Photos by Emily Stone / The Antarctic SunEmperor penguins line up to dive into the water through a hole at Penguin Ranch on the sea icenear McMurdo Station. Below, a penguin swims through the water beneath the sea ice.

November 14, 2004Published during the austral summer at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, for the United States Antarctic Program

www.polar.org/antsun

Personal Web sitesgive peek at Ice life

Page 3

“It’s cold down there. Are theygoing to give you furs?”

Never say ‘never’ to Antarctica ...

Page 4

Quote of the Week

- South Pole resident’s grandfather on hearing his grandson was headed to Antarctica

INSIDE

By Emily StoneSun staff

Studying emperor penguins in the winter is no easy task. It’s the kind of work thatinspires memoirs with inauspicious titles like, “The Worst Journey in the World.”Paul Ponganis is hoping for better luck than than the memoir’s author Apsley

Cherry-Garrard had in 1911. He’s running a pilot project this summer that could even-tually let his team monitor penguins at Cape Washington over the winter.

Ponganis, of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, is testing a custom-built cam-era that takes panoramic shots of the birds at Penguin Ranch four times a day. If thecamera works this summer, he plans to try it at Cape Washington next summer, withthe ultimate goal being a winter project, possibly the following year.

Scientists test new tools to studyemperor penguins

See Penguins on page 9

Story and photos by by Kristan HutchisonSun staff

The South Pole traverse team drovefive tractors away from the ice runwayNov. 11, with re-engineered gear,revamped plans and a better under-standing of the terrain they hope tocross.

The route, indicated by a red line onplanning maps, crosses the Ross IceShelf, climbs the Leverett Glacier topass over the TransantarcticMountains, and then continues acrossthe plateau to Amundsen-Scott SouthPole Station. It’s a total of 1,600kmand 3,000m elevation gain.

“The red lines go over placesnobody has ever stood before,” saidproject manager John Wright. “Theonly thing we know about it is it’swhite and cold.”

The last successful traverse fromthe Ross Ice Shelf to the South Polewas Edmund Hillary’s historic journeyin 1958, when his team became thefirst to drive to the Pole. Hillary’s teamwas frequently slowed by deep snow,large sastrugi and tractors falling intocrevasses.

Despite all the challenges, the tra-verse holds great potential for theAntarctic program. If the trial runshows it’s feasible, surface transportcould carry enough fuel to the Poleeach season to replace a number ofLC130 flights, making those flightsavailable to take scientists into the field

With new gear,traverse setssights on Pole

See Traverse on page 7

2 • The Antarctic Sun November 14, 2004

It’s a harsh cartoon Matt Davidson

Palmer StationSits: On Anvers IslandOriginal site: Built in 1965Present site: Moved there in 1968Named for: American sealerNathaniel B. Palmer who was, bysome accounts, the first to seeAntarctica, in 1820Rainfall: avg. 76cm a yearLatitude: 64.5 degrees S., twodegrees north of the Antarctic CircleDaylight: Year-round, ranging fromfive hours in winter to 19 hours insummerGetting there: Only by shipAccessible: Year-round, unlikePole and McMurdoWhere to watch the glacier calve:From the fish tank-turned-hot tubWorst environmental disaster:When the Bahia Paraiso ran into areef near Palmer in 1989, rippingopen its hull and spilling 645,000liters of fuel that created a slick over30 sq. km.

Sources: The Idiot’s Guide to the Arctic andAntarctic, Palmer Station guide, LonelyPlanet guide to Antarctica

Cold, hard facts

Ross Island Chronicles By Chico

Hello there.Listen, leopardseal, you don’tscare me.

I’m an emperorpenguin. We’renot afraid ofanything.

So come on, bring it on.Let’s see what you got.

That’s right, chump.You and me, mano a mano.

I just wanted to let youknow that you hooked anewborn orca and itsmama looks pissed.

The Antarctic Sun is funded by the NationalScience Foundation as part of the United StatesAntarctic Program (OPP-000373). Its primary

audience is U.S. AntarcticProgram participants, their fami-lies, and their friends. NSFreviews and approves materialbefore publication, but opinions

and conclusions expressed in The Sun are notnecessarily those of the Foundation.

Use: Reproduction and distribution areencouraged with acknowledgment ofsource and author.

Senior Editor: Kristan HutchisonEditors: Brien Barnett, Emily StoneCopy Editors: Karl Horeis, Hunter Slaton,

Wendy Kober, Amanda Barnett, Rebecca Hollobon

Publisher: Valerie Carroll,Communications manager, RPSC

Contributions are welcome. Contact TheSun at AntSun@usap.gov. In McMurdo,visit our office in Building 155 or dial 2407.

Web address: www.polar.org/antsunMe? Ten years for mailing a box with styrofoampeanuts in it to Antarctica. And you...?

November 14, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 3

By Brien BarnettSun staff

The international traveling sensationFlat Stanley can get no flatter than abunch of electrons, but at GlenKinoshita’s South Pole Web site, Stanleymay be at his coolest.

Flat Stanley is a children’s book char-acter who found he could travel the worldthrough the mail if he was as flat as asheet of paper. The winter season hadalready started and flights discontinuedwhen Kinoshita heard that a kid had senthim a Flat Stanley. With the original stucksomewhere in the mail, Kinoshita down-loaded and printed off Flat Stanley, thencreated a fun and extensive site about FlatStanley’s adventure at the South Pole.

As a wintering research scientist work-ing with weather and climate monitoring,Kinoshita had access to much of the sta-tion. He used his access to create a fun sitefeaturing photos of Flat Stanley workingall over the station. Stanley even sportedextreme cold weather gear similar toAntarctic participants. It was a FlatStanley follower’s dream come true andshowed off some of the station resident’screativity during the long, cold winter.

Kinoshita is one of many people whomaintain Web sites and online journalsdedicated to their experiences inAntarctica. Using the keyword“Antarctica,” Google, MSN and othersearch sites reveal tens of thousands ofsites. The Ice can be explored online.

