Season's beginnings

By now it has been some time since I started a new season at Palmer Station and it certainly has been a long time since I’ve written anything on the blog here. It’s high time for an update. This 2015_2016 summer season will be my tenth season working in Antarctica and working for the USAP. After doing McMurdo 6 times, a spot opened in 2012 at Palmer Station and Sheri agreed that I should take that opportunity  and she might be able to join me in a next year. For a variety of reasons I’ve enjoyed life and work here much much better than I did in "dirty old" McMurdo and I have not looked back since. So you might think that after so many years there will be very few new things left, but that is not the case.

New this year was the fact that it was very uncertain if we were going to be able to get to station at all. When we arrived at the beginning of October (which is the end of the winter) there was still a large area of frozen ocean around in the direct vicinity off station which could possibly be too much to break through. Our vessel is an icebreaker (ABS A1 class ), but it meets its limits with 1 foot thick (30 cm) new ice (as opposed to multi year ice) and we received word from station that ice around station was easily 3 feet thick. Scenarios were made dealing with the possibility of not being able to get close to station. The most likely one seemed to be that we would come within a mile or two of Palmer and after which we would continue our travels on foot over the ice.  Meetings were called and instructions were given on what to do and what to bring in case of this alternative way of traveling.

My berthing.

The Galley. With so little to do during the voyage, the meals
become an important part of the routine.

The gym. I think that staying active while at sea helps fight
off sea sickness. Of course working out can be a bit of a
challenge in rough seas; doing push-ups for instance are
super easy one moment and very hard the next moment.

Shower in the berthing.
Can be hard to do
when the seas are
rough, because how
can you hold on and
wash yourself at the
same time?

We get a chance to help with science
a little bit. Here I am helping  to
process water samples.

Launching a CTD which measures Conductivity, 
Temperature and Depth. Thanks to the LMG this data set
now spans decades.

Excited onlookers.

I don’t think it has happened very often in recent history that the LMG was not able to make it to station, but I do remember that in my second year it happened once that there was so much tightly packed drift ice that the boat could not reach us. At that time we were watching from station the ship go back and forth multiple times,  but every time it made some space the ice closed up immediately around it again and made further progress impossible. They turned around and went back to Chile again. It took a couple of weeks before the people who were scheduled to leave station on that ship were able to hitch a ride from a visiting cruise ship as their (not too shabby) way to get back home.

You can really see the thickness of the ice.

With this knowledge in mind and reaching the ice edge everybody was curious if we were going to be able to break through or not and -now more than ever- we were up on the bridge trying to get the best views possible. You would expect that snow on top of the ice makes it easier for the icebreaker, but the opposite is actually the case, because of the friction it creates. Another effect of the snow on top of the ice was that it dampened the sounds quite a bit. Nothing like the big cracking and crunching sounds which we were expecting. It was going to take very many back and forth motions of the ship, but we were going to make it. It turned out that even though the ice was very thick at places, the top layer was not very solid and thus not as strong as was feared. Meanwhile I think that secretly the captain was delighted, because it gave him a chance to give his personnel an excellent training on how to break ice. After a half a day and a full night of chopping up the ice and making a big turning basin we were able to dock the boat at the pier, much to the relief of most people on board, but even more to the relief of the winter staff on station, because they were ready to leave after many a month of working there.

Working on making a big turning basin.

This picture was taken a couple of
days after arrival and shows well how
much ice there is around station.

Click here is the video of the LMG breaking ice doesn't play

Making Ginger Beer

One of the things that I enjoy about being at Palmer Station is the fact that we have use of the kitchen. On our Sunday day off the cooks have a well deserved rest day as well and so everyone has to fend for themselves. This is not as bad as it sounds, because we have Deborah Joe. Who is she? She is our leftover fridge which holds the week’s leftovers, or whatever you’ve set aside for yourself. All is well labeled with the name of the contents and the use-by date. If you’ve completed the little food safety course which is intended to make sure that you know the basics on how to handle food and knives, you are also allowed to make your own culinary creations, especially on Sundays.

A couple of Sundays ago we made Ginger beer.  We had a whole bunch of fresh ginger in the walk-in fridge that was in need of being used, because it was starting to go bad.

Lots of grated ginger.

So you take a bunch of ginger (measurements were not taken at this stage, but in general our consensus was that more ginger = better taste) and grate it to a pulp. Put it in a big pot (think 6 gallons) of boiling water. Add a little bit of lemon and lemon zest. Spice it up some more with some ginger powder and add a pound or 2 of honey. After stirring and boiling for a while you run it through a sieve to strain out most of the solids and you let it cool of till 90F, which despite putting it outside on the deck still took a bit of time. At that temperature you add the activated yeast and you are ready for the next step.

Lime zest smells sooo good.

