Last Post

I've finally made it back to Los Angeles, and thus concluding my three week adventure. As my final blog, I wanted to add some random pictures that I forgot to post along the trip as well as some video.

As a boat leaves Palmer Station, it is tradition for the people staying to jump into the Artarctic Ocean. Thankfully, there is a hot tub right around the corner that people can run into to avoid hypothermia.

Captain letting me take over for a little bit on the Bridge.



A seal hanging out on an ice.

Navigating through ice.

Looking through my window. Doesn't that just make you sea sick looking at it?

Dolphins. Didn't see much of them, so I was lucky to get this on camera.

Albatross. They don't look that big here, but they have a wingspan of 6 ft. It's amazing how they glide through the skies so gracefully.

Whales. During my trip I must haves seen about 5 or 6.

Overall, I enjoyed my trip to Palmer Station. Because there are only about 40 people on station, there is a family feel to it that is very welcoming. For me, it was just a little too small. Once, I had left my mittens in a lab, and about 5 people told me about it that afternoon. (And those were just mittens! Imagine anything else!) But there are things about Palmer that sound like a lot of fun. For example, there is the liquor luge, where you get a glacier and make a small slide out of it and send liquor from the top and drink it at the end. Or the "300 club" where you wait till it gets 100 below, and strip down, run around the station, and run into a sauna that is 200 above (hence the 300 differential). But talking to someone who did both the "300" and the Antarctic Water jump, he says that jumping into the icy sea is more of a shock. Not that I would do anything that reckless *cough, cough* but it sounds like people at Palmer have a lot of fun with their free time.

The little time that I spent in Chile was not as positive, but I'm not letting that stop me from looking forward to my trip to Chile in the future. Next time, I'm going to learn Spanish.

Finally, the videos. Blogger doesn't do a good job with the videos, but, it's the best that I have.


A seal swimming through the water as we ride in the Zodiacs. Most of the animals are not really aware of the humans.


A penguin waving at us. They are so cute, but I'm sure the penguin is trying to be tough and protective.


Riding back through ice. Listen to the boat breaking though the ice. It's like glass shattering.

So that's it! Thanks so much for reading my ramblings and leaving comments. During the tough times of the trip, it was comforting to read them. And thank you to UCLA for giving me this opportunity to experience such a life changing trip!

Barely made it to Punta Arenas

Sorry for not blogging. There really wasn't much to blog about on the boat. The water was rough and everyone got sick. I did see tons of whales as we left Antarctica, which was pretty cool.
So, I have some bad news. My wallet was stolen today after I grabbed some lunch. It happened while I was walking from the drug store to the internet cafe. I got to the internet cafe, and looked down at my bag and it was open. I had this sinking feeling because I remember clearly that I had closed it at the drug store. And sure enough, my wallet was gone.
But the bright side is, my passport is with me, and I have enough cash to check out of the hotel and get to the airport. *whew* And I canceled my credit cards, so everything is okay.
For now, I just want to get home and give everyone a hug.

Leaving Palmer Station

We are getting ready to leave Palmer Station in about an hour and a half. I'm excited to get back to the States, but not the boat ride. Hopefully it won't be as rough as the southbound trip. Here's a picture that someone sent me from that trip:

This is how we had to walk down the halls on the vessel for about 24 hours.

Another Day on the Zodiacs

The sun was shining this morning, so we used good weather as an excuse to go out on the Zodiacs again. We ventured to a nearby island, and the first thing we noticed were elephant seal tracks.

We followed them and found this guy sunbathing! I guess we wern't the only ones enjoying the sunshine.

Then OH! Behold! Penguins!


We had to watch from far because of the Antarctic Wildlife Treaty, but they were still so cute!

Got on a Zodiac Boat

I was able to attend to divers on the Zodiac boat. These divers are scientists researching about krills, and also do water chemistry analysis. While the divers are under water the attendings watch the surface of the water for bubbles. We carry radios and check into station anytime we change location or when a diver enters/exits the water.


Two of the divers are celebrities at Palmer station. As a marine algal ecophysiologist and chemical ecologist, they have studied the ecology around Palmer Station since the 70's. The island where the old Palmer Station used to be is even named after them (Amsler Island).

On the way back, we saw (and smelled) the elephant seals.

Penguins??

I went on a hike in search of Penguins and found one on a rock this morning. I took a picture of it as you can see below.


Then, it flew away! When I returned to station, I found out that it was a Blue Eyed Shag; Not a penguin.
So the quest to find penguins continues...

