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| Our home |
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| And its views |
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| Some local brebis (sheep), chevre (goat) and Comte cheese. The orange stuff is Portuguese membrillo (quince jelly) which complements the cheese wonderfully. Cheers. |
Sunday, July 08, 2012
Vive la France
I felt bad for not writing for so long, so here's a little message showing that we are alive and blogging. In fact, we're enjoying the good life in Southern France by doing some house sitting in Castillon-en-Couserans in the department of the Ariege.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Plentiful Penguins Playing
It was one of those days that almost makes the whole season worth while.... Sunday, January 15, 2012 was warm (around freezing) and sunny, we had the day off and luckily we had decided to not take the path of least resistance (lazing around and watching a movie), but went for a hike.
One of the big sea ice (tidal) cracks around Hut Point has been opening more and more and there are some other open spots of water that allowed these penguins to come in and frolic.
One of the big sea ice (tidal) cracks around Hut Point has been opening more and more and there are some other open spots of water that allowed these penguins to come in and frolic.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Distressed Fishing Vessels
This has been the season of distressed fishing vessels in the Ross Sea and the Southern Ocean. New Zealand sells fishing permits to companies from all around the world so that they can catch toothfish (Antarctic Cod) in the waters surrounding Antarctica. Unfortunately, two of these vessels have run into problems this season and the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) has been expected to assist in rescuing and transporting stranded fisherman back to New Zealand. This support is at the US tax payers expense while New Zealand reaps the benefits of selling the permits. Some New Zealand media have been blaming the appetites of Americans and Japanese for these fish as the cause of the problem.
The latest mishap occurred on a Korean-owned fishing vessel, the Jeong Woo 2. The distress call came in early in the morning on Wednesday, January 11. The ship had caught fire and the 40 men on board had evacuated to the bow of the ship in little more than shorts, flip flops and t-shirts. Several of them had severe burns and three were missing and presumed dead. When a call like that occurs, the members of the McMurdo Emergency Operations response team are paged to convene in a conference room to discuss the USAP support of the incident.
The Korean sister ship picked up the men who were well enough to be rescued but the 7 with bad burns were picked up by the USAP research vessel, the Nathaniel B. Palmer, which steamed to pick them up and deliver them to the ice edge near McMurdo Station, where they were helicoptered to town and delivered by ambulance to our Medical Center. You can imagine the logistical and medical support this kind of operation required - much of which occured overnight.
Six of the injured fishermen spoke only Vietnamese and one spoke only Indonesian. (It is common practice for fishing vessels to hire personnel from different countries.) Luckily, there was someone on board the Nathaniel B. Palmer who spoke fluent Vietnamese and there is someone here in McMurdo who is married to an Indonesian woman, lives in Indonesia and speaks the language. These people played a crucial role as interpreters and calming influences.
The staff here took excellent care of the injured, provided them with all sorts of USAP swag - fleeces, polo shirts and pants from our store, and transported them once again back to the airfield for a flight to New Zealand for medical treatment. Way to go USAP!
Here's a link to one of the stories about the rescue:
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/complex-rescue-help-injured-korean-fishermen-4683872
The latest mishap occurred on a Korean-owned fishing vessel, the Jeong Woo 2. The distress call came in early in the morning on Wednesday, January 11. The ship had caught fire and the 40 men on board had evacuated to the bow of the ship in little more than shorts, flip flops and t-shirts. Several of them had severe burns and three were missing and presumed dead. When a call like that occurs, the members of the McMurdo Emergency Operations response team are paged to convene in a conference room to discuss the USAP support of the incident.
The Korean sister ship picked up the men who were well enough to be rescued but the 7 with bad burns were picked up by the USAP research vessel, the Nathaniel B. Palmer, which steamed to pick them up and deliver them to the ice edge near McMurdo Station, where they were helicoptered to town and delivered by ambulance to our Medical Center. You can imagine the logistical and medical support this kind of operation required - much of which occured overnight.
