Impending Insanity

It has happened. I've lost it. I have officially lost my mind.

After I first arrived I fell in love with Antarctica, but I was certain the people who come back year after year were full on nuts. You would have to be crazy to spend months isolated in this tiny spec of pseudo civilization while working 14 hour days in what would be equivalent to a dorm-like life style. The training itself is bizarre: "Don't leave the marked trail or will you fall into a crevasse," "we want you all to make it home safe," "Here is how you use a survival bag, always have one with you..." I was constantly asking myself why I came here, and seriously re-evaluating my decision making process that would even allow me to come to this insane world.

To add to the stress of survival gear and extreme weather training, I hate the cold. Despise it. It must have been the years in Rexburg, or probably the trip to the Grand Canyon in March. Either way, I avoid bone chilling cold like my life depends on it, and it is blasted cold here. Today is 12 degrees with the windchill (there is always a windchill) and we are leaving for a hike, crazy. 

I quickly adjusted to the lifestyle and the temperatures here but again had no desire to do this ever again. Like I said, these people are nuts. It's self-subjected, irrational, unnecessary strain on every aspect of your life; a brutal attack on sanity.

But I caught the bug. It must be in the water. The science here is unbelievable! There is no other place where you can study functioning soil ecosystems without plant or animal interference. Here we can see what the microbes are doing and how it affects their environment, and how the environment affects them. People come here to practice experiments for Mars. People dive into the sea to study the crazy organisms that live on the ocean floor. You can study the natural habitat free of human activity. I love it here!

I cannot believe how lucky I am to be here and be a part of the science on this weird, crazy, harsh continent. I only hope that one day I will be back.

I got worms

Antarctica from my point of view:

Eudorylaimus

Molting Scottnema (awesome)

Tardigrade (I think?) egg

Tardigrade!

I counted over 100 tardigrades in one sample. That was a good day.

an arachnophobe's worst enemy: the mite

Geomonhystera

Tardigrade

We counted so many worms, I started seeing them wiggling around when I would close my eyes. Unpleasant. These plots are monitored every year so we can study changes in the populations how how these populations respond to droughts, floods, changes in temperature, and changes in nutrient availability. It is completely different from my research back at home but it's really cool to look at things on a population scale, rather than molecular (I do miss my bacteria though). The science down here is so much fun and every lab is doing something completely different.

We ended up running 304 samples, some with hundreds of nematodes. I'll get the final count posted soon! For now I am hoping it will be a while before I see another worm...

 

MY FAMILY WHEN I TELL THEM ABOUT MY RESEARCH

Adieu Adelie

Yesterday we were able to sample at Cape Royds, a Adelie penguin rookery. Amazing. We were looking for Panagralaimus, a nematode found in the soil at penguin rookeries. The penguins were really curious and would walk up and see what was going on. It was unbelievable. Definitely one of those, "I can't believe I'm in Antarctica," moments. Holy cow. 

 

Thanks for the penguin hat, Santa!

We also go to check out Shackleton's hut from the Nimrod Expedition. So well preserved by the cold and cared for by the New Zealanders.

 What a day!