Hugh Powell

Hi Faith – It’s tricky to put a tracker on a penguin. You have to know how to choose the right penguin, how to catch it and hold it safely, and how to put the tracker on so that it doesn’t fall off but also so […]

Hi Caroline – The most common seals we’ve seen have been the southern elephant seals. Thanks for asking, Hugh

Hi Grace – Thanks for reading. Seals have very thick layers of blubber to keep them warm, whereas sea lions have a warmer fur coat and less blubber. Sea lions also have external ears that you can see. Seals are […]

Hi Caleb, The scientists will get together and analyze the data to see whether it supports their hypotheses. Then they’ll write reports about what they found and submit them to scientific journals, so that other […]

Hi Lukas – I think pretty much everyone you ask down here will say the hardest part is being away from our families. It’s a great experience to be here, but we look forward to getting home, too. Thanks for asking – Hugh

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. […]

Hi Mark – gliders have problems with marine life only occasionally. The biggest problems are when marine organisms attach themselves to the glider. This happens when gliders are left in the water for several […]

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

Hi Katherine – take another look at photograph #7 in this blog post and read the caption—it describes where the name “Blue Hen” comes from. A single glider can operate on its own, but for larger projects it helps […]

Hi Keanu – Have another look at the second photograph in this blog post and read the caption—it describes the basics of how the glider controls its buoyancy. Then let us know if you have more questions. Thanks – Hugh

Hi Elijah – Finding anything rare is usually a mixture of luck and paying attention. It’s always a good idea to be observant and look for unexpected things in the environment around you—that’s how you discover new […]

Hi Henri – We’d probably stay inside the warm, dry buildings at Palmer Station, drink hot drinks, and work on data or other projects indoors. When the storm passed, we’d be ready to go out again. Thanks for asking – Hugh

Hi Taylor – In general, humpback whales are gentle animals that don’t seem to mind having a few humans in a small rubber boat sitting nearby. But they’re so large that it was still a little bit scary when the […]

Hi Brady – Adelie penguins can swim about 5 miles per hour, which is probably slightly faster than you can walk (but slower than you can run). Thanks – Hugh

Hi Kelvin – the whales don’t take a lot of notice of us. Occasionally when one was swimming right at us, it kindly moved out of the way so as not to hit our zodiac. But most of the time they just go on with their […]

Hi Antonio – I think the hardest part about finding penguins is getting to where they live. They only live in the southern hemisphere, and the penguins we’re studying live only at the very tip of South America and […]

Hi Kevin, Right here around Palmer Station, we’ve seen the following species: Adelie penguin, gentoo penguin, chinstrap penguin, Antarctic shag, kelp gull, brown skua, south polar skua, Antarctic tern, snowy […]

Hi Gwendolyn – Most gentoo and Adelie penguins lay two eggs and raise two chicks at a time. Sometimes one of the eggs does not hatch and the pair raises only one chick at a time. Thanks for asking – Hugh

Hi Gabriel – That’s a great question, and I do not know the answer. The fur of Antarctic fur seals definitely helps keep them warm, but the other species of seals mainly stay warm from the blubber that lies under […]