Antarctic Field Course - Study Abroad
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Kannan's Journal
QA
Name: KannanMajor: physics, chemistry, computational mathematics
Year of Study: senior
Why Did I Want To Study in Antarctica: ice physics research, lifelong dream
Biggest doubt before the trip: strongly doubted that seasickness was reality
Best moment/experience: waking up for the first time and seeing an iceberg less than a few hundred feet away.
Worst moment/experience: seasickness
Favorite Scenery/Place: Paradise Bay and the Lemaire Channel during sunset were spectacular
Favorite Animal: I liked the krill, they kind of grew in on me
Would I Do This Again? I plan to return!
What do I think differently about since being back? I view luxuries such as libraries, instrumentation and the internet with more appreciation after realising how much people take them for granted in remote research areas.
After Thoughts: This was an experience that I had been dreaming off for the longest while. I can't believe I can say I've actually been to Antarctica, and it is a shame that it ended so suddenly.
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Please use the links below to view a specific date further down the page.
December - 2003 January - 2004
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Photos credited to Kannan. Click an image to enlarge, hover over an image for a description.
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December 13, 2003 Saturday
I suppose leaving the United States was conceivably the most suitable point in time to mark as the beginning of our trip, a trip of my dreams. The time however was sadly inauspicious, as hoardes of Argentine girls came screaming into the terminal at Miami singing songs. This is something I'd normally ignore, except for the fact that crossing my fingers and hoping they were boarding the USAir flight to Buenos Aires didn't work, and they ended up on our own Aerolineas Argentinas aircraft.
This would be something I could look over as well, except once again for the fact that they were climbing over armrests and most atrocious of all: blocking the food cart. Giving up, I decided to call it a night and wake up to a better tomorrow.
December 14, 2003 Sunday
Getting past the hectic Buenos Aires airports, we boarded our aircraft to Ushuaia. Finally, on our way to the actual exotic tip of South America itself! Al Califate was the stop on the way, and it was the most remarkable landing ever, with green coloured water against a brown landscape, and a runway within 100 feet of the water. There was little for several kilometers of the runway except for the deserted terrain, this was surely a stop for the Patagonia explorers, and it was hard to believe that this was but the tip of the iceberg so to speak!
Upon arrival we learned that the restaurants actually close between lunch and dinner which are both eaten rather late by Western standards, but my roomate Brad and I in luck managed to find our saviour, the X Burger, a small fast food store that accepted credit cards and served food fast. A pleasant surprise was that the dollar sign was used for the peso as well, and the menus with the sign weren't conversions into American currency as previously imagined, giving us the spectacular luxury of dividing by three!
We made our way to the docks where we bumped into other members of our group, and spotted black petrels loitering around the area with the seagulls, amazingly large birds that they were! I had read much about the albatross, petrel and other large birds native to the area, but it was a humbling experience to see them in person and come to terms with the fact that these creatures could fly such incomprehensibly long routes during migration, and stare in awe at what wonderful adaptations they'd have had to take on to be able to accomplish such feats!
December 15, 2003 Monday
Today was spent exploring museums in the area after lecture, which had plenty to offer regarding the history of the Yamana people who had once occupied the Tierra del Fuego, the natural and recent history of the region, and an introduction to local species. Not being the most knowledged person regarding animals, this was the first time I had encountered the fact that not all penguins or seals were the same, rather that rockhopper, macaroni and other penguin species had remarkably noticeable differences.
The museums weren't the lone experience of the day however, for after the field trips a few of us decided to make it to the upper edge of Uhsuaia up in the mountains and try to catch a panoramic view of the town before heading down in time for lecture, and we were rewarded bountifully. According to the museums, much of the landscape we were standing on was strongly influenced by glacial erosion, which was a concept to ponder; it was certainly not easy to grasp that all the magnificent peaks and rock formations that lay as far as we could could see in any direction all came from patient, consistent glacial effects which helped shape the rock into its current majestic state. In the distance Beagle Channel was visible in its near entirety, and one could finally absorb the wonderful notion that we were indeed at the bottom of the inhabited world, and near the bottom of the world itself, a place usually seen only in a textbook.
December 16, 2003, Tuesday
Departure was drawing closer, and we spent the day at the maritime museum near the Ushauia naval compounds. The facility was once a prison for both criminals and political dissidents, and while we were there mainly for the Darwin room(perhaps more aptly known as the penguin room), it certainly merited a close look at all its facets. The room had many stuffed penguins which once again brought new idea to the size and scale of the animals we were soon to see - tomorrow!!
