One of our goals for the second part of the year is to interview people who live on or have visited different continents. We are hoping to learn about the similarities and differences between our continent, North America, and some of the others.
The first interview in our Blogging Around the Globe series comes from arguably the most difficult place to get in touch with someone from, Antarctica. Quinn Andrew, a native of Wisconsin, spent some time down near the South Pole. She was kind enough to take some time to answer our questions and share some pictures!
What was the weather like there?
It didn’t snow much and when it did, it was a very dry, light snow that the wind whipped around so much that you couldn’t see anything! The average annual temperature in McMurdo is 0°F but can get up to 40°F in the summer (January and February) and can be as cold as -80°F in the winter (June and July).
It is almost always windy there. We were on Ross Island and get a lot of wind off the “water,” which is frozen most of the time. Average winds are between 15-35 miles per hour with the windier days ranging anywhere from 45 miles per hour to as high as 90 miles per hour!
We had weather conditions to let us know when it was safe to travel.
- Condition 3 – All is clear. All travel permitted into town. Hiking outside of town and travel onto the ice shelf allowed (there are roads and an airfield down there).
- Condition 2 – Limited travel, either due to lowered visibility, low temperatures or high wind speeds. You can’t leave town on foot or in vehicles.
- Condition 1 – All travel is restricted. You can’t leave the building you are in without a Search and Rescue (SAR) team member escort. They put up rope lines between the galley and dorms. Basically, don’t go outside!
Why are people on Antarctica?
People are on Antarctica mostly for science. Researchers study everything from the fish and all the proteins that they have to keep them from freezing, the atmosphere, to the ice cores that tell the earth’s story from millions of years ago. There is also a lot of volcanic study since Mt. Erabus is only a few miles from the station.
Then, others are there to help support science. They do things like wash dishes, clean bathrooms, fuel airplanes, run helicopters, and supply materials for different projects. There is also an air national guard presence that flies everyone from New Zealand to the ice.
The population varies throughout the year. During the summer it can be as high as 1,000. During the winter this year it was about 200.
What type of animals do you see down there?
One of the animals that we would often see is called a skua. The skua is a scavenger gull that has adapted to human presence in Antarctica. They show up in October or November and leave in February or March. It’s a pretty amazing animal to be able to live in those harsh conditions.
We also saw Adelie penguins and occasionally emperor penguins. We would see Weddell seals and whales. Each February, we receive a ship supply. In order for the ship to make it into Winter Quarter’s Bay, an ice breaker would come in ahead of it and open up a channel. You could see orcas and minke whales play in the channel.
What was your favorite memory?
I have a couple. My first was that I got to visit Dry Valleys last summer (January 2010). This is supposedly the closest thing on earth to what Mars looks like. It is an amazing, unspoiled, volcanic and ice bound area. The second, was after spending a year on the ice, I left on a 30°F, sunny day. I got to fly first class in an A370 past the caldera of Mt. Erabus. It was amazing and I will never forget it.
Thank you Quinn for taking some time out to share your experiences with us. Antarctica looks like a pretty amazing place!
*What did you learn about Antarctica?*
*What would you like about living on Antarctica?*
*What would you dislike about it?*
I loved your article. I am a Grade VIII Social Studies teacher. I am trying to arrange a skype session between my students in school and someone in Antarctica. Can you help me?
I’m glad you enjoyed it! I’m not sure if I’d be able to or not. The one person I knew down there is no longer there. I can try to touch base with her though and see if she has any contacts that we’d be able to set you up with to talk to!
Dear Mr. Avery,
Antarctica is so cool and so cold. Have you ever thought about visiting your cousin in Antarctica? You don’t have to ask me at all the answer is NO! I would never go in such a cold place but it’s a beautiful place. There’s nowhere to go if you get lost though.
From,
Ariel ♥
Dear Mr Avery and class,
I think the post is really interesting. Right now our class is learning about Antarctica! I found the weather condition information really interesting! It would be hard being in Condition 1! I really like the photos and Antarctica is awesome (apart from the weather)! 🙂
Esha
Hi Mr. Avery,
You post is very interesting. In class we have just started learning about Antarctica. I agree with you. It looks very cold. It would be very fun to go to Antarctica. It looks very interesting there!
From,
Millie
Dear Mr Avery’s class,
I love your post. 😉 How did you get the pictures? It’s very cool that you’ve got some pictures of Antarctica. Where did you find the pictures? 🙂
From,
Lily & Jenny
in Mrs. W’s 2/3 class
@ Mr Avery’s class,
Wow, your summers don’t get quite as hot as ours then.
Good guesses! Seek means seek shade – you’re right! Slide means slide on some sunnies! You have to protect your eyes from the sun too.
I’m glad Mr Avery got to see some of the Australian Open. It was a fantastic experience to be at the final!
