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Journal Entries
2005-06
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| Jump to a specific journal entry by Marianne Kaput: | ||
| August 2005 | 23 | |
| October 2005 | 31 | |
| December 2005 | 15 29 30 31 | |
| January 2006 | 1 3 4 5 7 9 10-11 12-14 15 16-17 18-19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 | |
| February 2006 | 1 2 5 6-8 10 | |
| Click here to access journal entries by Giancarlo Lopez-Martinez or Luke Sandro. | ||
January 23, 2006 — Palmer Station, Antarctica
I did find time to go hiking up the glacier today with another Palmer Station friend named Bess. She is working with a group of microbiologists from the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, at The College of William & Mary. They are doing a long-term study of the role of microbes (i.e., bacteria) in the carbon cycle. Yes, scientists study the carbon cycle in real life research, so what you are learning in the classroom is just one snapshot of the big picture!
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Bess is with me now as I write this section. Say hi to Bess. She is going to explain the project she is involved in: “We look at the numbers of bacteria in the ocean water at different depths and perform experiments to measure their growth and reproductive rates. To do this we go out in the Zodiac twice a week (in ALL weather conditions — the last time we went out, the rolling of the water upset my stomach) and take water samples at four different depths: the surface, 10 meters, 30 meters and 50 meters. The samples are then brought back to the lab at Palmer Station and studied there. First, slides are made to look at the numbers of bacteria present in the water. Then using a radioisotopes lab, very small amounts of radioactive material are incorporated into the bacteria as they make new DNA and new proteins. Then we wash out the excess radioisotopes leaving that new little bit of radioactivity that has been 'eaten' by the bacteria, used in the production of protein and DNA. This information is used to measure how fast the bacteria are reproducing at each of the different water levels. We have found that this production varies dramatically according to the depth of the water. Say at the surface level there is X amount of bacterial growth. Then at 10 meters, that growth increases to 4X and peaks, at 30 meters that level is decreasing to 2X, and at 50 meters it’s quite low at 1X. The DNA from the sea water is also examined for determining what species of bacteria are living in the water. In this case, we are cloning the genes in order to more closely examine what they are and what they do. Ahhh...the carbon cycle, one of my favorites. Carbon in the oceans is in many different forms: living things, dissolved organic carbon, inorganic carbon. There are also organisms that eat things containing carbon, so they also have carbon. As biological oceanographers, we measure carbon in terms of the mass of different organisms in the water."
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The EPA has a quick video presentation on the carbon cycle that I would like you to see. Don’t peek yet, but while you watch the video, I want you to guess what is missing that also naturally occurs as a part of the carbon cycle. The answer is found at the end of this journal entry. Ok...now click here for the video.
Bess also has spent time working with Outward Bound, working with kids in nature. On her way back to the U.S. she will spend three months in Peru exploring the area there. What an exciting and rich life she has. As we climbed the glacier, we were noticing the changes in its surface. She was here months ago and described the area as covered in deep white snow and how she skied it regularly, enjoying the big white fluffy stuff. Several days before, I climbed it and the surface was frozen solid. Today it was soft and mushy from the mid-day warmth. We saw how the ice had multiple perfectly round holes, as if they were drilled using a power drill. We also saw the deep crevasses in the upper glacier area, stopping to listen to the sound of the rivers of melting water that flowed beneath our feet — such a powerful experience.
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Did I mention that it was Mike's turn to sleep out in the tent last night? Remember the high winds I experienced? That was nothing! Check out this graph of wind speed.
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Mike decided it might be safer to return to the buildings we sleep in. He said the wind was so strong that it knocked him down several times. As you know, wind is a very powerful force — powerful enough to move a 5,000 lb storage van. The next morning they used a huge crane to lift the van back into place. I asked the workers if needed my help. They said, "No".
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Birthdays are celebrated at Palmer in ways that are new to me and there are many traditions that I am learning about. Bob and Tim both had birthdays today. What a party there was, and the sticky meringue pies were washed off by a quick dip in the freezing water.
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Answer to the carbon cycle puzzle above: Humans take in oxygen and breathe out — yep, you have it now — carbon dioxide! We have a naturally occurring role in this cycle just by living and breathing!
- Kaput-on-Ice