Greetings from the Antarctic Circle. I think I can safely say that I'm more "Beyond the Sidewalks" than anyone else reading this! Our ship and temporary home, the R/V Melville, departed Lyttleton, New Zealand to head south for 2 research sites in the Southern Ocean. We are now at the second site, right on the circle. We'll spend about 3 weeks here studying the progression of an artificially induced phytoplankton bloom. It's summer here, although temperatures are hovering at about freezing in the air and slightly lower in the water. We are surrounded by icebergs - some spectacular platforms and some smaller sea-carved sculptures. We're 5 days away from New Zealand, with the Antarctic continent (Ross ice shelf) being our closest point of land. You'll be able to read this before I write it, since we also crossed the date line to get here. Work on the ship is a mixture of pull-out-all-the-stops frenzy and catch up on sleep when we can't work because of bad weather or transit time. It's round the clock operation, aided by about 22 hours of daylight. I write this at about 1 a.m. local time, with an eerie twilight outside and several icebergs peeking out of light fog. It's a pleasant return to work for me after a two year absense, with several former friends and colleagues on board. It's a small community on the ship, and the bonds made living in such close quarters invariably last a lifetime in some cases. Don't know if I'll make any converts to rural living, but I'm certainly getting some interesting reactions from many on board when I talk about our homesteading efforts! If you're interested in more detail, there is a website dedicated to this project, with frequent updates as our study progresses: http://www.mbari.org/education/cruises/SoFex2000/index.htm

-- Anonymous, January 31, 2002

Answers

Wonderful to hear from you. Bet it's nice being out of the gale. I have you online cruise log catalogued as a favorite so that I can keep up with your progress in between my mundane home chores. Have a great cruise.

-- Anonymous, January 31, 2002

Fascinating, David! What an opportunity!

Unfortunately I haven't had the time to view the website you posted or the updates, either...

We'll spend about 3 weeks here studying the progression of an artificially induced phytoplankton bloom.

Is this in relation to global warming studies? Seems to me I read about using iron in the oceans to induce phytoplankton blooms - the theory being that this would reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels...

Anyway, for whatever your reasons for this expedition, it sounds like an opportunity of a lifetime.

-- Anonymous, January 31, 2002

Welcome, David. Kinda hard to homestead on a ship, isn't it?

What an adventure! Wish I was there. Not really. The older I get, the more warmth I want.

Keep us updated. I'll be checking on the site you listed.

Wildman, (shivering)

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

Okay guys, I admit, David didn't really post this message, he emailed it to me and I posted it for him, He can't actually access the internet from his ship (actually I think the ship can but he personally is not able to). Still this is a far cry from when we started going to sea and we would say goodbye and not hear from each other for 6 weeks.

I'll summarize your responses, he can get 2K of mail per day. Joy had asked he post something and thi was the best we could come up with. And before you start feeling sorry for him, my outhouse seat was frozen shut this evening!!!! Let me tell you who is really roughing it!

Kim (at home with 3 kids and a farm!!!)

ps Never could stand for him to get all the glory! : )

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

neat idea kim.......think of you often and wonder how you are doing. Got any calves yet?? How many lambings?? hugs to you and to david.

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002

Yay! Our message from down under! Thanks, David, for thinking of us, and thanks, Kim, for posting it for us!

{Yes, I think it's Kim who's roughing it!} ;-)

-- Anonymous, February 01, 2002