USAP.org is the official United StatesAntarctic Program Web site. That site andthe Office of Polar Programs site at

NSF.gov contain useful information aboutAntarctica, from quick facts to a photolibrary of images from around the conti-nent. There are dozens of unofficial Websites spawned each season by Antarcticprogram participants. These sites typical-ly include journals with daily entries andphoto galleries. Some feature poetry andmusic inspired by their creators’ experi-ences on the Ice.

Like the Flat Stanley page, nearly allthe sites have some level of quirky Icebehavior. For example, the opening pageof dining attendant Allison Barden’s sitefeatures a photo of her standing by theMcMurdo Station sign during a snow-storm in beach attire. It’s a far cry fromSan Francisco where she lives when not inAntarctica. Her nickname, Sandwich, wasearned by her custom of toting a sand-wich-shaped lunchbox everywhere shewent. It carries over to the name of thesite: sandwichgirl.com.

A few strokes of the keyboard will getsurfers to computer tech Holly Troy’sWeb site, southpoledudes.com. There,visitors can review dozens of photos fromseveral seasons spent in Antarctica.

“It’s basically so people can live vicar-iously through my pictures,” Troy said.

During the week, Troy collects hisphotographs and creates his Web pages.On Sundays, he spends about 15 minutesat the Coffee House updating his site fromhis personal laptop.

Troy first came down to the Ice with afriend in 2001 and the two were supposedto work together on the site (hence the

Personal web sites share Ice with world

Photo by Brien Barnett / The Antarctic SunMike Poole checks on his Web site, Antarctic Memories, at the computer lab atMcMurdo Station. Poole hosts a bulletin board on his site and frequently answersquestions about life on the Ice for many first-time U.S. Antarctic Program participants.

Here are a few Web sites by Antarctic residents this year:

Beth Bartel, GPS specialisthttp://iceblog.puddingbowl.org

Zondra Skertich, VMF supplywww.zondra.org

Glen Kinoshita, 2004 South Pole wintererhttp://gcrgweb.sdsu.edu/penguin/index.html

See Web on page 11Allison Barden, prep cook - sandwicheswww.sandwichgirl.com

By Phil Jacobsen“I’ll be back.” That’s what Arnold

Schwarzenegger said in “The Terminator”and he meant it.

“I’ll never be back.” That’s what I saidabout Antarctica and I meant it.

When I finished my 2002-2003, 14-month stint as a dishwasher in McMurdo,I burnt my blue shirt, pureed my Chefwearpants and flung my non-latex gloves intoconstruction debris. With more absolutedetermination than that girlie man Arnold,I’m here to tell you, I meant it when I said,“I’ll never be back.”

Guess what Mr. Governor—I’m back.What are you going to do? Impeach me?

Never. Not in my lifetime. Or in thelifetime of any item lost, petrified orfrozen on this continent or in Mapcon didI plan to return to Antarctica. And that myfriends, is the problem — I said, “Never.”

It’s as though if you look up the word“Never” in the nearest Antarctic dictionarythe definition would say: 1. Certainly 2.You bet. 3. Can’t wait.

If there were an English-to-Antarctica/Antarctica-to-English phrase book, the sen-tence “I’LL NEVER BE BACK,” wouldtranslate to, “See you next season!” Theclichéd phrase, “I’ll only come back whenHell freezes over” would mean the Devilwas dressed in thermal insulated Carharttsand his heat-burnt red skin was replacedwith a Raytheon-issued Big Red Parka.

One minute I’m landing inChristchurch, New Zealand, onboard a C-17 after spending about 13 months toolong as Madge the Dishboy saying “Neveragain,” and the next minute it’s as thoughthe New York Air Guard did a touch-and-go and brought me right back for anotherseason.

“I’ll never see you again, Antarctica”was quickly replaced with “I’ll C-17 yousoon.”

After landing on the ice runway, I waswhisked to the National Science FoundationChalet for the “Welcome To Antarctica”speech: “Here’s a Thousand Ways for Youto Die.” Since the “whisking” took place on

Ivan the Terra Bus—the slow-moving, big-wheeled version of mass transit, Antarcticstyle—I had plenty of time to reflect on whyI was never, ever going to return toMcMurdo and I drew a blank.

I looked at the volcano, Mount Erebus.The lake of lava at the top of Erebus waspluming a long, streaking mist of steamacross the sky. She was absolutely beauti-ful. For this reason alone, I should neverhave said, “never.” The cross on Ob Hillspoke to me of the history and the chal-lenges others have seen in these parts.Soon, I thought, I’ll climb to that crossand apologize for prematurely sayinggoodbye. The Royal Society Mountainswere majestic. And McMurdo wasMcMurdo.

A wintering friend once described thislittle town of McMurdo in the darkness ofnoon as looking like “an all-night truckstop in Nebraska.” Well, this stop was nowgoing to be home, again.

Even though I’d made the decision tocome back to McMurdo many monthsago, McMurdo hadn’t made peace withmy return. Our safety manager saw meand said he thought it was a safe bet I’dnever return. The electricians wereshocked to see me, the mechanics at theheavy shop dropped their trannies when Ipassed by, the carpenters were bored with

my return, the BFC said, “BFD you’reback” and a plumber said, “Oh crap, we’reknee deep in it now.”

Hey, it’s not just me. I’m seeing peoplewhom I thought I’d never see again.Around the station I’ve run into a coupleof friends who, after spending six monthsin the dark said, “Never again.”

We had joy. We had fun. We had sea-sons in the sun. And then one really long,long winter.

The last time I was here I felt like I waswatching the worst reality TV show everimagined, but it was my life. I washeddishes for 14 months.

The thrill of living at the bottom of theworld disappeared after watching the1,143rd drain spin counter-clockwise in awindowless room 10 hours a day.

