Greetings to our faithful readers. Things are finally winding down here at NCSU after a busy semester. Carrie and Dave have been immersed in a flurry of emails coordinating with Raytheon and Craig at the University of Hawaii to make sure the science goes smoothly, and everything is coming together. Here is an update of what is going on with our group and what we'll be up to on the next cruise!

Everyone is making big plans. Brian and Kim will be presenting their research at the ASLO meeting (American Society of Limnology and Oceanography) in Nice France in January. Rebecca and I will be heading to Puerto Natales and Torres del Paine to do some kayaking and hiking, and will hopefully run in to the Hawaii group which will be hiking the infamous Patagonia "W" at the same time.

There will also be some exciting new science on this next trip. We will be leaving one of our own, Rebecca, at Palmer Station to do feeding experiments at the end of our cruise in March. She will be there for three weeks trying to fatten up Holothurians with some yummy diatoms and ooey-gooey Phaeocystis. Ken Buessler from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute will be leaving one of his students with us to investigate particulate transport along our stations. This will be a welcomed supplement to our Thorium and phytoplankton analyses. And on the way to our stations we will be dropping off two other science parties:

1) We will be leaving Dr. Ross MacPhee, a research scientist at the Natural Museum of Natural History and once Duke University associate professor, and his team on Livingston Island to look for fossil evidence of mammalian inhabitance as far back as 100 million years. A link to an article about his research is posted below:

The Antarctic Sun - Ross MacPhee fossil investigation


2) We will also be going to the eastern side of the peninsula in the Weddell Sea to drop off geobiologist Joseph Kirschvink at James Ross Island. His group is trying to solve the 65 million year old murder mystery, 'what killed the dinosaurs?' You might think this would be classified as a "Cold Case" but geologically speaking, this question is still hot!

The Antarcitc Sun - Joseph Kirschvink and the Dinosaurs

T-minus 56 days and counting until we shove off on the Gould for the final leg of our research! So kick back.. and stayed tuned for updates!


 

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