“The best journeys in life are those that answer questions you never thought to ask.” ~Unknown I had two classes ask me questions from my blog that I would like to address: Thanks to Ms. Rapstad’s class in Belgrade for asking a terrific question about how humans help penguins. To answer her class’s question, I asked one of the naturalists aboard the ship. Here is what his response was:
There are not many insects in Antarctica, but there are species of mites, nematodes and midges. To survive, the insects must first dehydrate (get rid of as much water as possible) themselves to prevent ice from forming inside its cells. A chemical that acts like anit-freeze is released which allows the body tissues to survive freezing by reducing the proportion of body water locked up in ice. THANK YOU FOR THE INQUISITIVE QUESTIONS! I did not post anything yesterday, but have lots to write. Unfortunately, uploading pictures can be very slow, but I will do my best today. Yesterday, our destination was the South Shetland Islands. We are now definitely below the 60th parallel, which is considered Antarctica. Our first stop was Half Moon Island near Livingston Island. There is a large chinstrap penguin rookery here. The chinstraps are not found much further south so this might be our only chance to spot these. There is also a rule that you are not to be within 15 feet of the penguins or other wildlife and PENGUINS HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY! I chose to engage in a hike around the island and in doing so; I had the opportunity to see a variety of mosses and lichens, one Gentoo penguin, many chinstrap penguins, kelp gulls, Arctic terns and skuas. The magpies of Montana are like the skuas of Antarctica – always raiding penguin nests, as they are somewhat of an opportunistic hunter. There was also a small Argentine base located on the island. Some say the base is not occupied, but is painted every few years because if it looks shabby or unoccupied, they will lose the base. DECONTAMINATION PRIOR TO LANDING To get to shore, we ride in small rubber rafts with 60hp motors called zodiac’s. Gear for going to shore includes layers on top and bottom, wool socks (may or may not layered), hat, gloves, waterproof pants, waterproof boots, scarf, parka, sunscreen applied to face and lips, and sunglasses. Prior to getting into a zodiac, we must have our ID card and check out (we check in upon return), be fully dressed and have our life jacket on. We must decontaminate our boots each time we leave and enter the ship. In addition, the first time prior to landing, any gear that has been used any other part of the world and may have the potential of carrying seeds or other biological material had to be vacuumed out and decontaminated. I also had to sign a decontamination declaration form for the Antarctica Peninsula verifying I was not bringing any foreign materials to the land/snow. Unless stated, all photos were taken by Beth Thomas. |
This is an interactive map in which you can zoom in and see specifically where we landed first.