I’ve left dishes in my apartment sinkfor nearly as long as I worked as a dish-washer because of a hatred for all thingsPalmolive, dishpan hands, suds and hardwork. If I knew then what I know now,when I left Antarctica I would have said,“I’ll be back.

“BUT—This time … wash your owndishes.”

Phil Jacobsen works in the supplydepartment at McMurdo Station. He hasalso written for the Salt Lake City Weekly.

4 • The Antarctic Sun November 14, 2004

Perspectives Perspectives

Ex-DA is done with the dishes

Phil Jacobsen holds up the toy given to him by a5-year-old girl in Salt Lake City.

Photo by Phil Jacobsen / Special to The Antarctic Sun

But he can’t escape the pull of Antarctica

If there were anEnglish-to-Antarctica/Antarctica-to-English

phrase book, the sentence “I’LL NEVER BE BACK,”would translate to, “See

you next season!”

the week in weather

Polies face cold and flu

By Brenda EverittPole correspondent

They’re working around the clock atSouth Pole Station now that people havebecome acclimated and settled into theirroutines, despite a rash of the flu and polar“crud.”

Temperatures have remained low. Theaverage temperature for the week ending onSouth Pole Meteorology reports is aboutseven degrees lower than the usual temper-ature for this time of year, based on recordsgoing back to 1958. Sundogs and haloshave been observed on several occasionssince the beginning of November, and thelow temperatures have continued to yieldimpressive contrails on the incoming andoutbound airplanes.

Heavy equipment has been runningaround the clock in order to move snowaway from the new station and dome areas,and also to create several snow roads. Oneof the new snow roads will lead out to theDark Sector, where the Ice Cube project willbe busy setting up and drilling holes in theice.

Soon after summer season kicked off, anoutbreak of influenza-A and cold-likesymptoms knocked dozens of workers atSouth Pole Station off their feet for severaldays. While the station’s population hov-ered around 220 for the week ending Nov. 7, medical staff reported seeing morethan 100 people for various flu-like symp-toms. Those who were thought to have theflu were asked to stay away from work, andsome had their meals brought to theirrooms. With so many sick, the stationdeclared a half-day safety stand-down inorder to give people there a chance to restand get well. The station did not order aquarantine as was rumored.

The outbreak, though, did prompt repeat-ed messages from management and kitchenstaff for personnel to wash their hands asoften as possible. This led to a new SouthPole greeting: an elbow-to-elbow touch thatreplaced the hesitant handshake. Dinerswere greeted by two bottles of anti-bacteri-

al hand lotion.The situation seemed to be improving

slightly as of Wednesday. In other news, the station plans to offer

support to the South Pole GPS referencestation for a Chilean-Brazilian expedition inNovember and December. The plannedround-trip tractor traverse from Patriot Hillsto Pole will be making a contribution toITASE, the International Trans-AntarcticScientific Expedition. They will be collect-ing core samples and performing GPS andgravity measurements along the route.

Also, opportunities for working out, per-sonal training sessions and swing danceclasses are increasing. Basketball, climbingand other activities that take place in thegym are on hold until the stacks of outgoingpackage mail can be loaded onto planes.That will happen when the temperaturesease and the contrails break.

Sun staffer Brien Barnett contributed tothis report.

Sea ice weakens

By Kerry KellsPalmer correspondent

A substantial calving of the glacier onAnvers Island, behind Palmer Station, brokeapart the sea ice and sent cracks in all direc-tions like a spider’s web. However, the seaice has continued to cling around station,halting the efforts of the researchers to takesamples from their station sites. Members ofLangdon Quetin’s Long Term EcologicalResearch (LTER) project tested their divegear and were able to punch holes in the thinice for scuba diving. Enough krill — about

100 — have been collected so that experi-ments can begin. Krill are plentiful rightnow as they congregate in groups beneaththe sea ice.

On Tuesday, Palmer Station waited forthe election results. Some people votedbefore deployment and some voted byabsentee ballots sent from Punta Arenas,Chile. They followed election updates andfinal results via the Web.

On Wednesday, Brett Pickering, whoworks with Bill Fraser’s LTER SeabirdResearch group, gave a slide show on“Trekking in Suriname.” The photos fol-lowed his river journey through Suriname inDecember 1996 to January 1997 to collectparasites and miscellaneous invertebrates.On the Corantijn and Maratakka Rivers,their guides took him and five other travel-ers from the capital city of Paramaribothrough the roadless wilderness ofSuriname. Brett showed slides of their

camps, the wilderness and the wildlife ofthe area.

Also this past week, Palmer held anothercommunity event, the annual Tag and Bag.Because Palmer Station receives a largenumber of cruise ship and yacht visitors, wehave a well-stocked station store. Tag andBag is a get-together to fold, tag and storeall the merchandise for the summer season.The event becomes a party in which every-one helps out. A barbeque behind the car-penter shop followed on Saturday to celebrate Palmer Station’s successful ISO (International Organization forStandardization) certification.

November 14, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 5

around the continent

PALMER

SOUTH POLE

McMurdo StationHigh: 21F / -6C Low: -3F / -19CMax. sustained wind: 46mph / 74kphWindchill: -40F / -40C

South Pole StationHigh: -39F / -40C Low: -58F / -50CPeak wind: 25mph / 40kphMax. Physio-altitude: 3,366m

See Palmer on page 6

Palmer StationHigh: 45F / 7C Low: 22F / -6CMax. sustained wind: 39mph / 63kphPrecipitation: 14mm

Photo by Brien Barnett / The Antarctic Sun

Water vapor condenses into ice crystals,fogging the air behind an LC-130 as it landsat the South Pole.

Photo by Cara Sucher / Special to The Antarctic SunMembers of the Long Term EcologicalResearch team use the new aluminum boat tocross through brash ice near Palmer Station.

