Geobulletin alpha

Data Recovery 

We finally made it through the Drake Passage! It was a rough ride, so I’m glad it’s over. Today, we were helping out another project. Over a year ago, a group of scientists dropped moorings into the ocean to measure sea temperature. They are concerned that temperature change will allow an invasive crab to move into Antarctica from the deep ocean. The crab could have a BIG impact, because it would be a new predator in the ecosystem! The deep ocean crab hasn’t been able to live in [...]

Elephant Island and the Ghost of Sir Ernest Shackleton 

As we made our way toward South Georgia Island, we stopped for a Zodiac cruise at well-known Elephant Island, made famous by Sir Ernest Shackleton, who was able to land 28 men after a harrowing winter on an ice floe (where his ship the Endurance was crushed by winter sea ice), and a dangerous crossing of broken floes and open water the following summer. I have been coming here for years and never tire of his story or the island.Elephant Island is really isolated. It is considered part of [...]

One year ago today: crossing the Drake Passage 

Even starting off as far south as Ushuaia, it’s a long way to Antarctica – almost 1000 km of open water. We got a peak of the chart below whilst touring the bridge of the Corinthian – they have computer … Continue reading

Pancake ice on the River Dee in Scotland 

Pancake ice on the River DeePhoto by Jamie Urquhart, biologist from hereIf the Queen of England were in residence at the moment at Balmoral Castle, Scotland, her summer residence, and if she walked downstream a few miles, she'd see the stunning cluster of pancake ice on the River Dee!How does such ice form? To start with, we probably need to review a phenomenon known as "frazil ice."  Water normally freezes at 273.15 K (32 F), but can be supercooled down to almost 231 K if there are [...]

All Yesterdays the new movement(?)... 

So of course by now, especially if you're into palaeo-art, you've no doubt heard about the new book All Yesterdays.Now I will be up front right away, I haven't read it yet. At the same time I've been keeping up with the blog posts, opinion piece, palaeo-art community's commentary, and also watched the video of the book launch. So while I'm not claiming to know all the details, but I think I got the main gist.This book has caused quite a stir by finally articulating the thoughts and [...]

Astronaut Advancement 

New years are always time of thoughtful backward reflection and optimistic forward projection. January 2012 will be an active time for astronaut hopefuls in the US as we prepare our NASA applications. Looking back on what I've achieved since the 2008 application, I realize I have done a lot, including: gaining 4 more years of operational experience at the NOAA Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, including the Samoa 2009, Chile 2010, and Japan 2011 events; participating in the FMARS-12 analog [...]

Rolling into Open Water in the Central Pacific 

We nicknamed our project NoMelt because we seek to characterize a mature, pristine oceanic plate far from its volcanic origin at a Mid-Ocean Ridge, and away from areas of pronounced volcanism and melting that subsequently alter the structure of the plate.  Our site in the central Pacific fits these scientific needs. However, one downside is

Favosites turbinatus from the Jeffersonville limestone 

While visiting my friend Mike in Louisville he took me over to a site that has an exposure of the Jeffersonville limestone. The exposure is right about at the Coral Bed level so you can find a large variety of coral species preserved with "Beekite" quartz.One of the specimens I found was this Favosites turbinatus that was hidden in amongst some old brush and weeds. The classic shape of a rounded base that curved off to one side and the mounded top gave it away. These first four views are of the [...]

Into the Dry Valleys 

Today I left McMurdo Station and headed to the dry valleys to being my field work.Every time I go between McMurdo and my field sites in the dry valleys, I fly on a helicopter. First, all of my camping equipment, my hiking gear, and the tools I need to do my research had to be loaded onto the helicopter. We leave things like that to the professionals. Here are the heli-techs loading up my gear this morning:Meaningwhile, we stand back and wait for the signal to get on the helicopter. This morning [...]

Shrimp Beneath Antarctic Ice 

NASA scientists using a borehole camera were amazed to find tiny shrimp beneath the Ross Ice Shelf, about 12.5 miles away from open

The Big Five Mass Extinctions Hit Open Water Oceans Harder 

For many years, paleobiological researchers interested in the history of biodiversity have focused on charting the many ups (evolutionary radiations) and downs (mass extinctions) that punctuate the history of life. Because the preserved record of marine (sea-dwelling) animals is unusually extensive in comparison, say, to that of terrestrial animals such as dinosaurs, it's been easier

Single Borehole P-Wave and S-Wave Geophysics with PS-suspension Probe 

A Japanese company, OYO Corporation, created the PS-suspension probe for recording P-Wave and S-Wave velocity data in geomaterials using one borehole back in the 1980’s. A recent update to the probe has made it digital. The probe is most frequently used in the off-shore oil and gas industry but has also been used on a limited basis in the US, most notably on several high-profile San Francisco Bay-area bridges. It has the capability of logging this data up to a depth of 500-m in an un-cased [...]

Waving good-bye 

This morning at 07:00 hours, I got to the dock just in time to see the JR throwing off its lines and pulling away from its giant parking spot at Berth 4 of the Townsville Port. Standing with several other non-sailing folks on the dock, we waved good-bye to our ship as she pulled away - with the help of a tugboat and a pilot on board to help her navigate into open water. read

Wooly snakes 

I’m hoping to be back at Solite later today, but here’s something to hold you over.The photo above is an example of a so-called “wooly snake”, Pseudoserpente canuckistanensis. As you may have already guessed, in spite of its legless condition Pseudoserpente is not a snake, but is in fact a mammal, albeit one with an interesting history.The skeleton of Pseudoserpente reveals its true relationships; it is a member of the Mustelidae, the carnivore family that includes ferrets and weasels. [...]

Winter banana rations 

The last flight has flown and we’ve had the first sunset of the year, which means winter is on the way here at Scott Base. The base is now in winter operations mode, which means extra clothing and equipment when we leave base and remembering to plug-in the vehicles to keep them warm when they’re parked. It also means that once we’ve eaten all the fresh fruit and veg, there won’t be anymore until August. Fortunately, we just had a large shipment of freshies, so we’re torn between [...]