Six of the injured fishermen spoke only Vietnamese and one spoke only Indonesian. (It is common practice for fishing vessels to hire personnel from different countries.) Luckily, there was someone on board the Nathaniel B. Palmer who spoke fluent Vietnamese and there is someone here in McMurdo who is married to an Indonesian woman, lives in Indonesia and speaks the language. These people played a crucial role as interpreters and calming influences.
The staff here took excellent care of the injured, provided them with all sorts of USAP swag - fleeces, polo shirts and pants from our store, and transported them once again back to the airfield for a flight to New Zealand for medical treatment. Way to go USAP!
Here's a link to one of the stories about the rescue:
http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/complex-rescue-help-injured-korean-fishermen-4683872
Thursday, December 15, 2011
South Pole Centennial Celebration
December 14th: the 100 year anniversary of Roald Amundsen's arrival at the South Pole. To celebrate the event, the Norwegian Prime Minister, Jens Stoltenberg, and his entourage visited the Pole (along with hundreds of other tourists). The folks working there put on a terrific celebratory event, complete with muscial renditions of the Norwegian national anthem, a sculpted ice-bust of Amundsen (created by a Norwegian artist), and a very fancy Norwegian-themed dinner. It seems like it was an amazing experience for our Polie brethren and I must say that I am incredibly envious of them.
Here is a transcript of the speech given by the Prime Minister to the crowd and by live telecast to the people of Norway (courtesy of the Norwegian Governmental website):
Dear friends,
Congratulations!
Exactly one hundred years ago, on the 14th of December 1911,
five brave Norwegians led by Roald Amundsen were the first people to reach the South Pole.
We are here today to honour these five men.
We are here to celebrate one of the most outstanding achievements of mankind.
And we are here to highlight the importance of this cold continent for the warming of the globe.
14th of December 1911 was a proud day for Norway.
A young nation that had gained its full independence only six years earlier.
The polar expeditions of Roald Amundsen helped to form our new national identity.
And the qualities that enabled Amundsen, Hassel, Bjaaland, Hanssen and Wisting to reach the South Pole, were precisely those that the young nation wanted to be recognised by:
Courage, determination and endurance.
Today is also the time to pay tribute to the bravery of Robert Scott and his men.
Scott and his team paid the ultimate prize.
But their names will forever be inscribed in Polar history.
They will always be remembered for their courage and determination in reaching one of the most unhospitable places on earth.
When Amundsen reached the Pole the team put up its tent,
and they named the camp “Polheim” – Home at the Pole.
Today the South Pole is “home” for many of you who are celebrating with us today.
More than 200 people have their daily work here at the Amundsen-Scott Base during the summer season.
I would like to thank you and the US National Science Foundation for receiving us here with such warm hospitality in a frozen environment.
Some of you have experienced the hardship of skiing to the Pole.
You have seen the beauty and the fascination of the Antarctic wilderness.
And you have learned how challenging and unpredictable this frozen continent can be.
Today, Antarctica is a continent of international cooperation,
regulated by a well-functioning Antarctic Treaty,
where peace and stability,
environmental protection and international research, are at the heart of our joint efforts.
Researchers from all over the world are trying to discover the secrets of this vast continent.
The Norwegian Troll Station is at the forefront of Norwegian research in Antarctica.
Norway and the United States have a long history of scientific cooperation.
The US – Norwegian Antarctic Scientific Traverse in 2007 made important findings.
The Antarctic continent has been changing more rapidly in recent years than at any time in the past 800 years.
The loss of ice in Antarctica can have dramatic global effects.
It is our common responsibility to save this planet for future generations.
Roald Amundsen, Robert Scott and their men were prepared to make an extraordinary effort in order to reach their ambitious goals.
We need to be prepared to do the same.
That is the best way to honour a century of science and exploration at the South Pole.
Thank you.