Over the weekend strong winds broughtenough force to break up and soften thesea ice around the station. While the iceremains, it has weakened. On Monday,several researchers borrowed a new alu-minum landing craft from marine opera-tions. Hugh Ducklow’s group managed toget to Bonaparte Point across from Palmerfor plankton and water samples. His groupwill take samples throughout the summerseason from there and a second samplingsite which is nearly two miles away.Several of the scientists helped the twoseabird researchers and assisted them onthe islands of Torgeson, Litchfield,Cormorant and Christine — all sites forpenguin and seabird counts. The “birders”measured the snowfall and counted thepenguins, skuas and cormorants at the

islands. The return proved to be an adven-ture as they spotted four orca whales nearthe island of Christine, including one thatswam under the boat.

Nathaniel B. Palmer

Compiled from reports by Karl NewyearAfter three weeks at sea, the Nathaniel B.

Palmer arrived in Timaru, New Zealand onNov. 6, and everyone enjoyed a chance tostretch their legs on dry land. Fueling beganthe next morning just after 8 a.m. and wascompleted by mid-afternoon. Meanwhile,the ships crew received a number of cargoitems, including spare parts for the inopera-ble TeraScan satellite receiving system. Theelectronic technicians were able to make thenecessary repairs and the NBP is again

receiving satellite images aboard ship.Those aboard thanked people in Denver andMcMurdo who helped provide satelliteimages in the interim.

The NBP is now at sea again and headedgenerally south toward the Ross Sea. Whalesightings were a bit more common in therelatively smooth seas, though fog limitedvisibility at times.

A swell, running from the southwest onNov. 8, suggested weather was coming,which it did the next day, with winds of 35to 45 knots and 15- to 20-foot seas. The seaand spray made it nearly impossible to spotmarine mammals, though there were a fewseabirds around.

“The ship speed is correspondinglyslower in these conditions and it sometimesseems like it’s taking forever to get back tothe ice,” wrote marine projects coordinatorKarl Newyear.

Palmer6 • The Antarctic Sun November 14, 2004

From page 5

What do you miss from home?

“The smell of rainin the Alaskan

rainforest.”

Nicole Huck, McMurdo janitor from Girdwood,

Alaska, first season

“Going out for adrive.”

Tony Black,Pole meteorologistfrom San Diego,

Calif., third season

“I miss my wifebecause she worksat McMurdo and I

live at Palmer.”

Ken Navarro, Palmer asst. supervi-sor of logistics fromConnifer, Colo., 16

seasons

Across:2. A red crustacean found in largequantities south of the AntarcticConvergence.3. This seal is the southernmostranging marine mammal in theworld.4. Minute free-floating flora thatform the base of the food chain inthe Southern Ocean.5. A large, sharp-witted and obser-vant gull-like bird common inMcMurdo.6. A whale of the suborder odonto-ceti found in Antarctic waters.7. This whale composes complexvocalizations or “songs” that arerepeated year after year.8. The mysticeti suborder areoften referred to as _____ whales9. This bird sometimes visitsMcMurdo and has a bat-like flight.

10. This life form demonstratesthe symbiosis of algae and fungi.11. The substance Antarctic fishproduce, allowing them to live incold water.

Down:1. The largest of the Antarcticseals2. A subantarctic penguin that hassimilar markings to the emperorpenguin3. This taxonomic order consistsof marine mammals that spendtheir lives entirely in the water.4. This seal ranges far out to seaand is a notorious predator.5. Fossils of this 230 million yearold mammal-like herbivore arefound in Antarctica.6. Organisms living on or in thesea floor belong to the _______environment/community.

Crossword: Antarctic Life

SHIPS

or bring other supplies to the Pole. TheFrench, Russian, Chinese, Japanese andGerman Antarctic programs all use traversesto bring supplies from the coast to inland sta-tions or camps.

The goal of the three-year U.S. project isto determine whether it is practical to haulsupplies to the South Pole over the ice. Theoriginal plan was to arrive at the South Polethis year. At the annual planning conferencein May, Wright announced they probablywon’t make it that far. How far they do gowill depend on how far they can get with90,850 liters of fuel.

“They’re going to go as far as half theirfuel or half their time will allow them to gosafely,” said David Bresnahan, the NationalScience Foundation representative currentlyat McMurdo Station.

The first year went well, but last year softsnow bogged down the traverse. Instead ofreaching their goal at the top of the Leverret

Glacier, the tractors turned around 320kmshort of the glacier’s base.

However, the traverse took less than halfthe time to make the 680km return trip toMcMurdo than it had taken on the way out,demonstrating that the plan to break a trailthat will be easier to travel could work,Wright said.

The first two yearsThe traverse team exceeded their goals

the first year, finding and filling crevasses inthe treacherous shear zone to create a safecrossing. The shear zone is the section fromMinna Bluff to Cape Crozier where theRoss Ice Shelf comes roaring past theMcMurdo Ice Shelf “like a freight train,”Wright said.

“If there were heroes in crossing theshear zone, they were surely the dozer oper-ators who took an 86,000 (pound) D8 rightup to the edge of the crevasses as they filledthem full of snow and made them safe forcrossing,” Wright said.

That first year, the traverse made it160km beyond their goal in two and a halfdays, but it was not far enough to preparethem for what was to come in year two.

In the second year, two days out of theshear zone, the sleds were caught in softsnow and several were knocked off theircarriages. The team remounted the sleds andcontinued, but from then on much of theirtime was spent pulling vehicles out of thesnow and making repairs. The team workedoutside in pits dug in the snow to fix andreplace parts.

“Last year our heroes were surely ourmechanics, who saw us through day afterday of planned and unplanned repairs andmaintenance,” Wright said.

The soft snow continued for 400km,making them think it was caused by aweather pattern particular to that area.

