Journal Entries

2005-06

 

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Jump to a specific journal entry by Marianne Kaput:
	August 2005	23
	October 2005	31
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Click here to access journal entries by Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez or Luke Sandro.

 

August 23 , 2005 - Cleveland, Ohio (41° N Latitude). 127 more days!

	High Temp.	Low Temp.	Sunrise	Sunset
Palmer Station, Antarctica	28 °F (-2.2 °C)	15 °F (-9.4 °C)	7:50 AM	4:48 PM
Cleveland, Ohio, USA	78 °F (25.6 °C)	68 °F (20.0 °C)	6:45 AM	8:16 PM

 

Today was a most special day because I met this year’s students for the first time and I can’t wait to get to know each one of them better. New pencils still in the wrappers, glue bottles that don’t leak or clog (well, not yet anyway) and a desk and locker that will never be this clean and neat again. The first day of school is such a great time.

I am excited beyond words because this year we all get to become explorers and scientists! FOR REAL!! In late December I will begin a 6-week long trek from Ohio to Antarctica with a real scientific research team … and YOU are invited to come along with me. Well … OK, you won’t pack your suitcase and actually leave with me, but you are invited to follow along each day of this journey as I share this amazing experience with you.

I want to communicate with you and your classmates through e-mail and read your questions and comments. In return I will answer your questions, share pictures of what I see and write to you each day in this journal describing what we did and discovered. Sound exciting? You bet it will be! I'll have some activities that you can do in the classroom or at home that follow what our research team is doing. You will learn what this scientific research team does each day and why their work is so important. I will share how we adapt to living and working in the most extreme environment in the world. Talk about survivors!

Now you know how hard it will be for me to focus on my geology in school tomorrow. I wonder what kind of rocks are in Antarctica and how they got there? How were they formed? What should I pack? How do you think I will get there? What will we study there that’s so important to science? Why do you think it’s so cold there today when it’s so warm here? Will it get even colder when I'm there? Did you notice how late sun rose and how soon it set in Antarctica today? Who else will be there besides my team? Hmmmm … so much to learn!

Check back here in October as more entries are added while we get ready to leave.

 

- Marianne Kaput

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October 31 , 2005 - Cleveland, Ohio (41° N Latitude). 61 more days!

	High Temp.	Low Temp.	Sunrise	Sunset
Palmer Station, Antarctica	39°F (-3.9 °C)	32 °F (0 °C)	4:40 AM	9:21 PM
Cleveland, Ohio, USA	62 °F (16.7 °C)	48 °F (8.9 °C)	6:57 AM	5:24 PM

 

Let me take you back to a hot summer day in the middle of July. I had just returned from a perfect summer afternoon at Huntington Beach at Lake Erie. The waves were high, the sun hot, and the sky was bright blue — the perfect summer day at the beach. When I arrived home, check out what was waiting for me at my front door.

I got so excited because I love to get surprise packages. I quickly checked out the return address label. It said, "Raytheon Polar Services". My heart starting beating quicker because I knew this had something to do with my trip to Antarctica. My surprise turned into confusion when this package only contained a variety of little clear plastic cups with lids and clear glass test tubes with brightly colored plastic caps, all with labels that had my name on them. Under the packing foam I found this 1 inch thick book called, "Antarctic Participant’s Guide". This was unlike any package I had ever gotten before. Click here to see the guide. Just skim through the pages and you'll see just how complete and thorough the guide is.

I flipped though the papers and found the instructions. I discovered that I would have to be "medically cleared" for travel to Antarctica. Since Antarctica is so remote, I needed to prove that I was strong and healthy, able to handle the environment. I immediately made appointments with my doctors and dentists. Dr. Gerace and Dr. Walsh were almost as excited about this trip as I was. The doctors gave me a complete examination and conducted lab tests that filled each of the vials and cups with my body’s fluids. All the tubes and cups were mailed away to the Raytheon laboratories in Colorado where medical technicians would conduct all the necessary tests.

My next appointment was to the dentist. Dr. Walsh and Dr. Gordon read through their set of instructions and scratched their heads. "You are going to need lots of x-rays," they explained. "We are going to fix everything that could possible cause a problem while you are there." Then he informed me that I had a cavity growing under an old filling in my molars. Click here to see what a molar is. I soon understood that that meant some drilling.

Now, after knowing about all the doctor and dentist appointments, you might have an idea how I reacted when I received the following e-mail:

Subject: Antarctic Deployment
Date: Fri, 28 Oct 2005 16:42:17 -0600

Marianne,

This e-mail is to inform you that you are physically qualified (PQ) for deployment. Your status is good through 03/01/06. Congratulations, have a good trip.

Thank you,

Medical Department
Raytheon Polar Services Company

All I can say is, “Yahoo, I'm going to Antarctica!!!

- Marianne Kaput

 

December 15, 2005 – Cleveland, Ohio (41° N Latitude)

	High Temp.	Low Temp.	Sunrise	Sunset
Palmer Station, Antarctica	37°F (2.8 °C)	31 °F (-0.6 °C)	2:24 AM	12:00 PM
Cleveland, Ohio, USA	37 °F (2.8 °C)	26 °F (-3.3 °C)	7:47 AM	4:58 PM

I can’t believe that I'm leaving in almost 2 weeks!  On December 28th I'll board a plane in Cleveland, Ohio and fly to a place called Punta Arenas, Chile. It’s on the southern tip of South America. Flying is only part of the journey. There's no airport at Palmer Station where I'm going. I have heard that the back yard is just glaciers! I’ll board a research vessel (ship) in Punta Arenas which will take us to Antarctica.

 

Our vessel will have to go through the dreaded Drake Passage, famous for being the roughest water of the world! Antarctica took a long time to be discovered because the early explorers had great difficulties making it across this strip of ocean. The waters are very rough but not to fear, our ship is made just for travel like this — I sure hope I am! It has been said that you first must “Pay the Drake” before you can begin to appreciate and enjoy Antarctica.

The rough water of the Drake Passage hindered many of the early explorers in their quest to navigate to the unknown frozen land. In 1821, John Davis was the first explorer to set foot on Antarctica. The first to successfully make it make it to the South Pole were expeditions led by Sir Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen in 1911. Can you imagine the disappointment when Scott’s team finally arrived at the South Pole on January 17, 1912 only to discover that Amundsen’s team had gotten there a month earlier? And to top it off, Scott’s expedition team never survived the return trip. Click here to read more.

What do you suppose the temperature will be like at Palmer Station? Here are some clues so you can figure this out. First, Earth is warm because we receive the heat of the Sun. Seasons are caused by the tilt of the Earth on its axis. Summer is warm because we are tilted toward the sun and closer to its heat. In winter, when Earth is tilted away from the sun and further away from its warmth, it’s colder. So when the Northern Hemisphere (above the Equator) is having summer, Antarctica (located in the Southern Hemisphere) is having winter. So if I go to Antarctica when it is winter in Ohio, what season will it be in Antarctica? What do you suppose the temperature will be like in Palmer Station? You will just have to find out when I’m there. Check out this link for a complete explanation of the reason for the seasons.

I’ll be very busy for the next few weeks. I have to prepare for my substitute teacher, pack my bags and get ready to leave my family and friends for a while. The most difficult part of this trip will be leaving those people I care about, but I am counting on everyone keeping in touch with me through e-mail until I return. My time will be very limited in Antarctica so please be patient if I don't respond promptly. You can contact me at: mariannekaput@sbcglobal.net

- Marianne Kaput

 

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