******************************************************** CONDUCT OF SCIENCE ******************************************************** ********************************** HOW ARE QUESTIONS ANSWERED? ********************************** __________ QUESTION: What kinds of studies do you use to answer kids questions? ANSWER from Marc Siegel on January 4, 1995 We don't use studies. We send the questions on to folks in Antarctica who are likely to know the answers. If they don't know, then they try to find other people in Antarctica or elsewhere who can help. Once we have gotten a question answered, then we save the response. That way, if someone else asks the same question, we don't have to ask the experts in Antarctica again. Instead we send the question and answer that we have previously saved. We call this process Smart Filtering. ********************************** TEMPERATURE MEASUREMENT ********************************** __________ QUESTION: How do you measure temperature in freezing weather? ANSWER from Katy McNitt on January 30,1995: Temperatures at the South Pole drop lower than -100 degrees F, so the equipment we use outside DOES freeze, even during the summertime when temperatures are still well below zero. When you think of a thermometer, you probably think of a glass tube filled with red-colored alcohol, or mercury. Once the liquid in these thermometers freezes, they're pretty useless for measuring temperature. But there are lots of other ways to measure temperature. We use THERMISTORS and PLATINUM RESISTANCE THERMOMETERS. I'll give you the definitions and let you figure it out from there! ;-) A THERMISTOR is a "transistor whose action depends on the change of resistivity of a semiconductor with temperature." Whew! A RESISTANCE THERMOMETER works pretty much the same way--the electrical resistance of a platinum wire wound around a ceramic core changes (in a predictable way) with changes in temperature, so if we can measure the resistance of our probe, we can figure out what the temperature is. This isn't any more indirect than watching liquid rise or fall in a glass tube and figuring out the temperature that way, and as far as I know, this is the best way to measure such cold temperatures! ********************************** MONITORING ANIMAL MOVEMENT ********************************** __________ QUESTION: While you are studying the penguins, you have let them go under the water. How do you monitor where they go and have you had any escape? ANSWER from Dr. Polly Penhale on January 12, 1995: We study penguin movements by using a tiny "time-depth" recorder which is glued to the feathers on the penguin's back. This instrument is a little computer that records where the penguins go and how far they travel. The instruments are designed to be light-weight and hydrodynamically smooth, so as not to impede the swimming of the birds. Penguins tend to come back to their colony or location where we study them, but occasionally, these birds go off somewhere and we lose the instrument. During the annual molting period, in which the penguins shed old feathers, the instruments would fall off. ANSWER from Deane Rink, Live From Antarctica field producer, on January 12, 1995: When Gerry Kooyman and his gang study penguins in their natural habitat, they pick a place on the sea ice where there are no other holes than the ones they select. That way, the birds cannot swim away, but are compelled to re-enter the atmosphere from the same hole or holes from which they dived into the water. Kooyman is careful not to force the penguins to dive, but instead lets them do it at their own pace; he just ensures that they come back to where he can observe them and weigh them and determine their behavior by limiting their options. ANSWER from Dr. Michael Castellini on January 16, 1995: We can either study the penguins at their own holes in the ice and put small radios on them so that we can track them, or we can put a hole in the ice far away from any other holes, and they must come back to that spot to breathe when the dive is over. We use these techniques on seals, too, and it works really well. We have never had a penguin leave our study holes, but we have had a few seals leave the area. They carry radios though, and we can find them again by flying around in a helicopter listening for their signals! *********************** GAS AND AIR SAMPLES *********************** __________ QUESTION: How do you send an air sample far away to be studied? ANSWER from Katy McNitt on February 3, 1995: During the summer (November - February) there are several planes which fly to the South Pole, so we can send air samples back to the U.S. through McMurdo, to Christchurch, New Zealand, then California, then Boulder, Colorado, where the samples will be analyzed by our scientists. We also send air samples to Australia and to several universities in the United States. During the long, dark winter, no planes come to the South Pole, so we store the samples outside until the following summer. __________ QUESTION: How do you test for greenhouse gases in the upper stratosphere? ANSWER from Katy McNitt on February 12, 1995: The only trace gases I measure in the upper stratosphere are ozone and water vapor. We measure these with instruments attached to helium- filled balloons which usually reach altitudes of 30 - 35 km above sea level. ******************************** RISKING YOUR LIFE FOR SCIENCE ********************************* __________ QUESTION: What is it like to risk your life every day just by going outside? Is it worth it just to get information? ANSWER from Guy Guthridge Since the first human set foot on Antarctica in 1899 -- nearly a century ago -- we have learned how to manage the risk of being there. This consists of dressing properly in well-designed clothing, maintaining daily radio contact with a base station, developing skills in such subjects as moving through crevasse fields in a roped-up team, and having search-and-rescue teams and plans ready for immediate deployment when things go wrong. The search-and-rescue teams are effective because of three factors: (1) they are experts in what they do, (2) long-distance communication by radio or satellite usually is nearly instantaneous, and (3) aircraft and motorized surface vehicles are available to move quickly