“When we encountered soft snow, weknew that all our load planning tools and all

our best efforts and thought about how wewere going to go out were just not going towork,” Wright said. “One hundred milesdown the road we said ‘that’s enough ofthat. If we’re going to make any progress atall we’re going to have to start shuttling ourload.’ ”

For every mile they went forward withhalf the load, the tractors had to go anothermile back and do it again with the secondhalf of the load. The traffic did help compactthe route and the return trip was twice as fast.

Lessons learnedIn the intervening months, the traverse

team has taken the lessons from last seasonand turned them into improvements. Eachmember of the crew contributed ideas toimprove the fleet, Wright said.

One of the problems last year was withthe sleds being pulled behind the tractors.The skis on the sleds followed the tracks leftby the tractors pulling them and plowed intosoftened snow stirred up by the tractor’spassage. This produced inordinate drag onthe tractor. Initial field tests by traversecrews showed that on turns, when the sledsrode out of the tractor tracks, they floatedlightly on the untracked, virgin surface.Later tests by engineers from the ColdRegions Research and EngineeringLaboratory, CRREL, verified that the tow-ing resistance with the skis outside the trac-tor tracks was roughly half that of the skisinside the tracks.

“Did that affect our design for the com-ing year? You bet it did,” Wright said.

Traverse crews also noted that the fronttip of the skis acted like a plow, creatingridges that increased the problems furtherdown the sled train. The crew determinedthe problem was with the curve of the skitip, which would work better with a moregradual “decreasing radius curve” ratherthan the constant radius curve in use.

November 14, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 7

Traverse From page 1

Image courtesy of the South Pole traverseThe planned route of the traverse teamcrosses crevasses, the Ross Ice Shelf, theLeverett Glacier and the polar plateau.

A Y-shapedtongue attachesfuel sleds to thetractor that willpull them onthe traverse,allowing thesleds to glideon either sideof the tractortracks.

“They’re going to go as far as half their fuel or halftheir time will allow them to go safely.”

- David Bresnahan,McMurdo Station National Science Foundation representative

See Traverse on page 8

In March, the project crews met with CRREL engineers andNSF representatives to consider design improvements. CRRELengineers Jason Weale and Lever provided a description of thedesired curve for the ski tips, and master sled-maker Herb Setzfrom Alberta, Canada, designed the ski to implement that curve.

Some of the plastic-lined skis also were widened and length-ened. On some of the sleds the skis were moved farther apart sothey will run to the outside of the tractor tracks. The fuel sleds,which originally ran one behind the other like train cars, have beenattached to a Y-shaped tongue so two fuel tanks can glide side byside, each on one side of the tractor tracks.

In all, four of the sleds have the new skis. The others still havethe old skis. The traverse will use both this year to determine whichtruly work better, and if the cost of getting all new skis is worth-while. Another Challenger tractor was added to the lineup of vehi-cles, bringing the total to five tractors pulling 13 sleds.

New challenges continue to appear. The ice the traverse crossesis always moving and chang-ing. A 15cm-wide crack theyfound the first year, dubbed“Baby,” has grown to 76cmwide since then. Last year, fivenew crevasses had opened inthe shear zone. This year thetotal is up to nine new ones,along with five older crevassesthat show signs of widening.

“We’re building this routeacross the Ross Ice Shelf, butthe Ross Ice Shelf is a dynamicpiece of ice,” Wright said.

The marker they’d set at apoint 160km beyond the farside of the shear zone at the end of the first year had moved nearlya kilometer when they returned 10 months later. The Ross Ice Shelfat that point moves almost 2m a day in a northeast direction, whilethe shear zone moves about 1m daily, mostly north.

Even when they reach the other side of the shear zone, the tra-verse isn’t home free. Satellite imagery and an aerial flight to close-ly examine the route showed potential crevasse areas on the RossIce Shelf, at the base of the Leverett Glacier, and as they climb theglacier, Wright said. The traverse planners moved the red route linethey’ll follow to avoid some of those crevassed areas. A ground-based radar system extended in front of a PistenBully warns the tra-verse vehicles of other crevasses in time to stop and assess them.

Heading outAfter a month of preparations at McMurdo Station, the traverse

team was ready to go. The eight-member traverse crew includesthree heavy equipment operators, Richard Vaitonis, JudyGoldsberry and Brad Johnson; two mechanics, Russ Magsig andJohn Penney; mountaineer Mike Roberts; CRREL engineer RussAlger and project manager Wright.

They’d written “thuh list,” as they call it, and checked it morethan twice to make sure they have all the spare parts and suppliesneeded.

“We have a lot of experience in the repair business from lastyear,” Wright said.

Wright compares the traverse to the mule trains that used tocarry supplies to his hometown of Silverton, Colo., back when itwas a rough-and-tumble mining town; or, to the caravans of camelscarrying goods across the desert.

“All of them have in common not just the distance they’re cross-ing, but the need to take something someplace it’s needed,” Wrightsaid. “This is what our project’s all about.”

Traverse8 • The Antarctic Sun November 14, 2004

From page 7

Heavy equipment operator Judy Goldsberry checks a tractoras the South Pole traverse team prepares to leave Nov. 11.

Heavy equipment operator Brad Johnson secures blocks to thetongue of a sledge. Behind him is John Penney, who is work-ing on a tractor.

Mechanic Russ Magsig sits in the bunkroom, where the eightmembers of the traverse team sleep.

“We’re building thisroute across theRoss Ice Shelf, butthe Ross Ice shelfis a dynamic pieceof ice.”

- John Wright, project manager,

South Pole traverse

November 14, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 9

The unmanned camera would let scien-tists record the birds’ behavior when theyreturn to the colony in March and April –something which researchers know littleabout. The camera also would allow scien-tists to understand how sea ice conditionsrelate to the date the penguins return to thecolony site, and to the overall success ofthe colony in a given year. It could alsoprovide continuous observations of themovement and huddling patterns of thecolony during the winter and spring.

