Each trip south has been gloriously spectacular – there’s nothing like seeing icebergs, penguins and glacier covered mountains first hand.  But it’s the FEEL of Antarctica that keeps me coming back – every sight inspires deep awe and each breath grants the richest sense of being truly alive.

To top it all off, our science team and ship crew was the best yet in so many ways – ridiculously playful and free, while also being hard working and solidly robust.   Our dynamic was elec...

When I went to bed last night we had pulled in close to Elephant Island, seeking shelter from a storm brewing in the Drake Passage. The winds were blowing 60 knots.  But judging by how loud they had become, I knew things had gotten worse overnight. 

Suddenl...

Greetings from the Southern Ocean!  My name is Cassandra Brooks and this is my third year working in Antarctica as a zooplankton scientist. That means I spend my days sorting krill and other animals that live in the water column.

Today I rose at 345am, just...

February 16 2011

We’re late into day four of a NOAA Antarctic research cruise off the South Shetland Islands and eagerly getting ready to sample. For the first time, we are trying out a Tucker Trawl, which can deploy multiple nets at once allowing us to sample krill and fish simultaneously. The boat is a buzz with anticipation while I am feeling contemplative about “science” and our mechanical methods for trying to collect information about the world around us.  

Traveling through New Zealand’s Southern Alps, I am mesmerized by the green smoky mountains and glacial blue braided rivers. Lost in thought, I wonder (as I always do when immersed in a new place) has this stunning eco-scape always looked this way?

I came to NZ to work on a project called “The Last Ocean.”  Collectively we are trying to tell the story of the Ross Sea, Antarctica, a region that’s been deemed the last intact and healthy marin...