Hello, everyone--
The departure date for my Antarctic voyage is rapidly approaching (May 26). Preparations are well underway, with many last-minute items to attend to. I'm posting to my two blogs as often as I can ("Rime of the Modern Mariner" for teens and up, and "Unarctica" for middle-graders). Some of what I'm writing about now is personal preparations, and some is about preparations the researchers are making. My most recent "Unarctica" post is about Chaiten volcano, which we may be seeing from the airplane on our flight southward from Santiago to Punta Arenas to catch the NSF icebreaker that will be our home for a month. Most recent "Rime" post concerns the radio-controlled airplane the researchers will use for reconaissance and planting GPS beacons on icebergs, with full tech specifications on the plane, and a very cool video clip. Both blogs have recent updates to pages listing the personnel who will be on the voyage. And both offer readers the chance to ask questions or just post comments. Come over and join the fun. Both blogs are accessible from IcebreakerBlog.org
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Thanks to Nancy Etchemendy for this post:
In the darkness of Antarctic winter, a team of scientists on a lonely icebreaker will soon explore the mysterious icebergs of the Weddell Sea, with a twist. Children are invited. Global warming in the Antarctic has recently caused ancient ice shelves to shatter into thousands of free-drifting icebergs that affect the air, the water, and possibly Earth's climate in complex, unknown ways. As the NSF-funded researchers seek answers, award-winning YA and children's writer Nancy Etchemendy will recount each day's events via daily posts to two blogs for different age groups (teens and middle-graders). Readers can ask questions and receive answers while the expedition is at sea, May 31 - June 30.