The camera is one of four devices beingtested at Penguin Ranch this season. Thesecond is a sensor that will show how thebirds regulate oxygen during long dives.The study could shed light on how humanshandle oxygen depletion. The scientistsalso are testing a new recorder that willgive a three-dimensional account of a pen-guin’s dive instead of the current sensorsthat only record depth, not direction. Andthey’re experimenting with a camera thatwill show what the penguins eat underwa-ter.

Penguin Ranch is a corral on theMcMurdo Sound sea ice that holds about adozen emperor penguins. The birds waddlearound inside the fence and have two div-ing holes to slide into when they get hun-gry. They have to return to those holeswhen their swim is over because thereare no other holes close enoughfor them to reach. The setupgives the scientists a wayto experiment withdevices beforeusing them in thefield.

“Penguin Ranchis really sort of a

testing platform to make sure everything isworking so we have the best chance ofsuccess when we put them on the birds atCape Washington,” Ponganis said.

Strike a penguin poseKathi Ponganis, Paul’s wife and fellow

researcher, said she is normally skeptical ofhigh-tech science meant to replace humanobservations.

“I’m hesitant about gee-whiz science,”she said. “I think boots on the ground are theway to do it. But the emperor penguin livesin such a harsh environment that it’s just notpossible.”

Winter observations with a camera won’tendanger people, who would otherwisehave to suffer through the cold and dark-ness, she said.

The Ponganises asked Tony Hansen ofMagee Scientific Company to make thecamera. Hansen is principle investigator onanother project and an engineer who hasmade specialized equipment for a numberof Antarctic projects, including an underwa-ter camera that is being tested this season.

He said he enjoys asking scientists whattheir challenges are in the field.

“I’d say, ‘I think I could come up with agadget to do that for you,’” he said.

Hansen and assistant Jeff Blair built thepenguin camera, which can pan across anarea and take 16 pictures in a cycle. Thesepictures are either stitched together to createa panoramic view of the penguin colony orused to create a series of close-ups. Anexample of a panoramic picture is on dis-play at Crary Lab.

The camera is sitting near PenguinRanch now, snapping away. The pictures arestored on a one-gigabyte flash memorycard, which the scientists will retrieve at theend of the camera’s anticipated three-monthtest run. The camera needs to weigh lessthan 50 pounds so it can be backpacked intoa colony, and has to be sturdy enough towithstand a tough hike, which means nofragile solar panels. It runs off batterypower, which has to last the full threemonths. The main batteries are conservedbecause the camera only “wakes up” everysix hours to take its round of pictures,Hansen explained, and then goes back tosleep until it’s time for the next set.

If the camera proves itself a success inthe summer, Hansen will try to modify it.

“The real test is to set up a camera thatcould go through a winter,” he said. “Thetechnological challenge is much moredaunting.”

Penguins From page 1

See Penguins on page 10

Photo by Emily Stone / The Antarctic SunPenguins swim below the sea ice near their dive holes. This view is from the underwater observation tube at Penguin Ranch.

10 • The Antarctic Sun November 14, 2004

The camera would have to withstandtemperatures down to –57C. That’s a hur-dle given that batteries tend to shatterbelow –46C. Hansen said he’s working ona strategy to solve that problem. The cam-era would also likely be set to an astro-nomical table so it would snap pictureswhen the moon is out, to provide someillumination in the polar night.

Making due with low O2While the camera is sitting in the snow

doing its job, the researchers at PenguinRanch are busy working with the birds.

Researchers are interested in penguinsin large part because they are such excel-lent divers. They routinely stay underwa-ter for five to 12 minutes and dive 500mdeep. The longest recorded emperor pen-guin dive was 22 minutes.

The key to diving for any animal,whether a penguin or a human, is how wellit uses the oxygen stored inside its bodywhile underwater. Penguins are able tostay underwater when their oxygen levelsare so low that it would cause humans topass out, Ponganis said. The team atPenguin Ranch wants to better understandhow the birds accomplish this. They areusing sensors to monitor the level of oxy-gen in the animals’ blood as they dive.

Part of the penguins’ strategy is to slowdown their heart rate underwater.Research in previous years shows that thebirds’ heart rate starts at 150 to 200 beatsper minute just before a dive and thenimmediately drops to 50 or 60 beats perminute underwater.

“As soon as it hits the surface, boom, itgoes back up again,” Ponganis said.

This is exactly the opposite of whathumans do. Our heart rate goes up as weexercise and falls back down when we’redone.

A penguin’s heart rate is tied into its useof oxygen during a dive. The birds storemore than half their oxygen in their mus-cles, with the rest split between their bloodand lungs. Humans, on the other hand,store most of their oxygen in the lungs.When the birds are underwater, theirhearts don’t have to race in order to pumpoxygen to their swimming muscles.

“There’s no need for them to have ahigh heart rate because they don’t need todeliver oxygen (to muscles),” Ponganissaid. “It’s already there.”

The oxygen sensors will help Ponganisand his team better understand thisprocess.

Their results could help doctors withpatients whose organs or tissues have beendeprived of oxygen, as happens during aheart attack or stroke, or when an organ istransplanted.

Human tissue is damaged if it is de-prived of oxygen for a period of time andthen has oxygen-rich blood come backinto it. This causes biochemical changesthat severely harm the tissue by oxidizingit. Antioxidants can prevent this. Aresearcher is at Penguin Ranch for part ofthe season specifically to study antioxi-dants in the birds.

Spying below the surfaceThe scientists are also hoping to get a

bird’s eye view of dives this year.Katsufumi Sato with the University of

Tokyo will test a device that gives the sci-entists a three-dimensional picture of wherethe penguins go when they leave the sur-face. Previously, scientists had to settle for asimple measurement of how deep the birdsdived.

The researchers will be able to see atwhat angle the birds are swimming, whichwill tell them much about the penguins’

hunting strategies. The monitors will alsorecord speed, acceleration and stroke fre-quency to see how much work the birds dowhile diving.

