"I am a certified master naturalist and facilities manager living in Virginia, USA. Robert Swan and 2041 introduced me to a place critically important; but unknown to many. Exploring the Antarctic with 140 other men and women from 30 countries provided an instant global network of conservationists and activists. We are all forever bound by shared memories of our expedition, and a common interest in protecting Antarctica. It may seem far away, and at the bottom of the Earth; but it is critical for the air and water we need to survive. Antarctica does not need us; but we need it." 
-Laura Mae, IAE Alumni Member

Neko Harbour

Sunrise, Neko Harbour

Storm Petrel released by Ornithologist Fabrice Genevois

 Gentoo Penguin

This Leopard Seal (below) slithered off and on this floe and all around and under (!) our zodiac.  Large and in charge - affirming its place (BOSS) - and ours.  Leopard seals are second only to Orcas as Antartica's top predators. 

 

Another Leopard Seal - dreaming of its next meal.  Or, if not asleep, opening its mouth as warning to us.

Rod's glacier ice for evening cocktails.

Yours truly is at 16:55 in my very favorite video clip from the entire expedition! 

Sunny and welcoming weather changed quickly... and forced us to retreat. Click here for dramatic offloading of the zodiac.

Check out the WIND at 5:14! (with Zak singing!).

Other posts:

• Robert Swan and 2041
• Ice, Precip, Seasons, Size
• Life - What Lives on Antarctica
• History, Those Before Us
• The Ship

To Ushuaia, Argentina

To begin, I had go to the end. The "End of the World," as Ushuaia (oo-SHWY-ah) is called, is Argentina’s southern most tip of South America.   

40 years ago Ushuaia's population was around 5,000.  2015's population was 67,600.  Tourism, navy and electronics are its industries.

Flights (25 hours, including 2 layovers) 

1. Norfolk to Atlanta 4:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. (2 hours)
2. Atlanta to Buenos Aires (EZA), Argentina 9 p.m. - 9:10 a.m. (10 hours) - On 7-hour layover, I retrieved luggage, showed Argentinian officials I pre-paid the required $160 Reciprocity Fee, cleared customs/immigrations, taxied 30 miles north (from EZE to AEP, another of Buenos Aires' airports) and checked-in for last flight
3. Buenos Aires (AEP) to Ushuaia 3:55pm - 7:30pm (3.5 hours). (Argentina is two hours ahead of time back home/EST.) 

Hotel
Overnighting at Arakur Hotel overlooking the Beagle Channel.  

Arakur Hotel, Ushuaia, Argentina

The channel was named for the ship HMS Beagle - which, in 1833, provided English amateur naturalist Charles Darwin with his first sighting of glaciers.

Arakur Hotel overlooking Beagle Channel
Source: http://www.underoursky.com/lfcwinners-arakur-ushuaia-hotel-patagonia-austral/ 

Tomorrow, I meet the expedition team! (140 people from 30 countries!)

Link to: Neko Harbour.

The Ship

Ocean Endeavor - Tourist companies also use this vessel and promote her as a comfortable, well-appointed small expedition vessel.  She is outfitted with 20 zodiacs (for exploration and remote landings), and advanced navigation equipment.

• Ice Class: 1B
• Year Built:  1982
• Renovated:  2010 & 2015
• Length:  450 feet
• Cruising Speed:  15 knots

My cabin is one of the 5 navy blue ones on deck 5  <Post-trip update: They bumped me up to deck 7, and gave me a room without a room mate!  Thank you 2041!>

Source:  https://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/ocean-endeavour

Nautilus Lounge

Meridian Club

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Link to next blog post:  To Ushuaia, Argentina

History, Those Before Us

1823
James Weddell (1787 - 1834, died in poverty at age 47).  Sailed on three expeditions to the Antarctic at ages 33, 34 and 35. On the 3rd expedition (in 1823), he discovered the Weddell Sea, near the South Pole, and the Weddell Seal.

1841
James Ross (1800-1862) Led an Antarctic expedition (1839-43), commanding the "Erebus" while his friend Francis Crozier commanded the "Terror." Ross charted much of the coastline and discovered the Ross Sea, and the Victoria Barrier, which was later renamed the Ross Ice Shelf.

Earnest Henry Shackleton (1872 - 1922) British, born in Ireland. Led three British expeditions to the Antarctic: 1901-1904, 1907-1909 and 1914-1917.  In 1921, he returned to the Antarctic with the Shackleton-Rowett Expedition, but died of a heart attack (at age 50) while his ship was moored in South Georgia. At his wife's request he was buried there.  Away from his expeditions, Shackleton's life was generally restless and unfulfilled. His quests for quick wealth failed and he died heavily in debt. At his death, the press praised him; but he was largely forgotten, while the heroic reputation of his rival Scott was sustained for many decades.

1911
Roald Amundsen (1872 - June 18, 1928), a Norwegian, was first to reach the South Pole on 14 December 1911.  At age 56, he died flying a rescue mission in the Arctic.

1912
Robert Scott (1868 - March 29, 1912), a Brit, was second to reach the South Pole.  He led two expeditions to Antarctica:  Discovery Expedition (1901-1904) and Terra Nova Expedition (1910-1913).  On the Terra Nova, Scott led a party of five which reached the South Pole on 17 January 1912, only to find that they had been preceded by Roald Amundsen's Norwegian expedition - just a few weeks earlier. Then, at a distance of 150 miles from their base camp and 11 miles from the next depot, Scott (age 44) and his companions died from a combination of exhaustion, starvation and extreme cold.

