A DIFFERENT VISTA: PERSPECTIVE FROM A BURECS AMBASSADOR MOM

A year ago, I would not have been able to point out Antarctica on the map.

All I knew was that it was a cold place.

When my daughter Natalie told me she might have the opportunity to do climate change research there, I thought, wow. Cool opportunity. Great experience. It will look good on her resume.

And, maybe, I could even go visit her while she was there.

I did a little Internet research. Did I have enough frequent flyer miles to go visit her for a week? I couldn’t seem to find direct flights to Antarctica. I dug a little deeper. There are no hotels in Antarctica.

Yes, I was clueless.  This was not her mother’s study abroad semester.

Antarctic Reflections

A frozen pond on Mount Discovery

Well, the Antarctic adventure is over - and what an adventure it was! I've had some time to settle in, and reflect on my experiences. It's crazy to think that two months ago I was at the bottom of the world hiking the wild beauty of Antarctica. It feels like my time there came and went like a whirlwind. Yet, in that short period of time I learned so much. Being in that environment allowed me to witness so many talented professionals work, especially our fearless leader Drew who's research we helped conduct. After working on this project, I feel confident that I have grown in my abilities to conduct scientific research. But beyond that, I feel confident that I have grown as a person. Between surviving 3 day snowstorms in nothing but a tent and hauling boxes of rocks on and off the flying death traps that are helicopters... I realized that with a little hard work and some awesome companions, I can survive anything.

Changing of the Guards & Homeward Bound

Emma, Drew and I pulled in camp from Black Island last Monday in time to meet Professor Marchant and our fellow Antarctic Ambassador Dan upon their arrival in McMurdo.

We had a successful time at Black Island, collecting 20 erratic rock samples which will undergo cosmogenic nuclide dating once they are shipped back to Boston in April. Other than the 3 day snow storm which kept us bundled in our tents, and the occasional fog which created very low visibility, we experienced fairly good weather as the heat of the summer season rolled in.

Emma and I sunbathing for a few minutes in the "hot" weather.

Hydrated salts

A few days ago while we dug soil pits in the moraine near camp, we discovered ice buried beneath the surface.  This find is exciting as the ice could be remnant glacial ice from the last glacial period.  If it's glacier ice, then we definitely know that the ice sheet extended to that point and that the local climate on Black island has remained cold enough for ice to survive for over 10,000 years. Once we have the sample back in the lab, we can analyze the oxygen isotopes of the ice to determine the origin of the ice; it could be glacial (ice sheet), marine (the ocean), or meteoric (snowfall). 

Natalie and I begin to dig a pit.

G-054 Cookbook: Tasty Meals on a Coleman Stove

A complete how-to guide on making nutritious, vegetarian meals for three hungry campers!

Breakfast

Oatmeal

Ingredients:

2 packets instant oatmeal (1 flavored, 1 regular)

Granola

Dried Fruit

Grape Nuts

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a bowl, add hot water, stir, and enjoy!

Black Island.

Well, we’re all settled in our next (and my last) field camp. Yesterday was camp put in. It was a really, really long day. We spent several hours pitching the tents, and setting things in place. The hardest part of pitching the tents is finding enough large, heavy, rocks to make rock anchors for the tent chords, and place on the valence. It was a grueling process, but the efforts were worth it. We now have a secure and cozy little home nestled onto the desolate nothingness that is Black Island.

Today, being the first day in camp, was a recon day. We spent most of the day hiking the entire length of the moraine we want to study. We trudged along for a little over 8 hours and 6 miles, eyeing spots for sampling and pit digging. We were impeded in several spots by large snow drifts flowing down the ridge sides. We would then have to hike all the way down and around them. That wasn’t so bad. It was much worse hiking back up to the top of the moraine. We definitely earned our chili dinner today. 

Drew and Nat set up camp.

Discovering Mount Discovery: A Photo Retrospective

Today is our last day at our Mount Discovery camp. Tomorrow we will move east to Black Island. We will camp close to Mount Aurora, the highest peak on the island. We have spent our days here collecting lots of samples of granite, dolerite rocks and algae, digging pits, and mapping the moraine. Here are some highlights from our time at Discovery!

Crazy clouds over Mt Discovery