To begin with, there were many marvelous ship models created by the musem's own talented modeler, something I appreciated even more given my strong enthusiasm about that hobby. Though my own attempts modeling, such as the glorious USS Lionfish, KMS Deutschland and KMS Terpitz, couldn't hold a candle to these amazing creations, I appreciated them nonetheless. The prison itself was rather depressing, knowing that hundreds of poor souls actually endured this hardship - some deserved and others not, and walked these very halls.
After the museum a few of us had dinner by the shore, and I managed to capture a breathtaking sunset. Even this which we had taken for granted and come to expect on a daily basis would be scarce once we reached Antarctica, given that the sun really doesn't fall deep enough below the horizon according to astronomical charts, to cause any true nighttime in the real sense of the word. This was a perfect ending to a day that preceded the day we had all been waiting for: departure.
December 17, 2003, Wednesday
Even the limited communication we had with the outside world would soon end, for in a few hours we'd be boarding the M/V Orlova. We finally saw her at the port, after days of pondering by others of which ship was the Orlova. A few quick chores, calls and internet tasks later, we were ready to head out and board the vessel. Due to a member of the crew being late, we were informed that we'd be starting rather late, which was extemely disappointing since I had hoped to see the sunset from the Beagle Channel.
Nevertheless as we left port, the amber tinges began to appear and it was still a sight to behold! I appreciated it as the last full sunset we would see for a rather long time, as the hum of the diesel engines carried us further away from Ushuaia and ever further into the increasingly turbulent waves. After reading a book on wave theory and the interesting effects of wave energy dissipation into boundary surfaces, I gained a stronger appreciation for being able to sense the actual changes in the wave fields, such as the clearly rising wave amplitude that we encountered not even a kilometer out of the safety of the harbour.
Ben from our group and I resolved to stay awake to watch us leave the Beagle Channel, and we surprisingly kept this promise for around 3:00am we watched as the last islands and formations of the channel passed and the ship turned starboard. The waves were indeed noticeably stronger, and I had accomplished a personal goal of observing the end. I slept with a sense of achievement this night!
December 18, 2003, Thursday
Despite all illusions otherwise, I was beginning to feel seasick. I envisioned standing on the deck, watching the waves roar by, defeating seasickness, because it was just a mental inability to grasp my visual perception of motion with my ears' semicircular canal perception, and envisioned making a day of today. Instead, I vomited at the mention of lunch, took a pill of dramamine and knocked myself out for the day. And thus concluded my first full day aboard the ship! This was deeply disappointing, especially given how overconfident I was staying awake through the hours as well excited that I had weathered the waves.
December 19, 2003, Friday
I finally woke up in the evening today, somewhat accustomed to the motion. The waves were swinging us around somewhat roughly, but I got out on deck to appreciate the mist and fog which came and left suddenly, a meteorological phenomenon often mentioned in seafarers tales from days past. The pictures wouldn't come out accurately enough to depict what we saw given the difficulty in metering, but visibility was at times less than a third of the shiplength, which would be approximately 20 meters! At this time it was hard to even see the albatross and other seabirds which had so faithfully followed the ship this far.
I made my way to the bridge for the first time, and watched the Hughes radar as it spotted 5 meter and higher objects in its range. Suddenly, a boy pointed out the first iceberg, off to our starboard bow, which the radar revealed to be approximately 3 kilometers away. Technology was amazing indeed, but it was more fulfilling to finally see an iceberg in person. It was merely a tiny white spec off in the horizon, but words cannot explain the exhilaration - we were finally here! Finally, we were within reach of the lonely continent.
December 20, 2003, Saturday
This morning would go down as one of the most memorable mornings ever. It was undoubtedly absurdly early, and the expedition leader's impersonation of a rooster woke us up in the most obnoxious manner imaginable. But the moment we peered out the window, all misgivings were forgotten, for right outside one could see not just a change from the monotonous sea and sky, but large, beautiful icebergs of many different shapes and sizes. The time taken by the pupils to readjust to the new light level was also necessary for grasping the unbelievable which was namely the obvious fact that we were in Antarctica! All the seasickness, dramamine and being thrown against the ship walls was at this point in time more than worth!