Then we put the pan on an elevation and put a little plastic tube in it and through the wonders of gravity we were able to siphon the contents to our sanitized bottles. The bottles are of the Dutch beer brand called Grolsch which must be loved throughout the world for their caps which allows you to re-use them over and over again.

Bring all the ingredients to a boil.                                   Siphon into the bottles.                         

After leaving the bottles a couple of days at room temperature to let the yeast do their thing, the end product is ready; super nice bubbly, spicy, heart-warming alcohol free ginger beer.

The end product.

 Now it needs to go in the fridge, because we don’t want the process to continue and we don’t want any exploding bottles.

The empty bottles look nice as well.

Palmer Station season 3

Again it has been a while since I've written anything on our blog, but that will change. Since this blog now has competition form Sheri's individual blog, I'll be forced to write or be forgotten :-).
While Sheri is out gallivanting on the South Georgia Islands, I have returned for my third season at Palmer Station. What's not to like about a small population with great colleagues, being incredibly close to the actual science that's being done, a climate that's not too bad** and proximity to wild life.

My trip of Toulouse - London - Dallas - Denver met with remarkably little inconvenience. A couple of days of training and indoctrination at our headquarters in Denver and then onwards to Santiago where our good luck ran out and we hit some extra hours of delay on our way towards Punta Arenas but that was later compensated by the airlines with some extra air miles.
The 4 days on our vessel the LMG were considerably less sea sickness inducing than the extreme weather that was predicted for us.

Beautiful pancake ice.

I'm always awed by the birds that make the ocean their home; flying so
effortlessly a couple of inches above the waves.

 

Many of us are needed to do the line handling for the ship.

 








 I guess the copious amounts of candied ginger that we bought before we left Punta Arenas was not needed all that much to prevent seasickness, but tasty nonetheless.
 Apart from decent weather we even got treated to a short sighting of 4 orca's (killer whales sounds more impressive).  We seldom see them from Palmer (last season was the first time in a decade that my colleague has seen them), so we were all really excited. Sorry no picture of that because I decided to just look at them.

After arriving at Palmer Station there was a truly frantic period of 6 days of turnover, in which the departing winter-over crew -apart from making their travel plans, cleaning their rooms and packing their bags- try to teach their summer colleagues the ropes of the job (which in the case of us returning folks is much easier than for colleagues that are totally new to the program and  station) and the Logistics department tries to unload all the cargo from the ship (there will be station-wide calls for volunteers to help unload the fresh goods that need to be transferred to the fridge rapidly) and all the emergency teams (like fire fighters and Ocean  Search and Rescue and Glacier Search and Rescue teams) do their turnovers and declare the incoming folks to be responsible from now on. Oh I should not forget the fact that we do a fire drill, in which we get fully dressed in our gear and rescue someone from a "burning" building.

Anyway you get the idea about starting a new season here. Last year's experience seems to repeat itself by the surrounding sea-ice not wanting to relinquish its grip in favor of open water. We are now a couple of months into our season and cannot seem to get rid of the sea ice surrounding us.

Just a reminder of where Palmer is situated and showing Sheri's location

 Let me explain. Palmer Station is surrounded by water which explains why so many marine biologists come here to do their studies, but a majority of that science is done from little rubber boats (Zodiacs) that leave from our station and cannot navigate too well in ice. The other part is done from from our research and supply vessel the LMG.

An image from our webcam; surrounded by ice.

Our webcams can be found here: http://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/palWebCam.cfm

A whale of a day.

Wow, I can't believe that it has been a year and a half since we've written anything on our blog. However, I am here to break that silence.

This year is my second year of working at Palmer Station and the second year without Sheri at my side. She will not be working for the United States Antarctic Program this time, but is experiencing what it is like to spend the winter in our home in France - finding out for us if our newly renovated and insulated roof makes enough of a difference that our little wood stove can keep up with winter temperatures.

I think I wrote in a previous post about the fact that almost all of our Palmer science is marine-based and done with the aid of the inflatable Zodiac boats that we have. When the weather is good enough, we can take a boat and go recreational boating (rec boating) as long as we stay within our boating limit (approx. 2 miles) and within boating hours (which end 1 hour before sunset).

During this time of year the amount of krill (which are on the menu of most animals here) is booming which is not only good news for the penguins feeding their chicks, but also brings in Minke and Humpback whales.

Yesterday all day long we had been able to see from our big windows in the galley the occasional tell tale spout in the distance, but after dinner there seemed to be a bigger than usual number so we jumped in our boat a drove towards them.

