Earth's rotation and primarily affects atmospheric circulation.

We dove directly into the Antarctic climate specifically. Besides being the windiest and coldest place on Earth, there are other interesting facts about the continent. The Antarctic Convergence (where the South Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans come together) is an area that is never static and provides much of the higher marine carnivores with food. Due to the strong oceanic circulation through this area, much of the krill, squid, and phytoplankton gets churned up here to be served as a buffet, so to speak.

We then talked briefly about lichens and their various forms (fruiticose, foliose, and crustose,) mosses, and liverworts. They serve as great bio-indicators for various aspects of the global environment; some indicate pollution in the air and others indicate environments that are very wet and saturated.

After these lectures we left for the mountain to begin collecting data. All went smoothly. We broke up into groups to cover more area and everything seemed to work out. I really do appreciate everyone's patience and understanding with this project.

Sunday 28 December 2003

We began looking at the marine life, from the phytoplankton (the basis of all life) to the human aspect. It astounds me that there are enough algae produced in the euphotic (or surface) water to supply all the zooplankton, which in turn provides all other higher marine and terrestrial fauna. Being a plant person, I enjoy and appreciate seeing how dependent all life is on primary producers. They allow life to happen and I believe that it is important that everyone understand the power of chlorophyll and those organisms, which harness the ability to produce it. If more people took the time to understand how dependent we are on plants, maybe there would be less habitat destruction, less pollution, and more respect as a result of more awareness.

The second lecture had to do with another important aspect that I mentioned above…pollution. John gave a lecture about pollutants (like PCBs) found in the fish in most any of the waters in the world. Seals, whales, and fish are found to have high concentrations of PCBs and other pesticide chemicals in their fatty tissue. People don't realize that the polluting that occurs in Michigan, for example, will show up in animals that live near the South Pole. It's terrifying to learn that human side effects can be sterility, chloracne (scarring on the face), and learning disabilities.

These persistent organic pollutants move through the atmosphere and can be trapped in the ice at the north and south poles. As global warming occurs, this ice begins to melt and flushes these pollutants into the aquatic environment. These pollutants have become so concentrated that Indian women in tribes in the Arctic, which primarily feed on fish, have been found to have traces the pollutants in their breast milk. As far as Antarctica is concerned, PCBs have been found in the soil, biota, and seawater. Fortunately, a UN treaty was passed where 127 countries banned the 12 main pollutants destroying our environment. Unfortunately, we still have long way to go.

Monday 29 December 2003

It was interesting to hear about the major differences between the sub-Antarctic islands and the continent itself. A lot of the wildlife remains, e.g. penguins, seals, and seabirds, but there are also many differences between it the mainland.

First, the islands are much more stable as far as temperature is concerned. Antarctica varies greatly between summer and winter, where the islands do not. The island is formed from plates moving upward; therefore, the island is basically made of ocean floor sediment. It has been noted for its geological significance and named one of the World's Biosphere Reserves.

Another main difference is that there is no permafrost. It rains ~340 days per year and experiences ~320 freeze/thaw periods within each year. This is very unlike Antarctic conditions where some areas are covered in over 2 miles of snow and ice. While wind in the islands is the primary limiting factor and in Antarctica this may be - but the cold temperatures limit growth much more than wind does.

This brings me to the point of whether the sub-Antarctic islands are really of the Antarctic. It seems to me through the presentation given today that there are many more differences between the two landforms than there are similarities. I begin to wonder what basis they define these islands as being related to the Antarctic at all. However, these islands are important in indicating climate change. If the islands are being affected, then you can guarantee that these changes affect the continent next.

Tuesday 30 December 2003

One of the coolest things that I really enjoyed was the bog. I took a wetlands class last semester and visiting the bog let me test some of my knowledge. This particular bog had something that I've never seen before. All of the Drosera uniflora (Sundew) were flowering; it was fascinating. After the Park, everyone passed out on the bus on the way home, we were all totally exhausted. We had an hour or so of free time and then had to return to our lecture room for 4 hours of presentations. The presentations went well and everyone did a great job. What really thrilled me was that the presentations served as a great review for the exam that we'll have tomorrow.

Tonight Karalea and I stayed up until 2am working on our presentation for tomorrow morning. It was extremely frustrating because our computer kept freezing up and the little magic stick (portable USB stick) wasn't working well because the software wasn't installed and then the computer didn't want to install it. Fortunately, it finally got done and hopefully everyone will enjoy our presentation on the structure and age of the Nothofagus spp. that we studied up by the Glacier Martial.

Wednesday 31 December 2003

We took the exam at 4pm and I got done with it a little after 6pm. It was long, but I enjoyed it somewhat…especially the essay. I was able to get a little creative and bit poetic. I hope I did well, it wasn't an easy test.

Finally, we got to let loose. The Profs paid for a nice dinner and drinks at the Albatross Hotel. They had live entertainment consisting of a saxophonist, a dj, and a marvelous couple that were doing the tango; these two were fantastic. I'm now inspired to learn how to do the tango; maybe I'll take classes when I go home. The rest of the night was great. We all danced and laughed. It was a great way to spend the New Year.

Thursday 1 January 2004

We leave tomorrow for Buenos Airès and then off to Miami. I can't believe this trip is almost over. I was waiting so long to finally get here and now it's done. The whole experience has been so completely surreal. I want to go home so that I can develop my pictures and tell all my friends and family about my amazing journey.

I want to tell them about the ecosystem and the delicate balance in which all the living organisms exist. I want to show them what beauty and power this place holds. I desire for them to hold dear to them this place and the life that lives within it. The importance of this deep respect and humble attitude is to protect these areas that are most valuable. Much research has been done in this place and from it we as a global community have benefited in many ways. We learn about the many interactions that occur between the flora and fauna, and how we are even affected over a long enough timeline. We can also see what detrimental affects we have on the ecosystem and how we receive feedbacks (mostly not so good ones) from those actions. I know that not many people may have the opportunity that I have to see this all first hand. However, I will use my voice and my pictures to do my best in expressing all of this information. This area must be protected from exploitation on any level; from whaling and sealing to fossil fuel mining, from krill harvesting to breaking off chunks of ice shelf that will be melted down and used as freshwater. We as a global society must protect these areas from further contamination and destruction, or all that will be left of Antarctica are pictures and the memories of those fortunate enough to have traveled there.

Favorite Photos