Soon after, we set out in the calm waters to Aitcho(HO) island, for our first landing. Penguins, ice, rocks, and a pleasant walk to the other side of the island would greet us. Off to the side was perhaps a large tabular iceberg which was larger than my wildest dreams, in the scale of the Pictured Rock National Lakeshore, except ice as opposed to rock! We encountered our first elephant seals we well, the most flatulent and lazy species I had ever encountered, and scores of chinstrap and gentou penguins.
Soon after we landed at Yankee Harbour, and we set about taking our first measurements of daylight luminosity and the albedo of the snow as well as some basic temperature measurements to the best of our ability. Here we saw a lone macaroni penguin wandering with the others, and perceived our isolation when off in the distance we could see the Orolova drifting around while we explored.
Finally we landed on Half Moon Island where we continued our exploration and enjoyed the eerie solitude and low cloud cover of the area. Coming back on board after our last landing of the day, it took some time, as it has so often happened, to absorb the sights we had seen.
December 21, 2003, Sunday
Today we reached Deception Island, and our first landing was Bailey Head, an alternate landing as decided by meteorological conditions. This landing was noticeably rougher for there were large swells that caused more turbuluence in the zodiac, the rubber boats we used to make landings, than I had encountered before.
Here we saw two penguin colonies, and we once again took measurements with light meter apparatus. This was exciting, but couldn't hold a candle to the next site we were to go to, namely the caldera of Deception Island itself! We were called above decks to witness the entrance maneuvers which was not something done too often.
We could see the old British Antarctic Survey station which had been abandoned in this active volcano, and digging a few feet into the ground and letting sea water in gave us actual hottubs! Some members were courageous enough to do the Antarctic plunge, which consisted ideally of jumping into the cold water and then the hot tub, but between my disdain for extremely cold water and lack of swimming skills, I passed on this opportunity!
Neptunes window as it was called, was a section of the caldera wall that had collapsed, forming a "window" from which one could see the open sea, an amazing point which gave a panoramic view of the island as well as the sea. Soon we had boarded the Orlova again, and people went below decks, except a few of us who stayed above to watch us leave this magnificent masterpiece of nature seen by so few.
December 22, 2003, Monday
Today we paid our first visit to an Antarctic inhabitation, namely Port Lockroy, a British station. It was interesting to meet people who spent extensive time in the area, in what was to me a frightening level of isolation from the world! Visiting an island by the station we observed as tourists disturbed a seal and forced it into the water as it was panickstricken at the sight of so many humans, a very sad but real aspect of tourism in Antarctica. Mailing home a postcard from such a southern and remote post office was rather novel.
What was most amazing about this sight though was the prevalence of sea ice in this port, for this was a narrow channel and small harbour surrounded by mountains that exhibited much glacial activity. The inward sides of the mountain had large glaciers that essentially calved away and sent the debris into this calm water forming a dense debris field of sea ice that made navigation by zodiac all the more difficult. It was also crucial to note that this debris field, should one calculate the density, would give us the rate of calving since we could derive the rate at which they melted as well, which would also derive by equality the precipitation rate since calving usually equals the rate of precipitation, which is due to the fact that a glacier is treated as a highly viscous fluid with all other fluid mechanical properties obeyed. Calculating the density and mass of the ice however was a far too impractical task given our equipment and time, but it was interesting to note nevertheless.
After passing through the beautiful Lemaire channel with our MSU flag hoisted on the ship no less, which we had to turn around in due to icebergs blocking the path, we arrived at Peterman Island where the faculty spotted the first vascular plants of the trip. More interesting to me was the beautiful views of the sea ice everywhere and the glaciers that produced them in this relatively calm water. Tonight I stayed up late to watch as the sun set, a little past midnight, and though I instinctively expected it to get darker and darker, was shocked to observe it get brighter around 3:00am. This was a surprise at first, before remembering the skycharts. It is amazing how perception is a different matter when put in comparison to intellectual knowledge of a subject.
We also had a barbecue of sorts on the deck since it was such a nice day! A pleasant addition to the trip that took most of us by surprise!
December 23, 2003, Tuesday
Today was sadly the last day of our landings, but it was also the first time we would do what we had come down to do: land in Antarctica. Once again the obnoxious "rooster" woke us up, but we were in good spirits for we finally landed on the continent. We not only climbed the continent and saw Paradise Bay and its many glaciers, but we also got a rare opportunity to climb onto a stray iceberg. From atop a peak at the landing, which was at the Almirante Brown Argentine station, we could see the entire area in all its glory, including a newly collapsed glacier and its sea ice contribution.
