A map of Adelie and Gentoo penguin tracks off the coast of Palmer Station, Antarctica

SWARM Data Activity #5

What can penguins teach us about the ocean? You can also download this activity as a Word Doc: Data Swarm Activity #5. In our previous dispatches, we shared the data and technologies allowing us to understand how the ocean conditions are…
Echosounder data from offshore Palmer Station showing about 1 month of data

SWARM Data Activity #4

Seeing with Sound in the Palmer Deep You can also download this activity as a Word Doc: Data Swarm Activity #4. In the last dispatch, underwater glider data revealed the temperature, salinity and chlorophyll levels below the surface of…
Scientists deploy a Slocum Glider off the coast of Antarctica.

SWARM Data Activity #3

Diving into the Palmer Deep You can also download this activity as a Word Doc: Data Swarm Activity #3. In the last dispatch, CODAR data revealed ocean surface currents within the foraging area of the penguins of Palmer studied in the…

I.D. Antarctica – Home at Last

Land ho! Pictured above is the first bit of South America we saw from the ship. After a remarkably smooth crossing of the Drake Passage, we made it back to Punta Arenas, Chile. It’s not always so smooth, though! This Quicktime video…
A surface current map from offshore Palmer Station collected by Codar HF-Radars.

SWARM Data Activity #2

Where will the current take us? You can also download this activity as a Word Doc: Data Swarm Activity #2. In out last dispatch, we shared an overview of our SWARM research project. This week we are going to focus on an important measurement…
Adelie penguin colony, Antarctica

I.D. Antarctica #5 – Answer

Hello! I hope you all had a fun time trying to identify these sea birds.  I'm sure you realized these are penguins - were you able to identify the species?       This is an adult Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae)…
Fish to identify in Week #3

APPLES – Arctic Plants Phenology Project

Attention Polar Educators - Please consider applying for the Arctic Plants Phenology (APPLES) project. See attached flyer.  Deadline is February 24, 2020. 2020 APPLES Workshop Flyer
Bird and Chicks, Antarctica

I.D. Antarctica – Week #5 Mystery Creature

Greetings from Antarctica! Sadly, we are heading back to Chile later this week. Our last stop is at one of the three Antarctic bases operated by the United States called Palmer Station, on the Western Antarctic Peninsula. It is a very cool place…
Zooplankton predator-prey, Antarctica

I.D. Antarctica #4 – Answer

Hello! I hope you all had a great week. We had a chance to see some beautiful icebergs. Of all the scenery down here, they are definitely my favorite. Waves carve away the ice to create unbelievable structures.     So,…
Zooplankton predator-prey, Antarctica

I.D. Antarctica – Mystery Creature #4

Greetings from Antarctica! We pulled a special type of net behind our research vessel today called a MOCNESS. It stands for Multiple Opening and Closing Net Environmental Sampling System. It is a very important piece of oceanographic research…
Icefish from Antarctica

I.D. Antarctica #3 – Answer

Hello again!  Did you think it was easy or hard to identify our week #3 mystery creature?  I hope you enjoyed the challenge!  Or did it make you feel like this fish looks? Well, the correct answer for the fish identification is.....drum…
Fish to identify in Week #3

I.D. Antarctica – Mystery Creature #3

Hello again! I am especially excited this week because we have caught some larval fishes during a net tow in the bay pictured above. Most adult fishes in the Southern Ocean are benthic, which means they live near the sea floor. However,…