This year I am going to have 21 students. However, we work in a double classroom with Miss Jordan. She has 21 students as well. I will let you work out how many students that is altogether!
The teachers went back to school today (Tuesday) and the students go back to school on Friday.
We have a new blog called the 2KM and 2KJ Blog. Here is the address http://2kmand2kj.global2.vic.edu.au/
We’d love you to update your links!
Your pal,
Mrs Morris
Dear Mr Avery and class,
You’re right – it is summer here in the southern hemisphere.
I live near Geelong in Victoria, Australia. Summer is December, January and February. Not like in the US where the season changes on different days. We have exactly three months for each season.
In summer here, the weather ranges from about 20 degrees Celsius to about 40 degrees Celsius in the day time. It is going to be a warm weekend this weekend with temperatures up to the low 40s – maybe 105 Farenheit.
Today I am going to the final of the Australia Open (that’s a big tennis tournament). I will have to slip, slop, slap. That is a saying we having a Australia that means slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, and slap on a hat. Some people also say “slip, slop, slap, seek, slide” – can you guess what seek and slide stands for?
It’s important to be sun smart in our warm climate. In the summer lots of people like to visit the beach, play cricket or swim in a pool.
Summer is also a special time for us because that is when we have Christmas.
I hope this gives you some idea of what summer is like in Australia!
Your blogging buddy,
Mrs Morris
Dear Mrs. Morris,
That sounds like it was a really hot day! On the hottest day of the summer here it usually gets into the low 90s.
The Australian Open was on TV over here. When the final match was very early in the morning here while we were all asleep! Mr. Avery saw highlights on ESPN though!
We had a few guesses as to what “seek” and “slide” could mean. We thought that you might seek an umbrella or shade or it could be that you are trying to seek out water. We thought that you could possibly slide into a chair or a pool!
We were wondering if you know how many students you’re going to have next year yet? Thanks for writing us back!
Your blogging buddies,
Mr. Avery’s Class 🙂
Dear Mr. Avery,
Your cousin is lucky and unlucky. She is lucky because she gets to see all these animals. She is unlucky because it is way too cold. I love animals so I want to live there
From,
Jenna
Dear Mr. Avery and class,
I am really enjoying reading your blog! You have been doing some terrific work and I love the way you make connections and use a range of web 2.0 tools.
I was particularly interested in this post because I had the idea of making it a goal for my class to Skype with someone (or someone who has been to) every continent in the world this year. It looks like you had the same idea with blogging and you’re off to a great start!
What fun to speak to Quinn about Antarctica. It sounds like she had a fascinating adventure!
You are lucky to only have 15 students in your class! I bet you are a super group of kids.
Your blogging buddy,
Mrs. Morris
Australia
Dear Mrs. Morris,
Thank you so much for taking time to write in to our blog! We learned so much about Antarctica from Quinn. Some of us decided it’s a place we would love to visit and some thought it was a place that we’d never want to go!
We have an engineer from a ship that is going to be sending us postcards from some of the different places that he is visiting, which is really exciting! We’ll be putting up a post about that soon.
In class, we talked about how it’s summer there for you. We were wondering what your summers are like.
We hope you keep coming back to visit!
Sincerely,
Mr. Avery’s Class
Dear Mr. Avery,
Your cousin is very cool. I wish I could go to Antarctica. One reason why I don’t want to go to Antartica is because it is to cold. I love animals so I would love to see them. I kind of want to see what it feels like to live in an igloo.
From,
Jenna
Hi Class,
There are things like t.v., but it is limited. I think there were five channels. The shows available were minimal due to the great time difference between where we were and where the shows were broadcast from. McMurdo is on New Zealand time (16 to 18 hours different from the east coast).
However, we do have a great library with books on CD, music CDs, lots of books, and magazine. We also have a video rental counter in the McMurdo Ship Store. There are tv series and lots of other dvds and vhs tapes available.
In addition, there is a recreation department that sets up sports leagues (dodgeball, volleyball, dart league) as well as many races throughout the year and fitness classes.
If that’s not your thing, there is also a craft room that has painting, sewing, basketry and other craft supplies.
Needless to say – we were never bored!
Kaylee – I have friends that work on the ice, then go to Greenland in the “off season.” They have shorter contracts so can go for six weeks at a time. It is great to talk with grandparents about their experiences!
Sincerely,
Quinn
Dear Quinn,
Thank you so much for taking time to write in to our class. We really enjoyed learning all about life on Antarctica! We found it really interesting that the weather can vary so much and that you had different conditions to tell you what you can and can’t do. We also found it really interesting that you got to see animals that some of us have only gotten to see in zoos!