That evening was a sad one indeed, for we got one last landing at Cuverville Island. We essentially took our measurements, and spent a good deal of time contemplating and reflecting on this life changing journey. Above us the crystals in the atmosphere caused the halo effect around the sun, a curious phenomenon known to the Antarctic region and studied with expensive spectrometric and atmospheric equipment carried on balloons. Below, the penguins went about their business, for tomorrow they'd be here just a they had been weeks prior to our intrusion, just as they well weeks from now, and perhaps years from now. This had changed our life, and yet years from now when I fondly recollect this trip, the mountains, sights and islands will still be here, slow to change. Farewell Antarctica, it is time to eat, and sleep quickly before the waves arrive!
December 24, 2003 Wednesday
Arrive they did, the waves hit fast and after getting our window sealed shut, I fell asleep. I woke up briefly to eat something, but slept almost immediately. This was another day that I considered wasteful, for I wished to overcome the unpleasant situation and enjoy my day on this ship, but sadly today would indeed go down as a wasted day hiding behind sleep to escape seasickness.
Very late in the day I woke up to enjoy some dancing on the deck which soon gave way to sleep after Christmas started. Nighttimes were longer now, a noticeable change from Antarctica.
December 25, 2003 Thursday
Today we saw Cape Horn, the southern tip of South America! Choppy waters were prevalent, but there in front of us was once again a land mass seen most frequently on textbooks, and here I was beholding it in person! The captain brought us in and set down anchor to enjoy a peaceful Christmas dinner on our last night aboard the ship. It was a sad occasion since we had by now grown so accustomed to the Orlova and her swaying, the creaks, the showers in rocky water, and the crew itself. A beautiful sunset crowned the ending of the day set aside to symbolically commemorate the birth of Christ, and coincidentally, the end of our journey.
Once again in the relative safety of the land around us, the water grew still. We enjoyed the night and packed away our items, and appreciated the other passengers and casual attitude that was prevalent through the ship on our last night. Soon we'd bid the Orlova farewell, and this was on everyone's mind, and as the night's darkness set in, the social merriment went into the night. How many a seafarer had seen these rocks that we saw today? I can only imagine Magellan and other adventurous seamen who had made their way here and found Tierra del Fuego, as natives set fires and carried on with daily tasks, only to see giant Spanish galleons and barques make their way through what was to them new territory.
Exchanging presents at our Christmas gift exchange was fun too, particularly given that I got my stuffed penguin for myself!
December 26, 2003 Friday
After disembarkation from the Orlova, we spent most of the day free. Bumping into much of the crew from the Orlova in Ushuaia proved to be amusing, and an interesting change. Once again the view of the Andes greeted me from my Cap Polonio window, and once again I could walk streets on civilized and inhabited land, another luxury taken too much for granted. There was much enjoyment of the television, internet and sleeping time to catch up with the rest of the world.
December 27, 2003 Saturday
Today we climbed up towards one of Ushuaias small glaciers, and took measurments along the treeline for Karalea and April's senior thesis. This provided us with the best view ever of the town and area, but sadly I didn't bring a camera out of pure laziness and assumption that I would return before the trip was over to retake pictures. It marked my first trip on the ski lift which proved to be somewhat harrowing in and of itself.
The glacier itself was amazing, and the old saying that it looks easier to climb from a distance was only too true, for the terrain was much more slippery and soft than earlier anticipated. After hours of measurments, we returned so I could take a three hour - yes three hour, shower to wash my shoes and pants.
I observed a fascinating mix of rocks while up in the mountain, many of them crushed sedimentary rock which had discernable layers that were extremely compacted. Some could even be pulled apart with bare fingers, if that portrays an understanding of precisely how discernable the layers were! The prevalence of these rocks is interesting enough to merit more study, for I am certain it gives a good understanding of the glacial activity into the region that lead to this development.
On return, I managed to get a picture of a siren runnign Argentine police pickup.
December 28, 2003 Sunday
Today was spent in lecture and we even had the fortune of having a faculty colleague be in town - imagine that- and give a lecture on IAATO and Antarctic treaties. Outside of this I managed to take a spontaneous excursion and enjoy a night view of Ushuaia including but not limited to a beautiful pictaresque sunset.