A separate diving camera will recordwhat the birds are eating underwater. Thiswill give researchers a fuller idea of whichspecies of fish and squid the emperors feastupon and how much of each species theyeat. The goal is to put the cameras on birdsat Cape Washington next year to see whatthe birds eat during their deepest, 500mdives, which they only do at sea.

“What they’re eating out there, no oneknows,” Ponganis said.

Understanding the penguins’ role in thefood chain helps scientists more fully under-stand the ecology of the Ross Sea, Ponganissaid.

NSF-funded research in this story: PaulPonganis, Scripps Institution ofOceanography,http://antarctic.ucsd.edu/index.htm

By Emily StoneSun staff

In addition to their work at the PenguinRanch this summer, Paul Ponganis’ teamis monitoring the recovery of the emperorpenguin colonies at Cape Crozier andBeaufort Island.

The enormous iceberg known as B-15ran into Cape Crozier in 2001 and thenlodged there, devastating the emperorcolony.

“All we found were a few dead chicksand dead adults who had starved to death,”Ponganis said of the 2001 season. It’s notknown if the birds abandoned the colonybecause they couldn’t get to it or if theywere smothered in the ice.

The colony is at about 20 percent itsnormal population this year, Ponganissaid, and the penguins finally seem to have

found a good piece of flat ice to claim astheir own.

“The birds that are there seem to bedoing pretty well,” he said.

Not so at Beaufort Island as B-15 haseffectively blocked the birds’ route to openwater. The colony is at about 25 percent itsnormal population, and Ponganis’ teamfound more than 300 dead chicks there lastmonth.

The chicks were somewhat developed,which leads Ponganis to believe that theparents had been able to feed the chicksinitially, but then got stuck at sea when theopen water around the colony closed up.

“I think they had a difficult time gettingback to feed their chicks,” Ponganis said.

The team will continue to monitor theeffects of the large icebergs on the coloniesover the coming seasons.

Photo courtesy Kathi Ponganis / Special to The Antarctic SunA camera nicknamed “R2D2” is staked out beside emperor penguin researcher KathiPonganis as she observes the colony at Beaufort Island. The camera, which is being testedat Penguin Ranch, is designed to take regular photos in the field for up to three months.

Giant icebergs continue to hamper Ross Sea colonies

Penguins From page 9

November 14, 2004 The Antarctic Sun • 11

“dudes” part of the name) but it quicklybecame only his site. Since then, he’sadded photos from his time at PalmerStation as well. As a father of three chil-dren, Troy keeps the photos on his site PG,leaving off some of the most outrageousmoments from Halloween and other cele-brations.

His site also has helped reconnect oldfriends. One of Troy’s co-workersappeared in several photos last season.Sometime during the year, a man back inthe United States was surfing the Web andcame across Troy’s site. There he recog-nized one of Troy’s co-workers and senthim an e-mail. Troy forwarded it and sur-prised his co-worker.

“He said he hadn’t seen the guy sincehe was seven,” Troy said. “It’s amazingthat they’re finding me, because I haven’tmade any effort to make southpoledudesknown to the world.”

Zondra.org is home to Montana resi-dent Zondra Skertich’s site. She has writ-ten extensively about her 2003-2004 sea-son and has started again this season. Sheconsiders herself a better photographerthan writer and features many photos fromthe Ice. She’s also tried to head off theinevitable questions from people at homeabout how cold it is and what time it is byincluding clocks that also show the tem-perature for major stations in Antarctica.

Beth Bartel is a GPS specialist atMcMurdo. When friends heard she wascoming to the Ice, they insisted she keep aWeb journal, often called a blog. Theywere so insistent, they set it up for her.

“I started doing it because friends athome were curious about what Antarcticawould be like and they established it forme and made me do it,” Bartel said. “Now,I get feedback from people I know anddon’t know.”

Bartel, now in her second season on theIce, cited a sense of personal satisfactionas the primary reason she’s kept it up. Asone of the few on station able to visit spe-cial science sites, such as the volcanoMount Erebus, Bartel takes photos andwrites stories about her trips. Her writingsoften reveal a comedic side of her workand life in McMurdo.

“It’s an outlet for me to share experi-ences, make fun of what I think is funny,make fun of myself,” Bartel said.

That said, Bartel probably can’t befound surfing for Antarctic sites.

“I’m not a surfer and don’t like readingoff the computer. I like reading books andturning pages,” she said. “But I do read myown site.”

Stefan Pashov, McMurdo’s residentphilosopher, no longer spends his preciousWeb surfing time viewing Antarctica-related Web sites. Like others who havereturned to McMurdo for many seasons,Pashov said the novelty he once felt aboutmost Antarctic Web sites has worn off.Instead he reads up on world affairs andhas other interests including poetry. Thatlatter interest, though, may someday spurhim to build a Web site dedicated toAntarctic poetry.

If Pashov has moved on to other things,many others are just beginning to learnabout Antarctica. They often start at one ofthe most-visited personal Antarctic Websites, nicknamed Antarctic Memories.

The site is maintained by Mike Poole,who works in supply at McMurdo. Pooleset up his site as an MSN.com group. Itwas free, easy to update and is now chockfull of information about the program andlife at McMurdo Station.

Many of the visitors are people whowant to work in Antarctica or who havebeen hired and now need a calm, guidinghand through the blizzard of paperwork,medical checks and gear preparation.

One of the central features is a messageboard, which is a repository for a lot ofgood advice. Poole often replies to ques-tions within hours. Current and formerU.S. A participants, both on and off theIce, help him answer questions.

“Myself and a small cadre of helperskeep it going,” Poole said. “There’s nosuch thing as a stupid question, assumingthey have a genuine interest in comingdown.”

And come they will, many with Websites blank and ready to be filled.

