Exploring Antarctica

The frozen landscape, dry valleys and active volcanoes that make up Antarctica provide a living laboratory for scientific study and a wondrous journey for those willing to travel to the ends of the earth. Learn more in washingtonpost.com's Special Report: Exploring Antarctica.

Join photographer George Steinmetz, who captured Antarctica's beauty in still images as part of his quest to photograph the world's deserts; Adam Lewis, a geologist at Byrd Polar Research Center at Ohio State University who is studying the long term climate evolution of Antarctica; and Amar Bakshi, editor and producer of PostGlobal, who recently traveled to Antarctica; for an online discussion on Thursday, March 22 at Noon ET.

A transcript follows.

____________________

washingtonpost.com: Welcome to our discussion today about Antarctica. We've lined up several guests who can help answer your questions about scientific research taking place in Antarctica and about travel to the continent. So, let's begin!

_______________________

Southwest Virginia: Thank you for taking what is a really trivial question.

I'm always fascinated to see pictures of polar explorers posing in their Antarctic jackets, etc, but standing bareheaded outdoors. Is it really that warm? Even in the Sun? How warm does it get in summer?

Amar Bakshi: I was shocked by how warm it was on my visit. I've only spent 5 days on the continent, unlike the scientists who have joined us, but temperatures were as high as 40 degrees F where I was. And with the sun (which was up 20 hours a day) overhead, I was able to even sunbathe in a t-shirt for 20 minutes on afternoon. The weather was particularly good where I was, and I was relatively far north. Perhaps the others will paint a colder picture.

Adam Lewis: We take our hats off to be photographed so that we can be seen. On all but the warmest days I wear a hat, neck warmer and ski goggles. It does get warm when working hard and the hat comes off first to prevent too much sweating. On a warm day in the Dry Valleys or the Transantarctic Mountains, when working very hard, we might be down to a head band and thermal shirt.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: What percentage of Antarctica's land mass has actually been scientifically studied? It seems so massive that it will take years to explore all of it, especially in such an inhospitable climate.

Adam Lewis: The simple answer is not very much. The vast majority of work is done near the coast and the research stations. There are large tracts of the Transantarctic Mountains, for example, that have never seen a human foot print.

_______________________

Richburg, S.C.: We're a group of first year high school biology students and we have some questions regarding your work:

1. Since summer is ending, how warm was it on the warmest day, and what is the average range of temperatures during the summer? Conversely, what is the coldest it gets during the winter and what is the average range of temperatures? Is it always windy?

2. What kinds of leisure activities does the group have?

3. How are the freeze dried mosses prepared for observation? Do the specimens rehydrate in the tent?

4. Has a hypothesis been formulated that might explain why Wedell seals become mentally ill, compelling them to search for food inland?

5. How are wastes that the camps generate disposed of, including that from the loos?

6. Please describe a typical power generation system for a camp.

7. Gentlemen: Please explain how would one attain a job such as yours?

8. Is a person's time on the continent limited by concerns for one's physical and mental health?

9. How do the blue-green algae survive an environment of pH 11? Do they coexist with any other organisms?

Adam Lewis: I work in the Transantarctic Mountains where it is a bit colder than the coast but much warmer than up on the ice sheet. A hot day would be -5C and an average day might be -10C (in January). When we arrive at our field sites in late October it's -30 to -20C. It usually windy, which is probably not uncommon for most high, exposed mountains. The big winds are Katabatics, which a density-driven flows of cold air spilling off the ice sheet. They come about once a week and can last for several days. Speeds of 50 to 70 mph are not uncommon.

Besides taking a book to read we don't have many leisure activities. We are there to get as much work done as possible in a short time. We can't go back if we forgot to do something. 12 or even 14-hour days are not uncommon.

The mosses do rehydrate when placed in water. Amazing considering that they are 14 million years old. We do most of that work back in nice warm labs.

All of our waste is helicoptered out whenever we get one into camp. liquids in a barrel and frozen solids in a tightly closed plastic bucket. By the way - that bucket sits out on the ground in the wind and snow - You learn to take care of business fast!

If we take laptop computers we'll use a very small gas-powered generator for power. If we don't have them with us we just use solar for charging batteries and the radios. Some groups use small wind generators like you'd see on a sailboat.

Summer people like me have to pass a physical. Winter people have that plus a mental exam.

_______________________

Fairfax, Va.: What are the best ways to visit Antarctica? What tour companies do you recommend?

Amar Bakshi: The easiest way to visit the continent for the first time is to travel to the Antarctic Peninsula. This is at least a 1.5 day sail from the port town of Ushuia, at the southern most tip of Argentina. There are a number of tour companies that run multi-week long boat trips leaving from Ushuia, taking tourists around the peninsula, and then returning them.