Dock Rock

During the rough waters, I was fortunate enough not to get sea sick; Not even a bit! But the downside is that I have the worst "Dock Rock." Dock Rock is like land sickness, and it happens when you are on a boat and get to land for the first couple of days. You're standing on land, but it feel like everything is swaying back and forth. While I was digging the whole for the magnetometer, I felt like passing out a couple of times. It is the strangest thing!

After finishing up work, I was able to hike up a glacier. Crevasses are a concern, so the glacier is flagged for our safety.


It took us about an hour to reach the top of the glacier (where the Stanford group's VLF antenna is) and the view was incredible. I wish it wasn't so cloudy.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try to find someone to take me out on a Zodiac boat!

Arrived at Palmer Station

We arrived at Palmer station at around 6:45 AM, and docked on their peir at around 7:30. I've already gone through a station tour, and gotten an orientation for riding the Zodiac boats, so I look forward to venturing out onto other islands around the area.

Some pictures from the last 24 hours.

First iceberg siting.

Glaciers

More Glaciers

Location: lat -64,46° long -64,3.3°
Temperature: 0.3°C

Out at Sea: Day 3

The seas have been very rough in the last 24 hours. The ship is rocking back and forth at 30° from the 40ft swells and the wind at 40 knots. Things were falling off tables before, but now they are flying off. The only way to sleep is to stick your arm between the mattress and the wall so that you don't fall off, which is critical for me since I'm on the top bunk. I can't do laundry, I can't read, I can hardly walk, and it's very frustrating. Doing the water samples have been challenging to say the least. I was trying my hardest not to get blown away or be taken away by the waves. Things that we do for the sake of science!!The good news is, we'll approach the Antarctic peninsula in the next few hours which will mean calmer ocean waters.The estimated time of arrival to Palmer Station is sometime tonight, so we will dock on the Ice on the morning.
Smiling on the outside, but terrified in the inside.

Holding on for dear life.

Location: lat -62, 46° long -62, 07°
Temperature: -1.1°C

Out at Sea: Day 2

We entered open water sometime yesterday, and the ship is ROCKIN’! Things are starting to fall off tables, and passengers are starting to get sick. During meal times, there have only been about 5 people taking meals (me one of them!). I'm surprised that I haven't even gotten a bit sick. I've taken the opportunity of my good health to volunteer doing some science on the boat. Since we've entered open water, it is now International waters, so we are able to take samples of the ocean water. There are three things that we sample for: temperature, depth, and salinity, and we do this every 30 minutes. My shift that I volunteered for is from 8pm to midnight.

location: lat -58,37° long -63,43°
Temperature: 7°C

Out at Sea: Day 1

There are two groups of people on the boat: the crew, and the passengers. Most of the passengers on ship are on the trip to spend the whole winter at Palmer Station. They consist of construction workers, cooks, water inspectors, food inspectors, IT people, waste management, and many others. Think of Palmer as a little city. There are only a couple of us grantees on this trip that are going to Palmer for Science, but I understand most of the Science people are already there. We have three strict meal times during the day, and surprisingly, the food is excellent! From salmon with avocado sauce to roasted tomato with barley, we have been stuffing ourselves every meal! Kudos to the chef!My day consists of doing some work in the morning, and relaxing in the afternoon by watching a movie or going up to the bridge (that's where the captain is). In the evenings I read a book, and the rocking boat soothes me into sleep. The water has been very calm so far, and the weather has been good. Hope this will last for the next couple of days!

location: lat -55,34° long -64,57°
Temperature: 9.5°C

Passing a ship at Dusk.

Sail Away!

Spent the night at the boat last night. It felt like the summer camping trip that I never had.
The funny thing about a boat is that at first, you don't feel the boat swaying, but once you notice it, that's all you can think about.
I imagine sea sickness is the same thing...
We're leaving dock in a couple of hours. The first 12 hours will be navigating out of strait, and we'll start passing the Drake at midnight. (Which is good, since we'll be sleeping and the body will get used to the boat rocking back and forth)

The view out of my window.

Location: lat- 53,10° long -70,54°
Temperature:10°C

On the Ship!

Made it on the ship! The ship accomodations are much better than I anticipated. Sauna, gym, full kitchen, laundromat, entertainment room, and even a small hospital.
Here are some pictures:



This is the view of the town from the ship.



This is our life boat. There are two on the ship, and hopefully, we won't need them!



This is our EmergenSuit (also called the gumby suit).



This is my room (top bunk is mine). I met my roommate, and she is super nice! She's been on this journey before, so it's nice to get tips from her.

We are scheduled to to set sail noon tomorrow.

Touch the Toe!

