Sunday morning dawned clear and calm—only the second truly sunny day since we arrived at Palmer Station. It was a perfect opportunity for Dr. Josh Kohut to tick the second big item off his to-do list: a trip outside the boating limit to the team’s radar station on the Joubin Islands.
Three days ago we had zipped over to the Wauwerman Islands to do much the same thing, fighting a steady drizzle the whole way. The Joubin Islands are about the same distance west as the Wauwermans are to the south, but today’s trip was an altogether different experience, with wet grays replaced by stellar whites and sky blues. Click through the slideshow to see some of the sights photographer Chris Linder captured along the way:
18 Comments
Hello, I’m GabZ from Mrs. Weintraub’s 6th grade scholars class. What is the effect of temperature on Antarctic penguin’s habitat?
Hi GabZ – There are several different kinds of penguins on the Antarctic peninsula. The temperature is increasing rapidly here, and that is causing problems for Adelie penguins but seems to be making conditions better for gentoo penguins. The penguin biologists are working hard to learn the reasons why this is happening to each species. I hope this helps with your question – Hugh
Hello, I am from Mrs. Hester-fearon’s 8th period. I have noticed in the last picture you mentioned skuas. What are skuas? Is it a type of bird?
Hi Dominik – that’s right, skuas are relatives of gulls. They’re big, brown, and a little sneaky. They live near penguin colonies and some of them get good at stealing penguin eggs and chicks to eat and to feed to their own chicks. You can read a little more about them in this post about Adelie penguins: http://coseenow.net/converge/sights-and-smells-of-summer-in-an-adelie-penguin-colony/
Thanks for your question – Hugh
wow, so cool ! what a great experience and such pretty pictures !
Its nice to see that you finally got to do what you have wanted to do.
Hi has the glider ever made Animals move to a different location for a long period of time?
Hi Jae – Good question. Gliders don’t really have any effect on animals in the water. They move very slowly and they travel in a straight line, so the animals are typically much more mobile than the gliders. Thanks for asking – Hugh
What is your food source?
Hi Nick – All the food we eat comes down from the “northern world” (the U.S. and Chile) on a ship. Thanks for asking – Hugh
The sights in Antarctica are beautiful!
The pictures are very cool
I cannot get the pictures to change. When I go on your webpage on the pc or on my phone I cannot see but one picture. The slide show below the big picture won’t let me choose any picture to see. I see the choices, but when I click on a picture it doesn’t change. It just stays on the same picture that pops up on the webpage initially. What can I do to show your pictures to my classroom?
Hi Kathy – sorry you’re having trouble. I’m not sure why the slideshow’s not working for you on multiple devices. On your PC it might be that you’re using an older browser? If you can update your browser or use a self-updating browser like Chrome then that could help. Also just make sure you are clicking on the far left of the photo to get the “next” arrow. Good luck – Hugh
What do you keep in your survival bag?
Hi Naomi – Each person carries a personal survival bag each time we go out in the zodiac. In it, there is dry clothing and extra food. There’s also one bag for each zodiac that contains a tent, sleeping bag, camp stove, and fuel. In addition, we placed a survival bag in the radar station that contained water, survival food, and a sleeping bag in case a ship has trouble in the area and someone comes ashore here in an emergency. Thanks for asking – Hugh
Did the broken power relay have any effect on the data you were collecting?
Hi Naomi, Fortunately not. The power relay didn’t run the data collection directly. It ran the power management system that keeps the batteries charged. Although it broke, there was another similar part that also charged the system’s batteries, so the instruments that collected the data were still able to work. The fix restored the system to full functioning and means there’s less of a chance of another breakdown in the next year. Thanks for asking – Hugh