Our efforts were rewarded when in the distance we saw the majestic sight of a whale breaching. Normally we only see them spouting their plumes of water vapor in the air followed by their tail flukes when they dive below the water surface, so I felt immensely grateful that we had found a breaching whale and were looking in the right direction. Over the course of the next couple of hours we were treated to the sight of a very young Humpback who seemed so happy with life that all he wanted to do was breach. There were some 5 or 6 adults in our neighborhood and then some more scattered over the landscape. We never had to wait very long to see a fluke or a breach or a sideways show of the dorsal fin.

The animals near us we're clearly practicing a hunting technique called bubble feeding in which they form a kind of formation under water and by releasing air make a "net" of bubbles that drives the krill together and to the surface. This resulted not only in the whales spending a lot of time at the surface, but also announcing their location by making all the bubbles in the water. It was so incredible to see these huge animals from so nearby (while still trying to keep a safe distance) and hear and smell their breath. I can easily say that this was one of the most unforgettable moments in my Antarctic career which makes being away from Sheri and family a bit easier to bear. Let's hope there will more of these majestic moments but hopefully together with Sheri.

 

More vistors

The last couple of weeks have been very boat-intensive. Apart from our supply ship visiting, we also had the Point Sur. The NSF used this small vessel to see if it was suitable for doing research in the region; small and nimble and less costly than the LMG. Unfortunately also not ice reinforced, so the plan of dropping a group of geologists off at a field camp was foiled by too much ice. The geologists ended up staying in Palmer while we were already at maximum capacity.

Point Sur at the pier.

The other goal of getting the "whale hunters" group to their prey was very successful; they were able to gather a lot of data on predominantly Humpback and Minke whales. They use a couple of different tags that allow them to track the animals and learn about their habits. The 2 science lectures that they gave were very interesting and had beautiful pictures.

Quixote

Another vessel that brought us a visit was the Quixote, a 12 meter small steel hull ship that was built by 1 of the 4 people sailing it. They spent a couple of hours on station, received a tour and reciprocated by giving us a tour on their yacht. They had been sailing for 30 days now and had visited a lot of different station. Makes me realize how little we see of the continent. Ah well, at least we get to see a little bit of it.

This week's visit of the Ushuaia also marked the last cruise ship of the season to come and visit Palmer Station. One last time did we all get are tasks as Tour Guides, Store Helpers and Meet and Greeters.

Our cruise ship guests enjoying our hospitality and famous brownies.

Ushuaia with iceberg.

The latest bunch of visitors are a bunch of icebergs that are coming closer and closer to our station. Visually this is great because it changes the landscape a bit and now we don't have to take a zodiac to go and watch them up close. Of course, if they keep on coming they could make it pretty hard for the next LMG to come to port. The next LMG is a crucial one, because it is the one that will take us away.
:-)

To show scale.

To show the beauty.

Visitor from outer space

The last boat that came to Palmer not only brought us freshies and new Scientists, but also some high level managers, one of which came from outer space. Actually, I should say that he was a former astronaut. Scott Parazynski is the Medical Director for the US Antarctic Program. If you look at his wikipedia page, you'll see that he has done 5 space shuttle flights and 7 space walks, as well as climbing Mount Everest and some other stuff.

While he was here, he gave 2 presentations. The first one was about a subject that is near and (maybe) dear to all of us who work in the Antarctic Program because it dealt with the medical qualification (PQ) process that we have to deal with before being allowed to come here. Scott explained about the transition process (after taking over from previous contractor; Raytheon) and what they had to do to be able to deal with the very short time frame that they were given (basically hiring a bunch of temp working, taking lots of work home with him, making a strict prioritization of who needs to PQ first because their plane is leaving and PQ'ing people as they were getting on the plane). He has also been inviting feedback from us about the PQ process as a step to improving the whole process.

In Scott's opinion the winning quote from that feedback was; "You people must have put the fax machine right above the shredder, because I have had to fax my forms several times to you." He also showed us the process from their point of view. The winner there was one person who after being told that a certain form was missing proceeded to fax everything several times again except for the missing form. Then there are all the people who forgot that the back side of the forms also needs to be filled out. On average a medical file requires looking at a couple of times, but there were instances where that number climbed to 10 because of omissions as mentioned above.

The second of his talks was about his NASA career and that was great to listen to. Unfortunately he had not really counted on doing this, so he did not have the cool video clips that would normally be in his talks. He made up for that by allowing us plenty of questions at the end. He also said that he had the time of his life during this visit in Antarctica (really, after having been in space? ) and enjoyed our hospitality very much.

I'm shaking hands with an astronaut.

Tourist season

Saluting the Dutch flag.

Today the Dutch flag was flying at Palmer Station. This was not because of me, but because the yacht Sarah W. Vorwerk paid us a visit. When we have vessels visiting us, it is customary to raise the flag of the country (of vessel registration or in this case the Captain's home country) below the flag of the United States.

