Jan. 31, 1997

Day 3

Well, I have been here for three days and I have never felt so cold in all my life. The day I arrived was not so bad, but then I was not outside a lot that day. When I arrived at the Antarctic Peninsula to take, or rather fill in the spot of an LTER member, I rested and then I was told what I would be doing for the next 5 months. I would be here. I was also told of the safety rules I would have to follow in order to live in an enviroment as hostile as this one. Here are a few of the most important ones:

1. Shoes and socks must not be tight.

2. Do not ever touch metal with moist or bare hands.

3. Protective glasses or goggles must be worn at all times during daylight hours outside, shiny or cloudy.(This is to prevent snowblindness.)

4.Where seals are numerous and safe, people are not, for seals tend to settle on thin ice.

These are simply four of the many rules I must learn while I'm here. I'm not complaining at all; I know that if I do not follow these, I could land myself in serious trouble.

This is what I will be doing nearly every day for the next five months. Each morning I get up, get dressed, have breakfast, and get my measurer, clipboard, and pen. Then I meet with the research team, which consists of two other scientists, Al Hickey, and me. We get on our snowmobiles and head out to study the penguins and numerous seals. We get a penguin (for now we are just focusing on penguins) take a blood sample, measure it, weigh it, and record what we find. Then we move on. It souds simple, but it's very hard trying to keep a penguin still and recording the measurements of it all at once. I found that out today, the hard way. I got my hand bitten by one of those birds. Despite that, we were able to take measurements of six penguins today before we had to quit due to high winds. It was an interesting day for me.

As I write this, I'm thinking about how hard it will be here compared to being back home in California. Instead of taking a shower every day, I am allowed to take three per week, two minutes each. Water is incredibly scarce around here and we must do all that we can to perserve it. I also realize how very dry it is. You would expect it to be wet but Antarctica is actually the driest place on earth, receiving an average of only 2 inches of precipitation a year. It also is the highest continent, with its mountains making up a significant part of its land mass. But it is also incredibly beautiful, and despite the hardships I will have to face, I must say I think I will enjoy and treasure my experience here.