Apsley George Benet Cherry-Garrard (1886 – 1959), English explorer and also a member of the Tera Nova Expedition (1910-1913).  Known for his historical account of this expedition called The Worst Journey in the World. Died in London at age 73.

Source:  http://kids.britannica.com/comptons/art-184103/Beginning-in-the-early-20th-century-several-explorers-set-out 
& http://www.explorapoles.org/news/detail/in_the_footsteps_of_scott_and_amundsen

1928-1947
Richard Evelyn Byrd (1888-1957) was a pioneering aviator, and US Naval Officer. Byrd led four Antarctic land expeditions, and was later involved in two more.  At age 69, he died in his sleep at his home in the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston.

1958

• Edmund Hillary (1919-2008) From Zealand.  Was third to reach the South Pole.  Died of heart failure at the age of 88.
• Vivian Fuchs (1908-1999) English and fourth to reach the South Pole two and half weeks after Edmund Hillary! Fuchs died at age 91.

1986

Robert Swan (1956 -) First person to walk to both poles. He was 29 years old.  He is leading my March 2016 expedition.

Wikipedia provides a detailed list of Antarctic expeditions (from the 1500s to present, including Henry Worsley's 2016 trek (and death from a bacterial infection).
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Link to next blog post:  The Ship

Ice, Precip, Seasons, Size

Ice 

• 90% of the world's ice is there.  (70% of world's fresh water.)
• 98% of Antarctic continent is covered in ice. Ice's thickness averages over a mile! 
• If just this continent's ice melted, it is believed sea levels would rise about 200 feet. (20 stories.  Almost the height of my office building...)

Precipitation
Considered a desert. 8 inches inches (annually) along the coasts.  Much less inland.  (For comparison, Virginia's is 43 inches annually, and Massachusetts is 45 inches.)

Seasons

• Opposite of northern hemisphere.  Winter is March through September.
• Average temp for the third quarter (the coldest part of the year) is −81 °F. 

Size

Antarctica is 5.4 million square miles.  (Europe is 3.9, and the USA is 3.8). 

McMurdo (where my cousin Megan worked 3 times) is 2,500 miles (!) from where I will be.
https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zMG1dPhxFNHk.kLxYrg4saVTg

Warming, Disappearing

• In the past 20 years, seven ice shelves along the peninsula have retreated or disintegrated. 

• Since 1995, three quarters of the Larsen Ice Shelf, located of the northeastern coast, have disappeared in a series of rapid calving disintegrations. In 2002, 1255 square miles of the Larsen Ice Shelf calved in a matter of weeks. 

• In March 2008, the Wilkins Ice Sheet, located off the southwestern coast of the peninsula, lost more than 160 square miles to a sudden massive calving event.

Gaining
Other parts of Antarctica are gaining ice. Some use that to refute climate change; but it's important to look at the larger picture.  Include what is going on in the Arctic, and across the globe.  And remember, we are still studying, testing and peer reviewing our findings. There is STILL so much yet to be discovered and understood!  

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Link to next blog post:  History, Those Before Us 

Life

Research Stations

Mammals

• Human:  No permanent residents; however 1,000 to 5,000 people work at research stations scattered across the continent. 
• Of 66 research stations, about half are occupied year-round.
• Majority of scientists and support staff live there in summers only (November - March/April).  Few stay through winters, because travel in and out is virtually impossible.
• Tourism started in the 1970s.  37,000 people are said to have visited during the 2009-2010 season.
• No land mammals. (Polar bears are in the Arctic.)
• Seals:  6 of the world's 30+species: Elephant (10-20 ft), Ross (5-7 ft), Crabeater (7 ft) Weddell (8-11 ft), Leopard (8-11 ft) and Fur (6 ft). 
• Whales: 
• 2 Toothed whales (with one blow hole): Orca (23-32 ft) and Sperm (50 ft, with largest mammal brain)
• 6 Baleen whales (combs instead of teeth, and two blow holes):  Blue (100 ft), Fin (up to 89 ft), Sei (60+ ft), Humpback (40-60 ft), Southern Right (45-49 ft) and Minke (22-26 ft).

Birds:  of nearly 10,000 species world-wide, Antarctica hosts about 35.  Cornell's ebird.com shows recent sightings, sortable by various periods.

• Albatross - 5 of world's 21 species live in Antartica
• Petrels & Shearwaters - 17 of world's 75 species
• Cormorants - 3 of world's 38 species
• Ducks, Geese, Swans - only 1 (yellow-billed pintail) of world's 131 species
• Gulls - only 1 (kelp gull) of world's 55 species
• Terns - only 2 (arctic & antarctic) of world's 44 species
• Penguins -  only 7 (Adelie, Chinstrap, Emperor, Gentoo, Macaroni, King and Rockhoppers) of the world's 17 species.

Insects:  Only one species known to live year-round in Antarctica:  Chironomid Midge (tiny fly).

Amphibians:  none known

Reptiles:  none known

Vegetation: where it occurs, is tundra.  (98% of the continent is covered in ice.)  Only two native vascular plants:  Antarctic hair grass and Antarctic pearlwort, and approximately 300 types of moss and 150 types of lichen.

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Link to next blog post:  Ice, Precip, Seasons, Size