At the central plaza in Punta Arenas, there is a Memorial to Hernando de Magallanes. It is a tradition among travelers who cross the strait for first time to kiss or touch (I opted to touch) the foot of the Patagon siting under Magellan. With my bad luck of traveling so far, I´ve touched the foot twice to bring me good luck.

Punta Arenas, Day 2

I´m still in Punta Arenas. I really wished I practiced my Spanish, or brought a translation dictionary because no one really speaks English here.

When I was at a restraunt, I just kept saying ¨si, si,¨ and ended up getting a full course meal with steak and wine. I had no idea how much it would be, so I was nervous asking for the bill. When I got the bill, it was $10, so I thought, ¨Is my conversion off by a factor of ten?¨ But no, in fact, my meal was indeed $10.

Pictures of the town are below. The town is really tiny. You can walk the entire town in about 30 minutes. The weather has been very nice; About 55 degrees, and pure sunshine.

Made it to Punta Arenas!

After about 45 hours, I'm finally here!
The majority of my travel was in the Mexico City Airport (11.5 hours), which was a little scary. I got into Terminal 1 at midnight, went through customs and immigration, and proceeded to Terminal 2 where my next flight was. Little did I know that Terminal 2 was about 5 miles away, and the monorail was not working... So I had to catch a taxi, where the taxi driver insisted on taking me to a hotel. I kept saying "No, Terminal 2, Terminal 2!" But I realized when I got to Terminal 2, why the taxi driver suggested that I go to a hotel; The Terminal was closed and no one was there. I found a little secluded corner where I spent 4 hours on the streets of Mexico (well, at least it was a covered street, and there were other passengers too) till the check-in counter opened and I was able to go into the Terminal. What an adventure!
Next flight was to Santiago, where I spent 6 hours at the airport, and took a plane to my final destination.
In Punta Arenas, I've already received my winter gear, and confirmed that the magnetometer made it safely down from Port Hueneme.
I'll be boarding the ship tomorrow at 3pm, and go through an orientation/safety training. Spend the night on the ship, and then we're off the day after that!!

Migrating South

Well, I've packed most of my stuff that I'm taking on the plane. I'm with my family now to spend the last few days with them before I fly south on the 18th.In a couple of days I'll fly to Punta Arenas, with a layover in Dallas and Santiago. I'll arrive in Punta Arenas on the afternoon of the 19th, and receive my extreme cold weather gear then board the ship on the 20th. We'll then set sail on the 21st, and take about 5 days to go through the Straits of Magellan and the Drake Passage before we reach Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula. My duration on the Ice will be 5 days; Two of which will be for the magnetometer installation. This is the R/V LM Gould which is ship that will take me down to Antarctica. It is an ice-strengthened ship that can go through ice that is up to 3 ft thick.

First Post

Welcome to my blog! This will be my primary way of keeping my friends/family/co-workers updated while I am on my trip to Antarctica!
My mini-adventure will be from March 18 to April 6, so check back often as I will try to post pictures daily (Internet access permitting).

The purpose of my trip is to install a magnetometer at the Palmer Station for the SAMBA project.

Short Project Description: An array of latitudinally spaced magnetometers will be deployed at low latitudes along the coast of Chile. The array will include a total of 11 sites extending from the northern coast of Chile to the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The array will provide the scientific community with much needed low latitude data from the South American continent by bridging the gap between existing chains of stations. The data are used to study the processes by which energy from the solar wind is transferred to the inner magnetosphere and generates pulsations and transient variations on the ground at low latitudes. The project is a collaborative effort between UCLA and a number of Chilean universities. Data from the array will also be used to study geomagnetic effects resulting from large solar storms.

A Timeline
Summer of 2007 I was invited by the principal investigators of the SAMBA project to participate .
Fall of 2007 Building of the magnetometer.
December 2007 Testing of the magnetometer. Since deploying a magnetometer in Antarctica uses a lot of resources, extra care was involved to make sure that the magnetometer is in good condition.
Early January Shipping of the magnetometer. The boxes go on a cargo boat from Port Hueneme, CA bound for Punta Arenas, Chile. It takes 60 days for the cargo to get there, so I'm crossing my fingers that they are waiting for me at a warehouse right now!
Late January Physical Exam. Because Antarctica is an extreme, remote environment, and medical facilities on the continent are limited, I had to go through rigorous medical and dental examinations.
February Passed my physical exams, and was issued a ticket to Punta Arenas, Chile.
March Frantically trying to get all my work done before I take off for three weeks.
Still to come Packing. Arghhh. This is the worst part of the whole trip.