******************************************************** DECIDING WHAT TO STUDY ******************************************************** ***************** PLANNING A TRIP ***************** __________ QUESTION: How much time does planning a trip to Antarctica take and how do you go about planning it? ANSWER from Simon Stephenson, Science Projects Manager, Operations Group of Office Of Polar Programs, on January 25, 1995: The time it takes to plan a trip will depend on the size of the project. For the smaller projects (4 to 10 people), we like the scientist to start 18 months before they go to Antarctica. It's a long time, but it gives the National Science Foundation (NSF) time to have other scientists review the work to be done, and then only the best projects are chosen to go. Then the planning starts in earnest, with lists of supplies being bought for each project. There are about 130 projects fielded each year. Larger projects, like CARA and AMANDA at the South Pole, take a year or more longer, as laboratories and telescopes have to be designed and built to support the work. However, from time-to-time new discoveries or short-lived phenomena demand that we respond much more quickly. In these cases, experiments have be put together from scratch in just a few weeks to several months. ****************************** WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? ****************************** __________ QUESTION: What are you looking for on your expedition? ANSWER from Deane Rink Every person who comes to Antarctica is seeking something from this very beautiful and eerie continent. Personally, I am looking for great stories to tell and great shots to film, since I am the producer of Live From Antarctica. Scientists look for clues to answer some of their thorniest questions, both locally and globally. Some people come here for the isolation and the quiet, austere beauty. Some come to escape the hurly-burly of urban American life. One thing I can say in conclusion is this: nobody who comes here returns to the States without a profound and significant change having occurred to some portion of their world view. Antarctica is that powerful, that beautiful, that inspiring a place! **************************** DO YOU STUDY BOTH POLES? **************************** __________ QUESTION: Do the scientists study only at the South Pole or do they also study at the North Pole? ANSWER from Guy G. Guthridge on December 20, 1994 The precise answer is that there is a year-round research station at the geographic South Pole, but there is not a research station at the geographic North Pole. The reasons are that the South Pole is on a stable ice sheet situated on land. The North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, which is covered by sea ice that moves around a lot and is not stable enough to support permanent research facilities. There is a broader answer, too. Sometimes people mean "Antarctica" when they say "South Pole," and they mean "the Arctic" when they say "North Pole." Vigorous scientific research is going on in both polar regions. Some of the research is similar in the two polar regions; some of it is quite different. For an example of different research, oceanographers go right to the North Pole in icebreakers, as a large group of Canadian and U.S. scientists did aboard the U.S. icebreaker Polar Sea and the Canadian icebreaker St. Laurent during the boreal (or northern) summer of 1994. This is not something you can do in Antarctica! For an example of similar research, scientists have drilled ice cores through the ice sheets of both Greenland and Antarctica. Research on the ice cores of these two distant regions helps glaciologists and climatologists understand the historical similarities and differences of regional and global climates. The best example of research that is different in the two polar regions is in the social sciences. The northern reaches of the nations that rim the Arctic have native (or indigenous) populations who have had to adapt rapidly to modern industrial life styles. Social scientists traditionally study the prehistory, cultures and languages of these northern peoples but also work with them to bring native wisdom to studies of northern ecosystems. Little social science work has been done in Antarctica, because there is no indigenous population. The human research that has been done in Antarctica has focused on the effect of isolated and confined environments on human physiology and social interactions. ************************************* WHY ARE SCIENTISTS IN ANTARCTICA? ************************************* __________ QUESTION: Why did you go to Antarctica? ANSWER by Craig Mundell on Feb. 9, 1995 I came to Antarctica because I thought it would be an incredible opportunity to be able to live in such a remote, beautiful place. Also, I really enjoy international travel and this was a rare opportunity to be able to come to this side of the world and get to a place that so few people have ever visited. So, in other words, I really came to Antarctica for the adventure and the experience. __________ QUESTION: Why is NASA in Antarctica? ANSWER by Tom Stevens, Lt. U.S. Navy, on January 14, 1995: NASA has a very diversified mission in Antarctica. NASA is involved in many projects including microbiology in the Dry Valleys, diving in both McMurdo Sound and the Dry Valley