To mark the historic achievements a hundred years ago, it is now my privilege to unveil this bust of Roald Amundsen here at the South Pole, made by the Norwegian artist Håkon Anton Fagerås.
If you live in Europe, you might have seen live footage of Prime Minister Stoltenberg speaking at the ceremonial Pole surrounded by flags of the nations participating in the Antarctic Treaty. (I saw some footage on the BBC.) Otherwise, here are some links that give you a good feel for the festivities.
http://kiellanddaniel.wordpress.com/tag/jens-stoltenberg/ This is a blog written by a Materialsperson working at Pole. Terrific photos that capture the events better than any of the reports I've seen in the media.
http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/Slik-er-livet-p-Sydpolen-6720391.html - it's useful if you read Norwegian, but, if not, you can just enjoy the photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/statsministerenskontor Official Norwegian Government photos
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=76659&src=eoa-iotd NASA's image of the day on December 14
and finally, an article that suggests that Robert Scott, though he didn't get to the Pole first and he and his men perished on the return journey, has done more for advancing scientific research in Antarctica than Amundsen did. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v480/n7375/full/480029a.html
Happy Anniversary, South Pole!
Here is a transcript of the speech given by the Prime Minister to the crowd and by live telecast to the people of Norway (courtesy of the Norwegian Governmental website):
Dear friends,
Congratulations!
Exactly one hundred years ago, on the 14th of December 1911,
five brave Norwegians led by Roald Amundsen were the first people to reach the South Pole.
We are here today to honour these five men.
We are here to celebrate one of the most outstanding achievements of mankind.
And we are here to highlight the importance of this cold continent for the warming of the globe.
14th of December 1911 was a proud day for Norway.
A young nation that had gained its full independence only six years earlier.
The polar expeditions of Roald Amundsen helped to form our new national identity.
And the qualities that enabled Amundsen, Hassel, Bjaaland, Hanssen and Wisting to reach the South Pole, were precisely those that the young nation wanted to be recognised by:
Courage, determination and endurance.
Today is also the time to pay tribute to the bravery of Robert Scott and his men.
Scott and his team paid the ultimate prize.
But their names will forever be inscribed in Polar history.
They will always be remembered for their courage and determination in reaching one of the most unhospitable places on earth.
When Amundsen reached the Pole the team put up its tent,
and they named the camp “Polheim” – Home at the Pole.
Today the South Pole is “home” for many of you who are celebrating with us today.
More than 200 people have their daily work here at the Amundsen-Scott Base during the summer season.
I would like to thank you and the US National Science Foundation for receiving us here with such warm hospitality in a frozen environment.
Some of you have experienced the hardship of skiing to the Pole.
You have seen the beauty and the fascination of the Antarctic wilderness.
And you have learned how challenging and unpredictable this frozen continent can be.
Today, Antarctica is a continent of international cooperation,
regulated by a well-functioning Antarctic Treaty,
where peace and stability,
environmental protection and international research, are at the heart of our joint efforts.
Researchers from all over the world are trying to discover the secrets of this vast continent.
The Norwegian Troll Station is at the forefront of Norwegian research in Antarctica.
Norway and the United States have a long history of scientific cooperation.
The US – Norwegian Antarctic Scientific Traverse in 2007 made important findings.
The Antarctic continent has been changing more rapidly in recent years than at any time in the past 800 years.
The loss of ice in Antarctica can have dramatic global effects.
It is our common responsibility to save this planet for future generations.
Roald Amundsen, Robert Scott and their men were prepared to make an extraordinary effort in order to reach their ambitious goals.
We need to be prepared to do the same.
That is the best way to honour a century of science and exploration at the South Pole.
Thank you.
To mark the historic achievements a hundred years ago, it is now my privilege to unveil this bust of Roald Amundsen here at the South Pole, made by the Norwegian artist Håkon Anton Fagerås.