The Vorwerk is a vessel that can take up to 8 paying passengers to explore the Antarctic and other regions (see http://www.sarahvorwerk.net/en/expeditions). The owner happens to be Dutch, so I had the opportunity to speak my mother tongue again and discover that it has become rusty.

December and January is tourist season in which we notice the increased number of vessels that show up on our "AIS" system that plots nearby vessels on a map for us. As part of our outreach efforts, the National Science Foundation allows a certain number of visits to the station. The reasoning is that everything here is paid for by the American tax payer and they should be able to see what is done with that money.

A second vessel that visited us was the National Geographic Explorer from Linblad Expeditions. ( see their website ) Before the masses (actually, we have to call them "guests" ) arrive on station, the Station Manager and the Lab Manager go on board the ship to give a presentation about Palmer Station and our work here.


The station manager giving his presentation. The people
that are not looking at him are watching the slides on
the screens.



The NGE at anchor in Arthur Harbor

 On days when cruise ships come to town, all of us get assigned different jobs. I helped out in the shop assisting people with their apparel buying. The passengers are brought in groups of 10 by my colleagues who volunteered as tour guides. Outside the shop we hung all the available clothing items for the dual purpose of giving them the opportunity to make a choice and giving them something to do while waiting outside the shop.  After they are done in the shop, they continue their tour around the station and end in the galley, where they are treated to tea and coffee and our famous brownies and get a chance to speak to some of the locals and some of the scientists.

Later in the evening the we get the opportunity to go on board of the ship; in exchange for some free drinks they get to ask us as many questions as they like. The evening ends with the ship's crew coming over to our bar for some drinks and relaxation away from their passengers. The crew does not get a whole lot of free time on board and even when the vessel is in port at Ushuaia ( Argentina ) the turnaround time is so short that there is not much time to unwind. In the past these visits to our bar have led to some pretty memorable nights (so I've been told), but this time everything stayed rather decent.Some more Dutch was spoken since amongst the Croatian, Slovenian, Swedish and American crew was also a Dutch guy.

Back by popular demand; Penguins.

OK you've all been asking for penguin pictures, so that is what you'll get.

Palmer Station is know for its great opportunities to see wild life and so far it has met all my expectations in that respect. There are lots of birds (that will be another post) and up until recently we had seen the occasional seal and penguin close to town. However, it is now far enough into the season that penguins are here in great numbers.



Just to get an idea of the number of penguins we're talking about.

Surrounding the station are many little islands, some of which are off limits to mere mortals (non-scientists) like myself and some of which are (partly) accessible. We have several Zodiac inflatable boats with an outboard engine that are used by the scientists or us for operational needs, and then there is the "Rec Boat", which is purely for recreational use.  The waters around Palmer have been marked on a map with a "safe boating" zone which is some 2 miles around station and markings on (is)lands indicating their level of forbiddenness. Also on this map it shows where emergency caches and landing sites are.
You need to have done the "Boating 1" course to step into a boat, and "Boating 2" course to be allowed to drive it. When the weather is good (below 20 knots winds and not to much swell) and after approval of the Boating Coordinator you can organize a boating trip. Usually there will be a announcement on the white board with some sign up spots that will fill quickly. The driver of the boat will try to get an idea of which destinations people want to go to and will drop you off or just take you along for the boat ride itself.

My destination of the day was Torgersen Island, which is really nearby, but houses some Adelie penguin colonies and half the island is accessible to mere mortals. The number one rule in dealing with wild life is that "if the animals alter their behavior" you have gone too close. Luckily, penguins have had no reason to learn to be fearful of humans and have seen many scientists come to the island, so getting close did not alter their behavior in the least bit. It was nice to just sit down and look at what they were doing. It is nesting season for them and they are busy finding the best little stones to bring to their mate at the nest site. This one individual I observed kept fetching rocks and then dropping them a couple of feet from his/her mate. I think he was daunted by the idea of having to run the gauntlet; to get to his mate he would have to pass a couple of others who would invariably do a little pecking and squeaking at him.

One of the scientists counting the penguins

A few of them had eggs already.

Skua, waiting to see if it could steal some eggs.

Hard to tell what it is, just seeing the backside.

On the island was also this beautiful Weddell (I think) seal. Just like the penguins, it was not phased at all by our presence.

The other critters that we saw were a couple of Elephant seals. The females are not unpretty, but the males remind you of why they have the name. They have a big nose and humongous torso. They are full of bloody wounds and scars, because they have had to defend their harem from other males.

Lastly, the beauty of the day was in the surroundings themselves. It certainly is not as sunny here as in McMurdo, but when there is some sun peeking in between the clouds it makes for beautiful light. The brash ice has such beautiful geometrical shapes that I am reminded of my dad's collection of fine glass art. If it were up to me this blog would be filled with just these dreamy forms, but I have done my best to make it just a small selection.