I traveled on the boat Corinthian II, which I found through Expedition Travels. It was a beautiful vessel with a very informative, attentive crew. I highly recommend them. The guide book from Lonely Planet (and their site www.lonelyplanet.com) lists a number of other tour companies and the Web site for the International Association of Tour Operators (www.iaato.org) can be very helpful as well.

You can also take boats to the Ross Sea or the South Georgia Islands. These routes are growing increasingly popular. If you have a lot of money to spare, you can even fly to Antarctica and skip the turbulent Drake Passage journey.

_______________________

Bethesda, Md.: Why does everyone seem to wear red jackets? Do they not make coats warm enough in other colors?

Amar Bakshi: I'm not scientist, but I asked the tour operators on my boat and they said it was to help you stand out against the backdrop in case you get lost or get left ashore.

On that note, I must say that the tour company I was with did a great job covering safety precautions. The sites we landed on were carefully chosen, and they had a number of good measures in place to make sure no one was left ashore. The boat, after all, carried 114 people so it was a serious concern. They had us all turn over tags on deck whenever we left the boat.

Adam Lewis: Amar is right, it's so they can see us in an emergency. Funny thing is, in the Dry Valleys where it's all dark rock, pilots with great eyes can't see us or even the bright yellow tents until they're just a few 100 meters away.

_______________________

Woodbridge, Va.: Is it possible to live in Antarctica?

Adam Lewis: Scientists and others do stay at bases throughout the year but I don't think anybody would want to actually live there. Months of darkness, can't leave the buildings for long periods, no birds or trees or grass. I couldn't do it.

_______________________

Los Angeles, Calif.: What kind of survival skills did you have to learn to protect yourself during your studies? The yellow Scott tents don't look like they have too many modern amenities?

George Steinmetz: Before one is allowed to leave McMurdo Station, the US Antarctic Program requires that you take a two day survival training course that involves putting up shelter and overnighting on the sea ice. I had to take almost a week of training courses when I first arrived before I could leave McMurdo. The Scott tents are widely considered the best for Antarctic conditions... they hold up better in 100mph wing than mountain tents designed for the peaks of the Himalaya, and are a lot more comfortable as you can stand up in them and use cots to get off the (frozen) ground. The Scott tents are very heavy, and almost all field work in Antarctica is done with helicopter or vehicle support to provide enough equipment to be safe out there. It's not a backpacking environment.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: What sorts of evidence of climate change, if any, did you observe?

Adam Lewis: I see little in the Dry Valleys region but I don't study short-term change. I do know that the peninsula is one of the fastest warming places on the planet. In just the last few years glaciers have sped up and floating ice shelves have disintegrated. For the Dry Valleys, it's so cold that warming of a few degrees wouldn't have an immediate impact. Things would change, like maybe precipitation rates, added surface water flow, or stability of frozen ground on steep slopes, but it would take intensive monitoring to document over short time scales.

_______________________

Union Station: You said winter people have to take a mental exam. Pray tell, what kinds of questions do they ask and what are they looking for, besides the obvious that you are not a suicidal or bloodthirsty maniac?

Adam Lewis: Don't know, I've never had to take it but I hear it's to screen for depression, which would probably get worse in a place like Antarctica during winter.

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: George, What most surprised you about the landscape? What equipment did you have to get such an array of shots?

George Steinmetz: Most surprising was the lack of any sense of scale. The head of McMurdo Station recounted going on a helicopter trip and seeing what he thought was a discarded oil drum on a pristine frozen lake. Upon descent he realized it was the 60ft long portable quonset hut of a team of scientists drilling through the ice. I had to bring special external batteries for my (digital) camera and wrap my cameras and tripod in moleskin and pipe-insulation so that my hands didn't get too cold to function. I never got away from the "ice-cream headache" from pressing my temple against the viewfinder, or loosing eye-brow hairs as they got frozen on to the camera eye piece. Also challenging was toilet time in the field, but that's another story.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: Thank you for your fascinating look at beautiful and fragile Antarctica.

With climate change becoming a growing concern, do you think Vice President Gore's plans to hold one of the Live Earth concerts in Antarctica is at all feasible?

As one disturbed by what we've done to our planet, I strongly support what Gore has done so far in raising our consciousness on this pressing issue, but I do not see how such a concert could be done on all seven continents - especially since it will winter in the Southern Hemisphere on July 7.

Thank you.

Adam Lewis: A small concert could be held in McMurdo (and are on occasion by some of the scientists and staff - some people bring their instruments down with them). But you'd never get a mass of people flown in for a concert; it's very expensive. Maybe one could be held on a ship.

_______________________

Rockville, Md.: I just watched the movie "Eight Below" which shows a guide going back to save his dogs ... I thought I heard that was based on a true story - but I'm wondering, are huskies or other kinds of animals really used down there?