If you live in Europe, you might have seen live footage of Prime Minister Stoltenberg speaking at the ceremonial Pole surrounded by flags of the nations participating in the Antarctic Treaty. (I saw some footage on the BBC.) Otherwise, here are some links that give you a good feel for the festivities.
http://kiellanddaniel.wordpress.com/tag/jens-stoltenberg/ This is a blog written by a Materialsperson working at Pole. Terrific photos that capture the events better than any of the reports I've seen in the media.
http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/Slik-er-livet-p-Sydpolen-6720391.html - it's useful if you read Norwegian, but, if not, you can just enjoy the photos.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/statsministerenskontor Official Norwegian Government photos
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=76659&src=eoa-iotd NASA's image of the day on December 14
and finally, an article that suggests that Robert Scott, though he didn't get to the Pole first and he and his men perished on the return journey, has done more for advancing scientific research in Antarctica than Amundsen did. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v480/n7375/full/480029a.html
Happy Anniversary, South Pole!
Monday, December 05, 2011
Antarctica in the News
December 14th marks the 100 year anniversary of Norwegian, Roald Amundsen's arrival at the South Pole. In honor of this historic event, hundreds of tourists are descending on South Pole Station - by plane and on skis. Additionally, the Prime Minister of Norway will make his way there to do a live broadcast back to his country (which the folks in our IT Department are working hard on supporting). As you can imagine, there is a lot of media coverage.
Perhaps you've already seen or heard reports on Antarctica on the TV news, on NPR radio or in magazines. With the anniversary celebrations and the scientific research about to start at Pine Island Glacier, an ice sheet that is dangerously close to cracking (calving) off a giant iceberg - this is a big year for Antarctic public relations.
For a sample of the kinds of activities going on in the adventure travel world, check out the website of Antarctic Logistics Associates (ALE) which is one of the largest adventure tour operators in the Antarctic and a company that one of my British friends from France is working for this season.
CBS News in the US put together a nice piece of video about the South Pole - complete with footage of my current Pilates instructor, Hillary. The reporter, Josh Landis, was working at McMurdo for the Antarctic Sun newspaper when I first started with the program in 2000. Check it out here: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7390504n&tag=mncol;lst;1
The most current edition of the Antarctic Sun has an article about the anniversary activity.
Rolling Stone magazine did a fabulous lead article last year about disappearing ice sheets which focuses quite a bit of attention on Pine Island Glacier (PIG). There is a field camp and several helicopters heading out to this remote, windswept and (supposedly) miserable location any day now. It is hugely high-profile, especially because a giant crack in the glacier appeared this Spring. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/on-thin-ice-20100922
It's quite an exciting time to be down here!
Perhaps you've already seen or heard reports on Antarctica on the TV news, on NPR radio or in magazines. With the anniversary celebrations and the scientific research about to start at Pine Island Glacier, an ice sheet that is dangerously close to cracking (calving) off a giant iceberg - this is a big year for Antarctic public relations.
For a sample of the kinds of activities going on in the adventure travel world, check out the website of Antarctic Logistics Associates (ALE) which is one of the largest adventure tour operators in the Antarctic and a company that one of my British friends from France is working for this season.
CBS News in the US put together a nice piece of video about the South Pole - complete with footage of my current Pilates instructor, Hillary. The reporter, Josh Landis, was working at McMurdo for the Antarctic Sun newspaper when I first started with the program in 2000. Check it out here: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7390504n&tag=mncol;lst;1
The most current edition of the Antarctic Sun has an article about the anniversary activity.
Rolling Stone magazine did a fabulous lead article last year about disappearing ice sheets which focuses quite a bit of attention on Pine Island Glacier (PIG). There is a field camp and several helicopters heading out to this remote, windswept and (supposedly) miserable location any day now. It is hugely high-profile, especially because a giant crack in the glacier appeared this Spring. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/on-thin-ice-20100922
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| NASA satellite image |
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