lakes, weather and ozone studies including the use of Long Duration Balloons (LDBs), and numerous communications/satellite projects. NASA is definitely involved in more than space and astronauts. NASA is also involved in studies for futuristic space travels and Mars research. One of the main capacities for NASA is satellite work in order to maintain and improve telephone, television, and other data services in Antarctica. A couple of years ago there was a very big NASA project in Antarctica involving Mount Erebus. NASA had a robot called "Dante" that climbed down into the crater of the volcano. It was a very extensive and well-publicize project. You may remember some of the coverage it received in the U. S. __________ QUESTION: Why do you study in Antarctica? Wouldn't it be easier to study in another place? In other words, what can you learn there that you can't learn someplace else? ANSWER from Diana Freckman, Colorado State University, Natural Resource Ecology Laboratory, Dec. 20, 1994: (She is also one of the scientists to appear for question and answer on Live From Antarctica.) There are many things that you study in Antarctica that you couldn't study elsewhere, for example the way animals survive the cold -- Art DeVries, who was on the Live From Antarctica show, talked about finding "antifreeze" in the fish here. Another example is the "Sealheads" studying the seals here rather than in the Arctic because here the seals are abundant, healthy and have a stable population, while in the Arctic they are declining. I study the cold desert soils here rather than the hot deserts of New Mexico or Arizona because, believe it or not, the ecosystems are too complex in the U.S. deserts. For example, if you took a handful of soil anywhere in the USA, you would probably find a representative of almost every phylum of animals. If you looked at a lot of soil you would even find vertebrates in the soil such as gophers, and ground squirrels. So to answer the question, I find the soils here a LOT less complex - fewer species! And then, of course, this is one of the best places to study the geology and evolution of the continents. The study of glaciers here tells us about how the glaciers moved across the U.S. many years ago. *************************** WHY STUDY OCEAN WATER? *************************** __________ QUESTION: What is it about the ocean water in Antarctica that makes you want to test it, and how different is it from other ocean water? ANSWER from Michael Castellini on Jan. 16 1995 Oceanographers study all the Earth's oceans so that they can better understand how the whole planetary ocean system works. A great deal of water comes from Antarctica; it gets so cold that it flows down the sides of the continent and then up into the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans along the bottom for thousands of miles. Meanwhile, at the surface there is a very strong Antarctic current that flows around and around the continent, since there are no other land masses to get in the way. This also leads to very rough water around the Antarctic and I have been sea-sick for many days out there on boats! *********************** WHY STUDY PENGUINS? *********************** __________ QUESTION: What gave you the interest to be a penguin scientist? ANSWER from Dr. Michael Castellini, January 16, 1995 Actually, most of my work has been with seals and only a couple of seasons with penguins. However, for both animals, my interest has always been in trying to understand how these animals can dive for so long and so deep. Some penguins can dive to over 500 m for up to 18 min, and some seals for over 90 min to depths of almost 1900 m! They are very good swimmers and can carry lots of oxygen in their muscles and blood so that they can stay down for so long! __________ QUESTION: How many scientists are working with penguins this year, and what specifically are you trying to learn? ANSWER: From Dr. Michael Castellini on January 16, 1995. In the United States Program, there would be about 3-4 projects working with penguins. This would be about 15-20 people. They are doing all sorts of projects from timing their dives to looking at how they feed their chicks. This year, we worked only with seals, not penguins so I really can't tell you anything about penguins and our work. However, I have worked with them in the past and focused mainly on how they can dive so deep and for so long! ********************************************** HOW MANY SCIENTISTS ARE "NEW" TO THE ICE? ********************************************** __________ QUESTION: How many of the scientists there have been to "the Ice" before? ANSWER from Nicole Wertz Dec. 20, 1994 This is an estimate at best, but I spoke with a representative from the Crary Lab who said that around 65% of the Principal Investigators (PIs) return to the ice year after year. For example, Art DeVries, who studies fish, has been coming down since the early 1960s. Gerald Kooyman, who is involved in penguin studies, has been coming to Antarctica for over 20 years. The team who launches balloons for atmospheric studies has been returning to Antarctica for years as well. Each PI may hire a new team to accompany him or her to Antarctica. His team may consist of graduate students, doctors and fellow scientists who are interested in his studies. They are usually newcomers to the Antarctica experience.