George Steinmetz: In McMurdo there are no dogs, no kids, no elderly people who can't pass a strict physical exam. The dogs in the movie were a creation of the screenwriter.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: George, How did you take those photos? were you in a helicopter or plane to get the ariel shots - or just standing on a side of a mountain? Was there anything special you had to do to protect your camera from the harsh temperatures?

George Steinmetz: I was in an NSF helicopter for the aerial photos, but helicopter time is very precious, so I also did a lot of walking up mountains and valleys. I wrapped my cameras in moleskin to protect my face and hands from the cold. Otherwise it performed flawlessly (with an external battery in an inside pocket).

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: Do you have thoughts on the impact (positive or negative) of tourism on the continent? Is it likely that in the future steps will have to be taken to limit it to sustainable levels?

Amar Bakshi: From what I understand, there is not as much data surrounding this question as there should be. More money for research on this is needed. But some interesting, sometimes contradictory tid-bits I picked up while there included: 1) a study showing that standing between a penguin and the water causes him and his peers to deviate from their path by 70m, long after the human as left. 2) Another study comparing two islands, one visited regularly and the other not, found that human presence had little effect on the penguin population. However, some hypothesized that this was because humans scared away birds that preyed on penguin chicks. All of this, however, does not take into account the less obvious consequences of peoples' presence on mosses and other life on Antarctica. Boats have environmental protocols that tourists are to follow - such as staying a good distance from the penguins, not going near rookeries etc. But with more and more boats coming (including some very large 400 person vessels), it's not terribly easy to monitor and a lot of self-control is necessary, for tourists and tour operators. Jeff Rubin wrote a nice summary of these concerns, and mentioned a good point, that one advantage of the tourist presence is that they can become "ambassadors" for Antarctica, raising awareness, reminding people of its beauty, and encouraging them to support environmental groups and scientific studies dealing with it.

Adam Lewis: The desert landscapes in the Dry Valleys can't support tourism. Maybe overflights by helos but the ground is just too fragile to allow hundreds of people to go for walks. A helicopter landing site is set aside on the floor of one of the valleys but as far as I know that's the only place tourists are allowed in the valleys. Some of the tings I work on, like ancient fossil moss and insects, and delicate deposits of volcanic ash, would be destroyed by one footstep. Think about it: they've sat there for 12 or 14 million years, in perfect condition, waiting to tell us something. I myself hate the thought of even sampling them but do so for the scientific insight. It would be terrible to lose them to careless footsteps.

_______________________

Alexandria, Va.: George - I never would have thought of Antarctica as a desert - what are the striking similarities and differences you're finding with the Dry Valleys and other deserts you've studied (besides the cold temperatures, of course)?

George Steinmetz: You see the same landforms. On the sea ice for example the wind carves blown snow and ice into a form called sastrugi, but this often takes on the crescent-shaped form of barchan dunes that are common in Arabia or the Sahara. Also, wind erosion patterns on rocks are quite similar, with subtle differences. You see some of the same patterns in permafrost that you find in dry namibian lakes, and desiccation of carcasses is common for wayward seals and drought-killed desert sheep.

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: Mr. Steinmetz,

How did you prepare to got to Antarctica?

Did the visit to Antarctica require the use of special cold-weather adapted photography equipment?

George Steinmetz: First I did a lot of research and contacted NSF-sponsored scientists who had spend a lot of time down there. And like everyone else, I also had to take a lot of medical and even dental exams.

I used standard professional camera gear (Canon 1Ds) with an external battery in a jacket pocket and moleskin wrapped around every part that came into contact with face and hands. I also had a special veil-like thing made of polar fleece glued onto my goggles so my face wouldn't come into contact with the LCD screen.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: Thanks for being on this chat!

What in your views is the most compelling evidence that global warming is affecting Antarctica?

Also, yesterday at the hearing with former vice president Al Gore on global warming, Senator Inhofe said that Antarctic ice mass had increased overall, but I thought it was that while snow levels in the interior of Antarctica had increased, ice along the edges had decreased.

Thanks

Adam Lewis: That's a tricky question because the data are still coming in and being analyzed. Remember it's a huge place with few records of climate. To be sure, the peninsula is warming rapidly. For the interior, everyone thought that warming air would bring more snow to the plateau, helping to offset potential sea-level rise. But a study by Andy Monaghan here at OSU shows there's been no extra snowfall in the interior over the last few decades. Many questions need to be answered but it's a difficult place to get good data.

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: How does the U.S. work with scientists from other countries on research in Antarctica?

Adam Lewis: When we write a grant we are allowed to include anyone we want so we always invite the best people to work with us, no matter where they're from. The NSF funds have to go through a US institution and funding supports the US bases but as the grant writer you can invite the best people you can find to be collaborators. That's one of the best things about being a scientist, no matter where you're from everyone has a common goal and interest. That makes it very easy to get international collaboration going. Also, this next year is IPY, which is meant to be international.

