(December 14, 2022) --
Kia Ora from the Kiel Reese Geomicrobiology group!
Our team is currently waiting to set sail on the Nathaniel B. Palmer traveling from Lyttelton, New Zealand to McMurdo Station, Antarctica!
As marine geomicrobiologists, we are interested in microbe interactions with its environment. For this project, we will be collecting sediment from methane hydrates in the Ross Sea, and analyzing the DNA/RNA from the sediment microbes, to understand more about methanogens and methanotrophs. We will be working alongside seismologists to better understand where we can sample for our return cruise in 2024.
It has taken years of planning to reach this moment. To get here, a proposal was first written and funded (thank you NSF). Then ship time was assigned and the preparations for the research objectives were underway. Ordering a limited amount of supplies, determining logistics of obtaining and storing samples, and packing and mailing lab equipment to meet us in New Zealand.
We also had to personally prepare for this voyage. Every person on the vessel must be physically qualified to travel to Antarctica. This helps ensure we are as healthy as possible before deploying to a remote extreme climate. This process includes a physical, bloodwork, making sure we are up to date on vaccinations, and passing a dental examination.
Once we arrived in New Zealand after approximately 40 hours of travel, we quarantined and tested several times for covid before embarking on the Palmer.
During this time, we also selected our Extreme Weather Clothing. This included base layers, a balaclava, a knit hat, gloves and glove liners, windbreaker overalls, and the famous red parkas.
After the quarantine and negative tests, we finally got to step foot on the Palmer. We will reside here in port for the next few days before we embark on December 15th. This time will be spent creating our lab spaces, unpacking, attending safety trainings, and getting oriented to the layout of the vessel.
More updates to come!