Fixing what's broken ... well, the easy stuff to fix

Stuff breaks. When that happens in the middle of nowhere, it helps to have a handful of different adhesives for repairs.

A split watch band is difficult to fix. Fortunately, our pal Henry was visiting and he had a pouch of some blue goop that works well with plastic ...

... it fixed Cecil's sunglasses, too ...

... and my bifocals ...

... this is what you see ...

... and this is what I saw

Team Bravo(!) 043

I've been remiss by not introducing the members of our 2011 research team. I'll post more complete introductions and detail each person's role in the project at a later date. For now, from left to right:

Laura Von Rosk - Art/science collaborator (Schroon Lake, NY)

Cecilia Shin - Lead research diver and camp safety officer (University of California Santa Cruz)

Dr. Jan Pawlowski - Molecular protistologist (University of Geneva, Switzerland)

Danielle Woodward - Youngest research diver in Antarctica (Hilo, HI)

Hilary Hudson - Research diver, documentary film maker

Dr. Sam Bowser - Principal Investigator (Albany, NY)

Dr. Andrew Gooday (pictured below in the Explorers Cove lab) - Biological oceanographer (National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, U.K.)

Our project centers on characterizing the ~20 new species of foraminiferan protists we have identified in past work, and on obtaining information on the genetics of these organisms.

More about that as results pour in!

Flags Fly at Explorers Cove

We have arrived at field camp and school flags are flying. (One more is on the way.) Weather delays and equipment failures have created setbacks, but we hope to catch up over the next few days. More photos soon!

(un)Happy Camper School

New field members (or those who have been absent from the U.S. Antarctic Program for 5 or more years) are required to take a two-day survival training class on the ice, and sleep one night in snow trenches, igloos, and bivouac shelters that they build. This "Happy Camper" program teaches you to be smart and avoid rescue situations. For some it's a fun experience; for others it's a nightmare ...

Conditions in McMurdo make me think that the four B-043 team members in the class will be unhappy campers tonight.

Henry Kaiser took this IR picture of me checking outside conditions from the comfort of the Crary Lab. Wind-blown snow obscured the view, and I could feel the cold oozing through the window. (Ooops, that statement will get my thermodynamics prof turning in his grave ... OK, it's heat transferring from the air surrounding the window that I'm perceiving.)

Everyone in B043 will certainly learn a lesson tonight.

Arrival

All team members are now at McMurdo Station. We've completed check-out dives and are packing bags for Camp New Harbor. Hopefully the weather clears and helicopters start flying soon ...

We've been instructed to tread lightly on the "thin" (6ft/2 m) sea ice this year, and keep alert for cracks. We will certainly tiptoe on the frozen landscape ...

FIRST STEP ...

Bravo(!) 043 begins another year of research in Antarctica. We may have a different "look" this season (three new team members) but our goal remains the same: to better understand the role of unicellular organisms in the ice-cold waters of McMurdo Sound, with a commitment to minimizing our impact on the Antarctic environment.

All living creatures leave their mark on this earth. It is, perhaps, one definition of life itself. As scientists, we study those "marks" in the fossil record, and uncover the steps of carbon flow in modern habitats. Knowing where we are and where we've been is our best hope of moving forward with care and confidence.

It seems fitting that this year's voyage begins in the garden ...