There are many Antarctica-related personalsites on the Web. Here are a few from thisstory. Visit them for links to others or use asearch site to find more.Allison Barden: www.sandwichgirl.comBeth Bartel: http://iceblog.puddingbowl.orgGlen Kinoshita: http://gcrgweb.sdsu.edu/pen-guin/index.htmlMike Poole: http://groups.msn.com/antarc-ticmemoriesZondra Skertich: www.zondra.orgHolly Troy: www.southpoledudes.comOfficial site for the U.S. Antarctic Program:www.usap.govOffice of Polar Programs: www.nsf.gov/od/opp

Web From page 3

Crossword Puzzle Answers The Antarctic Sun Photo ContestDeadline for entries is Dec. 12

Four photography categories:Scenic, Wildlife, People and Other(300 dpi, please)

Four writing categories:Poetry (up to 30 lines) Haiku (5-7-5 syllables) Micro-fiction, non-fiction (up to 300 words)

E-mail entries to The Sun at MCM-Antarctic SunOne entry per person per category

By Kristan HutchisonSun staff

W hen she was 12,Devon Vaildecided to visitall seven conti-

nents before she turned 21.Antarctica is number six for theGirl Scout and she’s only 19.

As a “military brat, full-bred,” Vail had a head start inher travels. She was born inGermany, finished elementaryschool in Alaska, started highschool in Holland and gradu-ated in Japan. The constantmoving exposed her to manylanguages. She can get aroundin Dutch and Japanese, andunderstands German, thoughwhen asked what languagesshe’s fluent in, she answers“none. I don’t even speakEnglish fluently.”

With such a nomadicupbringing, she’s adaptedquickly to Antarctica.

“My home’s where my totes lay,” Vail said, referring to twoplastic boxes she keeps most of her personal items in.

Most recently her totes have been in Fairbanks, Alaska, whereVail is a sophomore biology student at the University of Alaska,Fairbanks.

“It’s actually warmer here than it is at home,” Vail said.“(McMurdo) seems like a college campus, where most people arein good moods all the time and you can sit down with anybody.”

Vail heard about the program to bring Scouts to Antarctica fiveyears ago. The program itself dates back to 1928, when AdmiralRichard Byrd brought Eagle Scout Paul Siple on his expedition toAntarctica. Since then, 17 Boy and Girl Scouts have come to thecontinent as research team members in cooperation with theNational Science Foundation.

“It’s to foster interest in science among young people,” saidElaine Hood, a Raytheon Polar Services communications special-ist who helps prepare the Scouts for their Antarctic experience,“(and) to publicize the U.S. Antarctic program to young people.”

The Scouts keep up a Web site, describing their experiencesfrom a young person’s perspective.

Vail’s introduction to the Antarctic scouting program camethrough an older girl in her Scout troop, who was runner-up forthe Antarctic position five years ago. Vail was a high school fresh-man at the time and dedicated herself to becoming the best possi-ble candidate for the Antarctic visit by the time she was oldenough to be eligible.

“My whole world was science,” Vail said.During high school she worked in the opthamology clinic at

the local hospital and took a science research class by telecommu-nication. She was awarded the Gold Medal for CommunityService from Prudential Youth Spirit for her studies of themacroinvertebrates living in the polluted waters near Chugiak,Alaska. She incorporated elementary school students in thehands-on research. By the end, she determined that the only largeanimals living in the most polluted water were worms.

For her Gold Award, thehighest rank a Girl Scoutcan get and the equivalentof becoming an EagleScout, Vail made a 45-minute presentation onwater pollution to studentsat six schools in Belgium,Germany and Holland. Thepresentation can still beseen on the Web atwww.geocities.com/water-pollutionawareness.

“It’s important, becausewe need clean water,” Vailsaid.

Vail’s dedication paidoff and she was selected tocome to Antarctica for threemonths this season.

The purpose of bringingscouts to Antarctica is toexpose them to a broadview of science. Vail startedout working with SamBowser’s group at NewHarbor, where they study

foraminifera, one-celled organisms on the seafloor. Then shewent to the South Pole for four days to work with the AntarcticSubmillimeter Telescope and Remote Observatory. She’ll spendsome time at Lake Hoare working with John Priscu on the LongTerm Ecological Research project, then go to Windless Bight inDecember with Dan Osborne, a researcher from Fairbanks.

“They want her to learn the most about science that she can,”said Karla College, supervisor at the Berg Field Center atMcMurdo Station, who arranges the trips for Vail.

Skipping from place to place suits Vail.“I can’t live in one place for that long,” Vail said.In New Harbor with Bowser’s group, she helped assemble the

camp’s main temporary structure and learned about foraminifera.Bowser said they particularly appreciated her cooking.

“I only wish she knew how to cook Girl Scout cookies,” hejoked. More seriously, he noted she was very task-oriented, andlent a hand wherever asked.

Vail said she enjoyed the time at the camp.“They’re a fun group. We had a blast.”She also helped chip dive holes in the sea ice, but had no inter-

est in going into them, even if the water had been well abovefreezing.

“I will jump out of airplanes. I will walk along cliffs,” Vailsaid. “But as soon as I get to water, I won’t do it.”

Vail has a project of her own while she’s here. She wants tointerview women and write a book about the women inAntarctica. She’ll stay three months, then head home to an evenharsher climate. Fairbanks will be about –30C and dark 20 hoursa day when she gets there in January.

“It’s warm here, are you kidding?” she said. “I’m loving it.”Vail will make her seven continent goal with 8 months to spare

when she travels to Chile in July. After that, she’s as uncertain ofher future as most people her age. She’s considering switching toa linguistics major and going into the foreign service.

“I’ve got all these goals done,” Vail said. “Now I have no ideawhat’s going to happen with the next 20 years of my life.”

12 • The Antarctic Sun November 14, 2004

Prof i le Scouting the seven continents

Photo by Henry Kaiser / Special to The Antarctic SunGirl Scout Devon Vail stands inside the Jamesway at New Harbor, whereshe spent time with researchers studying one-celled organisms on theseafloor. Vail is in Antarctica as part of the Scout’s program.