What Is It Like to Work in Antarctica?
Over the next few weeks, Angela Posada-Swafford will be sending dispatches from her fossil-hunting journey to the coldest continent. Posada-Swafford is a Miami, Florida-based science journalist who has...
View ArticlePosada-Swafford’s Antarctica Trip, Redux
After I posted that last blog entry, I decided I should provide a little more information. What’s the point of the expedition that Posada-Swafford is participating in. In part, at least, the scientists...
View Article50-year anniversary of Antarctic Treaty
Sitting where I am, at a desk in my own cozy room at Palmer Station, overlooking a magnificent bluish iceberg in the middle of the Antarctic Peninsula, December 1st seems an especially meaningful day:...
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Breakfast in Antarctica
It is 7:30 a.m. (we’re on Chile time) and the smell of freshly baked bread fills the galley at Palmer Station, the only U.S. polar station north of the Antarctic Circle, and the only one on the...
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Open Mic night at Palmer Station
Last night was “open mic” here at Palmer Station. The cozy lounge with the leather chairs and book cases was transformed into a theater, complete with drums, electric guitars, microphones, and a...
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A Day with Penguin Researchers in Antarctica
If you are a “birder” at Palmer Station like Kristen Gorman or Jen Blum, your day starts early with a quick breakfast, getting your gear in order, donning your “float coat”, getting on the zodiac, and...
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A New Chapter in the History of Polar Communications
Yesterday we wrote a new chapter in polar communications: the first-ever live wireless internet video conference from Torgersen island, at the Palmer Archipelago, in Antarctica, and the first ever...
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Ambushed by Icebergs
This morning we were ambushed by icebergs. We woke up and realized we were prisoners of large chunks of ice that completely blocked the entrance to our tiny harbor for zodiacs here at Palmer. The...
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Extreme Science
It’s snowing heavily today. (A year ago, instead of snow, it rained cats and dogs here at Palmer.) The icebergs on the bay are covered by a frosting, like fine powdered sugar, and the sea has blue and...
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The microscope doctor
Jim Janoso has created a very nice niche for himself. He is the microscope doctor. His patients: hard working microscopes in field stations in the most remote areas of the world. Microscopes that work...
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