to where the trouble is. The safety record in Antarctica for well-prepared expeditioners is good. While injuries and -- rarely -- deaths still occur, Antarctic scientists on a field team no longer have to depend entirely on themselves as did, for example, Robert F. Scott and his party who lost their lives when man-hauling back from the South Pole in 1912 when radio and airplanes were not present. So, in direct answer to the question, well-prepared scientists do not believe they are risking their lives when they go outside on well- planned expeditions. The precautions taken, and the value of the data collected, are such that scientists are willing to expose themselves to the somewhat higher risk than would come from being outside in an easier climate and landscape than Antarctica. ********************** IS RESEARCH TEDIOUS? *********************** __________ QUESTION: Does research ever get tedious or is it constantly interesting? ANSWER from Diana Freckman on December 18, 1994: Professor and Director, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory Associate Dean for Research, College of Natural Resources Colorado State University Sure it gets tedious, because sometimes taking data, entering data on a computer, getting water for washing your field tools used for microbiological samples, washing glassware in the lab, -- all those routine things that have to be done consistently well -- can be tedious if you don't remember that even tedious details and repetition can cause your data and results to vary if it isn't done well! However, I guess if I thought someone found it really tedious to do those routine tasks then they don't have their eyes on the big results that will result from their routine work. Our team at least, doesn't seem to be bored, finds even the tedious work fun because everything done well helps build good solid, repeatable results, and that is really exciting!! ANSWER from Terry Trimingham on December 23, 1994: I am not at McMurdo doing research, so it is difficult for me to answer your question as to whether or not it is tedious. I have met a number of scientists here though, and I get the impression from them that research has its ups and downs. The going out and getting information, and collecting samples is usually exciting, but sometimes there can be a routine that gets tedious. I think the hard part of research is analyzing all the data that is gathered, one must be very meticulous and use scientific methods so that the work being done is recognized and respected by other scientists. It is the thirst for knowledge that keeps scientists working hard and doing research; it is exciting to be discovering and learning new things. ******************* NEW DISCOVERIES ****************** __________ QUESTION: Have scientists ever recorded seeing anything that others would not believe? ANSWER from Jack Dibb on January 9, 1995: I am not sure that I am catching the real intent of this question, but I would have to say that most new discoveries are initially viewed somewhat skeptically. This is part of the scientific method, so is to be expected. When new, unexpected results are announced, the scientific community rarely accepts them as proven. Rather, more measurements are undertaken by the original group and other groups in most cases, to confirm the observations. If they all agree, the community starts to believe. If they don't, there is a period where the different measurement techniques are examined and the reasons for disagreement debated. Over time, a consensus develops, but in very few cases is it ever possible to prove a scientific hypothesis. Certainly, the ongoing debate over "Greenhouse Warming" due to anthropogenic emissions is a perfect example. No one doubts that these gases can cause warming, and it is also clear that the levels of several of them are increasing due to the activities of man. However, some believe that these anthropogenic gases have already caused warming while others are convinced that such an effect can not be demonstrated so far. __________ QUESTION: What unknown species either under the sea or above have bean found on this expedition? Answer from Deane Rink, Live From Antarctica Field Producer I don't know what you mean by this expedition. I am not aware of any new species that have been found by any researchers this year, but many of the researchers have learned new things about the behavior and feeding strategies of the organisms that were already known but improperly understood. This is the way science generally works: somebody makes a discovery, and a succession of researchers following in the discoverer's footsteps collect and publish data amplifying what the original researcher found. Just because we have known that nematodes live in the Dry Valleys soil, for example, does not mean that we understand the complexities of their behavior or how they survive the freezing, dark winter or other details of their existence. This same point applies to marine organisms, birds, plants and any other creature. ______________ QUESTION: Have any new plants or animals been discovered? ANSWER from Craig Mundell on December 22, 1994 To date, scientists have not discovered any new plants or animals in Antarctica. The research is, however, continuing and there is always the possibility, and hope, of discovering a new species of plant or animal. ********************** OIL-EATING BACTERIA ********************** __________ QUESTION: Oil eating bacteria were mentioned in the second Live From Antarctica program. How effective are they in helping to clean up oil spills? What is the name of this bacteria? Can we get some to conduct our own experiment? ANSWER from Deane Rink on 1/14/95: To my knowledge, no oil-eating bacteria have ever been used to clean up spills down here in Antarctica. There have been no major spills that I am aware of. I do know that such bacteria exist, but I think they have only been utilized in small-scale lab experiments. Major spills like the Exxon Valdez in Alaska used more conventional methods. You might try contacting Exxon to ask which bacteria have been proposed for this purpose, because they almost surely will have heard of them, even if such critters are not yet commercially feasible. I could not locate anyone down here who knew the specific names you seek.