Sincerely,
Mr. Avery’s Class
Dear Mr. Avery,
I still can not believe that Quinn stayed in Antarctica for so long! I would just say on the first day, “I’m cold. Bring me home!” Those pictures she took were amazing. I like the one of the seal. Which one do you like best?
From,
Amanda 🙂
Dear Mr. Avery,
I wouldn’t want to live in Antarctica because it is freezing! Also, I wouldn’t get to watch TV because the power would go out like every 15 minutes. I would also not be able to go outside. That is why I would not want to live in Antarctica.
Sincerely,
Trey W.
Trey,
I couldn’t agree more! I’d much rather spend time near the equator than on Antarctica. The pictures that Quinn took look absolutely beautiful but I’d rather be inside with a cup of hot chocolate!
Your Teacher,
Mr. Avery
Dear Quinn,
Did you like it living in Antarctica? My grandfather went to the arctic. He told me a lot about it. I think I made him think so much I was torturing him. I learned a few things from him like, if you have a cold, stay away from Eskimos. He did not see any igloos. He went to western Greenland. He was there for about 5 days. Then he went to Baffin Island to something called Resolute Bay Royal Canadian Air Force. He went by ship ;). He was taking all the supplies. He had no guard and he was wearing a foul weather jacket. Some of the animals he saw were seals and whales. The whole navy was on a ship. He saw a bunch of icebergs and 1 or 2 glaciers. He enjoyed it very much. He lived on a ship with 50 other men besides the company. It makes me want to learn more.
From,
Kaylee W.
Kaylee,
What a great story. I’m so glad you shared this with us. That sounds like quite the experience your grandfather had!
One of the best things I can ever hear from a student is when they say, “it makes me want to learn more.” I’m so glad to hear that from you. I always want you to be excited about learning!
Sincerely,
Mr. Avery
Hey Class!
To clarify a few things, I wasn’t participating in a science project. I was one of the people working there to support science. I worked in the galley (kitchen) one year, worked in the waste department for two seasons (basically sorting recycling) and then I worked in the base store for a season.
There are no permanent populations in Antarctica. It is controlled by those countries that have signed the Antarctic Treaty and some of those countries have bases where scientific research is conducted.
There are no igloos in Antarctica. Most of the housing is either permanent (metal buildings) or heavy duty tents for those working in the field.
Also, we are issued ECW (Extreme cold weather gear) on our way down. This includes a “big red,” a very large and very insulated down jacket with fur trimmed hood, “Bunny boots,” military issue white rubber boots, wind pants (like ski or snowboarding pants), goggles, a hat, gloves or mittens and lots of long underwear and really big, thick socks.
Sincerely,
Quinn
Dear Quinn,
I want to know how big the icicles are? They are probably 40 feet long at most. I think it would be an amazing experience to be in Antarctica even if I wasn’t a scientist. I think it would be fun!
Your friend,
Marshall :]
Dear Mr. Avery and Quinn,
That is so cool that your cousin Quinn is a scientist that works in Antarctica. I learned that supposedly Antarctica is the closest thing on Earth to what Mars looks like. I also learned that there is an animal called skua, which is a gull. I was wondering Quinn, what do you have to wear so you won’t get cold and get frost bite?
I was also wondering, did you ever find a dinosaur bone or has your friend found a dinosaur bone?
When I get older I want to go to Antarctica and see all the wild life. I would like to live in Antarctica so I could live in an igloo. My mom was wondering if there are still people who live in igloos. The only thing that I would dislike about Antarctica is the frigid cold. Thank you for sharing the facts and pictures. 🙂
Sincerely,
Natalie
Dear Mr. Avery and class,
What an unbelievable report from Antarctica! I really enjoyed seeing the pictures and learning about her visit.
I have a very difficult time when it gets cold, so I’m not sure I would want to spend a lot of time on that continent. 🙂
I’m curious, what sort of scientific study was Quinn doing down there? Also, did she ever see a leopard seal?
A fun fact about Antarctica is that…it is considered a desert!
Terrific learning opportunity! Thank you!
From,
Mrs. Y♥llis
California
Dear Mrs. Y 🙂 llis,
I am in fourth grade. Thank you for writing on our blog. We love when other poeple from different places write to us. I was wondering if you have any class pets? We don’t. My mom was wondering, what grade do you teach?
Your Friend,
Natalie
Dear Natalie,
You are most welcome! I enjoy visiting your blog. Each time I learn something new. This Antarctica post was very interesting. I can’t imagine being on the southernmost part of the world!
You asked what grade I teach. My students are in third grade.
Have a super day!
Mrs. Y♥llis
California
Dear Mr. Avery,
Your cousin is so cool. I wish I could go to Antartica. Those are some awesome pictures and and I learned Antarctica is so much colder than I imagined. I would love to live in an igloo and see all of the artic animals. I would kind of dislike the really cold weather.
From,
Ariel D.