December 29, 2003 Monday
Today was yet another day spent doing little in terms of new adventure and more work. I studied a lot today and tried to remember food chains and whatnot, biological sciences that I am not as familiar with. Presentations were due soon, and between that, television and studying, there was little to note except that the in-hotel restaurant, the Marco Polo, which we had neglected for so long, was possibly the best cuisine in town. It would even, some would say,edge out the infamous and most beloved X Burger. This would be an addiction hard to cure as we would soon find out. Tomorrow however we were to visitthe Tierra del Fuego national park, in the heart of Patagonia, so we slept soon, knowing a new adventure would soon be upon us! Most of us anyways, for I was a stupid exception who decided to go to an internet cafe and listen to my Spartans fall after a valiant stand, to the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 2003 Alamo Bowl 17-3.
December 30, 2003 Tuesday
Tierra del Fuego National Park did not by any means disappoint, it was an absolutely amazing park which was everything and anything one would expect Patagonia to be. Deep in the foliage I encountered more crushed sediment rocks, particularly next to the shore. In the distance, we could see peaks of the Andes and Chile, and exotic trees and mushroom growth next to us.
There were many orange golf ball sized fungus growths throughout the foliage, and some of the braver members, upon assurance that it was not toxic, ate it. The water on the other hand was known to become toxic at times thanks to the introduction of a waterborn microbe.
What amazed me most was the low level of the clouds, which rose from both the water and the icecaps of the mountains giving an incredibly overcast condition as we first entered the park, and rapidly giving way to sunshine and clear skies as midday grew closer, another interesting meteorological phenomenon.
The evening was spent on group presentations, our physical group consisting of myself(sea ice), Ben(glaciers), Ben(climate) and Dave(geographical information sytems) going tonight itself, and the rest the next day. All this of course, before the big test.
December 31, 2003 Wednesday
After the last of the presentations, most of us soon set about to cramming. This was a rather uneventful day when compared to most, given that we had absolutely no time to do anything other than enjoy our classmates' presentations and rush to ensure everything we had learned up to this point was avaialble to our mental resources for the final!
The most interesting thing I came up with in my notes was how some seals, like the Weddell, can dive up to and over a mile into the water, with amazing control over their body that could control heart rate, independent organs, and even absorb oxygen into muscles using myglobin, giving them less of a need to rise up to breathe.
Well, as any responsible student would do at this juncture in time, it is time for me to go study for the test, which is only hours away!
After the test we soon headed over to the Albatross. After a few hours of music and dancing, it was 2004, and one of the last highlights of our trip had passed! It would be well after 2:00am before anybody returned, but it was now a new year, and we had spent it together dancing and enjoying ourselves despite having just finished a tiresome final!
Good night, and happy 2004.
January 1, 2004
New Years day was met with tiredness, yet a strong need to enjoy our last day. We spent it shopping and sightseeing, and a trip to the world's southernmost supermarket and other amusements. We went out to the far reaches of the pier to the old airport and photographed Ushauai. We enjoyed our last stop to the ice cream, and of course, subsequent meals at Marco Polo. After purchasing gifts for myself and my family, and postcards, I returned only to leave to enjoy a sunset. What luck it was to be able to visit this southern gem nestled in South America? To witness the sunsets and early 4:40am sunrises, to breathe in the fresh air, and have cloud covered peaks outside our windows to greet us in the morning; to think it was our last night was painful.
Some others went to the city of Tolkien, and I presumed it would be a beautiful ride but a boring village, which apparently ended up being somewhat true. I would've loved to have gone, but on the last day felt a need to connect and enjoy Ushuaia for one last time, so I could absorb it all in and keep fond memories.
January 2, 2004
Some interesting clouds greeted us this morning, odd vertical cylinders. I was wondering briefly what weird wind conditions would form it, but after rapid shopping and packing, I had on my mind the same thing the others did, the following brief but apt statement:
Farewell Ushuaia.
We shopped hurriedly, and had our last meals in the city. I managed to finally get my coveted Argentina national football team jersey, and a giant stash of Kinder Surprise chocolates. I also made my way to the tourist information center and finally received the certificate authenticating my visit to the southernmost city of the world, something most others in our MSU group had done much earlier! We left for the airport a little after noon, and soon we were in the air, making a graceful left turn that would give us one last breathtaking, panoramic view of the city nestled between its harbor and mountains, a last fleeting glance, and a theatrical display of the Andes as we flew up and above, our last memories of the southern tip of South America. At least for now.
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