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Communicating under a cold sun

Dispatches on being and biogeochemistry over four months in Antarctica

Communicating under a cold sun
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Category Archives: Science

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Strikingly stormy weather, science, and (a lack of) stratification

Posted on November 23, 2015 by JamieDecember 4, 2015

Here on Anvers Island, another stormy spring day is coming to a close. The weather system responsible for this morning’s gale came in from the north around 4 a.m., bringing wind gusts in excess of 50 knots and driving snow … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Weather

A scientific update, and (finally) some introductions

Posted on November 12, 2015 by JamieDecember 4, 2015

First, a scientific update: The start of Palmer Station “boating season” is imminent. Several strong storms this past week (video here) have blown away much of the sea ice to the south and west of station, leaving only the boats … Continue reading →

Posted in Life on Station, Science

When the ice is thick, sample through it

Posted on November 6, 2015 by JamieDecember 4, 2015

Sea ice, some of it more than a meter (~ 3.3 ft) thick, continues to linger in and around Arthur Harbor. In many years, persistent sea ice is a significant source of frustration to early-season scientists at Palmer: Conditions like … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Sea Ice

Beginning of a new season

Posted on November 1, 2015 by JamieDecember 4, 2015

Hello from Palmer Station! Living and working in the comparatively mild climate of the West Antarctic Peninsula, one sometimes forgets just how harsh this continent can be. Case in point: This afternoon’s weather. In the four days since the Laurence … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming & Going, Science, Weather

Southbound (again) for science

Posted on October 21, 2015 by JamieDecember 4, 2015

A (warm) welcome back Greetings, all! It has been roughly a year and a half since my last posting in this space. After completing a successful field season at Palmer Station and aboard the ARSV Laurence M. Gould in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming & Going, Science

While ice lingers on the sea, science keeps rolling in the air above

Posted on November 10, 2013 by JamieNovember 12, 2013

Greetings again from 64° south. As I write, persistent sea ice continues to stand between most of Palmer’s scientists and their objects of study. For access to the water and the islands around the station, scientists here rely on a … Continue reading →

Posted in Science

Fallout, continued

Posted on October 31, 2013 by JamieOctober 31, 2013

A quick update on public research funding. Dust of the post-government shutdown variety — not the aeolian sort about which chemical oceanographers get excited — continues to settle on science in Antarctica. In a statement released this week by the … Continue reading →

Posted in Science, Science Shutdown

Hunkered down, awaiting science

Posted on October 28, 2013 by JamieOctober 28, 2013

By the hard numbers, it’s springtime in Antarctica. Each passing day brings more sun to the sky: Sunrise this morning was at 4:56 a.m. and sunset at 9:03 p.m., giving Peninsula residents over 16 official hours of daylight. Daily high … Continue reading →

Posted in Life on Station, Science

Fallout

Posted on October 18, 2013 by JamieOctober 21, 2013

As the dust begins to settle on the U.S. government shutdown, we’re beginning to hear the first somber stories about scientists whose research plans were irrevocably altered or, in some particularly heartbreaking cases, altogether terminated by the 17-day lapse in … Continue reading →

Posted in Life on Station, Science, Science Shutdown

More sad news today — shutdown’s effects on research

Posted on October 14, 2013 by JamieOctober 18, 2013

More troubling news today from the Chronicle of Higher Education on the shutdown’s wider effects on research in Antarctica. Down here at Palmer, it now seems almost inevitable that most of us will be returning to the U.S. shortly. … Continue reading →

Posted in Coming & Going, Science, Science Shutdown

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