_______________________

Arlington, Va. : Did you get to visit any of the historic huts in the McMurdo area?

George Steinmetz: Yes, I visited Scott's two huts there and Shackelton's hut as well. There are photos of Scott's hut on the Washington Post program. They are a fascinating window into the hardships they had to endure.

_______________________

Tampa, Fla.: Adam, how long have you been studying in Antarctica are there any big themes or conclusions you're drawing from your research of climate history?

Adam Lewis: I've been studying it since 1998; I've been down for 7 summer seasons (added up, I think I've lived in a tent for at least a year and a half, now). My main focus is on when it first got cold - in other words, when did it freeze over and become a polar desert. I use volcanic ash to place dates on this climate change and glacial sediments and tundra-type fossils to gauge the ancient climate. I work with and have built on research by several other people like Dave Marchant and George Denton (who have done something like 50 seasons between them). All of this research suggests it got cold about 14 million years ago such that the glaciers stopped melting and began to mostly evaporate, and the tundra went extinct. Since then we see no evidence for any short-term warm phases.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: I'm fascinated by polar exploration, and have read a lot of books about historical exploration. Before going to the Antarctic, did you read anything like The Last Place on Earth or Endurance?

Adam Lewis: Most people who come down take one of the great old books of exploration with them to read in the tent during blizzards. The worst journey in the world is a favorite of most. It is an amazing story of determination; they had it a thousand time worse back then than we do now. Personally, I like to read about jungles and hot deserts when I'm down there for an escape.

_______________________

About the Dogs: Dogs used to be allowed in Antarctica but no longer. The Environmental protocols instituted in 1991 forbid the introduction of non-native species. (my husband worked on the protocols and we visited 2.5 years ago.) There are some reindeer, as I recall but they've been there for about 100 years so no one is talking about getting rid of them.

Adam Lewis: I was told by an old-timer that it was a very sad day at Scott Base (the New Zealand station near McMurdo) when the last dogs left the continent.

_______________________

Washington, D.C.: For tourists, what is the average itinerary? What do you do from day to day?

Amar Bakshi: Our total trip was 12 days long. The first and last three of which were spent traveling to and from the continent, including the flight from DC to Buenos Aires to Ushuia and then the boat ride across the Drake Passage.

Once you arrive at the Antarctic Peninsula, however, the days get very active. Each island we visited looked spectacularly different from the last and the place is teaming with penguins, seals and sea birds.

On my boat, days began at 8am with a wake up call from the captain. We would get a morning briefing about the places we would visit that day: like the old whaling colony on Deception Bay or the port on Paradise Harbor. At 9am, 12 of us at a time would enter a 12-person motor-boat that took us from our main vessel to the shore. We were given free range to hike for several hours along the beaches and sometimes up neighboring hills through deep snow.

After two hours on shore, we would go back for lectures on anything from Shackleton's Voyage to the taxonomy of seals to ice formations, run by experts in each. During this time, and throughout lunch, the boat would lurk along taking us to our next stop. In the afternoon, we'd head out again to hike, sit among penguins or enjoy great views from land.

The itinerary detail for my trip is here: http://www.adventure-life.com/antarctica/corinthian-2/antarctica-tours/19/82// You can see video from many of the stops here: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/video/2007/03/20/VI2007032000530.html

_______________________

Arlington, Va.: Can you tell us how Antarctica sounds sounds and smells? Did you have to adapt to prolonged or shortened daylight, and what was that like?

George Steinmetz: It is either very quiet or very windy. The only other natural sounds and smells are around big breeding colonies of seals and penguins. Mt. Erebus was devoid of smells and sounds except when it erupted, and then you've got to watch out for incoming lava bombs.

For photos I tried to be nocturnal, and after the sunsets were over in late October, try to maximize my field time between 10PM and 2AM to take advantage of the beautiful low-angled sunlight. It was difficult to do this as the scientists and McMurdo support team doesn't work 100% at these times.

_______________________

Cabin John, Md.: Beautiful pictures, George Steinmetz. Does it make you want to go back to Antarctica? Where next?

George Steinmetz: Thanks. I'd love to go back, but going to Antarctica with the NSF is a serious commitment in time and energy, and I've got to figure out a compelling reason beyond more of what I did last time. I'm off to the Alitplano of Bolivia next week for an assignment for National Geographic. It's as cold and dry in some parts of the Altiplano as it is in Antarctica.

_______________________

washingtonpost.com: Thank you to all our guests today - to learn more about their expeditions and travels see our special report at http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/science/interactives/antarctica/index.html

_______________________

Editor's Note: washingtonpost.com moderators retain editorial control over Live Online discussions and choose the most relevant questions for guests and hosts; guests and hosts can decline to answer questions. washingtonpost.com is not responsible for any content posted by third parties.