The cold earth sleeps below, above the cold sky shines

The Antarctic naked dragonfish surrounded by it's eggs Current conditions: Con3.  Temp -6ºF (-29ºF with wind chill). Mostly cloudy.  Population: 318 You may have noticed that, despite my predictions, the number of people on the ice is not rising much.  Over the last four days, the visibility has been too limited and the winds too harsh for planes to land.  So we are still a small, intimate population. Due to weather, American Night was canceled again last night but at least we got our first science lecture on Wednesday.  Below is what I learned (and hopefully did not learn wrong!) 1.  Anne is Canadian (note hat) and got her PhD at UBC!  2.  Rockfish in the Crary Aquarium.  3.  Set up for temperature-acidity experiments Anne Todgham, Assoc. Prof. of Animal Science at UC Davis, talked about her passion for Antarctic fish.  An environmental physiologist, Anne began by talking about polar ocean ecology.  ...

McMurdo Station from the Sea Ice.  You can see the wind turbines sticking up between the mountains on the right.  The station is below those turbines.  Scott base is on the other side of the ridge on the right. Current conditions:  Con 3, Temp -4°F (-23°F with wind chill), mostly cloudy.  Population: 318 A quick blog today.   Unfortunately, our jobs don't permit us to see much outside of the confines of the base.  Fortunately, some amazing photographers at McMurdo put their best pictures on a shared drive for all on the base to see.  Today, I thought I'd post some pictures taken at sea ice training last week.  These photos are not my shots so please don't share on social media.  Also, here's a link to a so-so article about survival training in Antarctica from last week's  Washington Post . Positioning an ice house out on the sea ice. A pistenbull y, the main form of transportation on the sea i...

Current conditions:  Con3; Temp, a warm 3ºF (wind chill -11ºF). Overcast. Population = 318 The summer season has begun!  Yesterday, about 30 people arrived and 10 or so left, including the former Lead Doctor, Chris Martinez.  Dean is now in charge of the show.  Chris was former Air Force Intel who became an Air Force family practitioner.  He's a great doc with many seasons of Antarctic experience, formidable expertise with ultrasound and an encyclopedic knowledge of pharmacology.  He taught us a ton.  Fortunately, after a brief stint back home in Phoenix, he'll be passing through again on his way for the summer season at the Pole, so we'll have a chance to polish any rough areas we find in his absence. As I've mentioned, in Winfly, there were only 250 or so people here in McMurdo.  The patient load was a bit underwhelming for three full-time doctors and a nurse.  Also, because medical care and a small amount of medication is free, ...