Mail Buoy
March 6, 2006
Hello:
I am Quinn Kliman but you can call me Quinn Man. My science class and I have been studying your intriguing discoveries aboard the Gould. I am in grade 6 at St. Michael’s University School in Victoria, B.C, Canada and have a couple of questions for all the staff on board. What are all of your favourite parts of the job? And what has been the biggest discovery? And why did you pick this profession?
Your BIGGEST FAN!!!!
Quinn Kliman
P.S
It's actually Quinn Man!!!! LOL!!!!
Hi Quinn Man:
Thanks for your enthusiastic message.
I am Erich Horgan, but my dive buddies call me "Erock."
My favorite part of my job is discovering new things and making new instruments to study the life in the ocean. For instance, the other day when we hauled the big MOCNESS back on the deck, I couldn't wait to see what we caught. Very few scientists have fished for zooplankton so deep in Antarctica. You never know what will come up. Did you happen to see the pictures Dr. Madin took of the squid, the blackfish and the orange shrimp? I like to use the identification keys I bring along to help name the creatures that we pull up in the nets.
The other part of my job I love is designing and building new instruments to study salps and other fragile organisms. It is better to take their picture than to try and collect them in nets, because they break apart and squeeze through the mesh on the nets. Have you seen pictures of LAPIS on the Dive and Discover Web site? You should see the strobe lights flash at night. When you look over the side of the ship, you can see it far below the surface, flashing away.
I picked this profession because I spent a lot of time hunting and fishing with my dad and brother when I was your age. Later on, we spent a lot of summers on Cape Cod and my interest in the animals and plants that live in the ocean grew. In college, I studied biology, specializing in marine biology. I went to a field station in the Bahamas several times as a college student. There, my interest in fieldwork (versus sitting behind a desk) guided my career choice. Two days after graduating from college, I went to Woods Hole to do graduate studies. My first summer there, I spent my first day on a boat, towing nets and studying the animals and plants we caught. That experience sealed my fate. Ever since, I have been working as a field researcher and spending a lot of time going to sea in different parts of the world. I continue to return to school for more training as time permits, so I spent several semesters at Harvard University and at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Stay in touch, and write me if you have any other questions.
Sincerely,
Erich Horgan
Research Associate
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Hi:
I am a teacher following your cruise and one of my students has a question: I am from Ms. Sheild's science class at Clarke Middle School in Lexington, Massachusetts and I'm in the 7th grade. My question is: Does the snowfall or temperature affect how much work you get done?
Thank you very much.
Catherine M.
Dear Catherine:
The temperature where we are is not much colder than it is now in Massachusetts, since it is late summer in Antarctica. It is actually snowing right now, but mostly our weather has been cloudy skies without much snow or rain. The most important thing affecting our work is the wind and the sea state. If it is windy for long, the sea gets rough and we can't dive because it is too dangerous to launch the rubber boat and send the divers out away from the ship. When it gets really rough, we can't even use our nets, and have to stay inside the ship until the weather gets better. We are having some bad weather right now that has prevented us from doing most of our work for the last day or so. We are all hoping that it gets better soon!
Larry Madin
Chief Scientist
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Dear Crew:
I've heard on the news that Antarctica is starting to melt. Is this really happening or is it just a myth? What will happen to the life forms that live in Antarctica when this happens? Also, what is causing it to melt?
Thank you for your time,
Kori Bowers
Dear Kori:
I don't think that all of Antarctica is starting to melt, but parts of it, particularly the peninsula where Palmer Station is located, have had warmer temperatures over the last several years, with less snowfall and ice cover than before. In some other parts of Antarctica the ice seems to be breaking away and becoming less, but in still other areas it is increasing. Remember that Antarctica is a big continent, bigger than the United States, and the changes in its climate are not the same everywhere. (Antarctica is 5.4 million square miles [14 million square kilometers] and the U.S. is 3.8 million square miles [10 million square kilometers]) In places where there is less ice and snow than before may affect the krill, penguins, seals, and seabirds by changing the food chain that they depend on. Already scientists have noticed changes in the migration patterns of some penguins and birds around the peninsula. It will be important for scientists to keep watching what happens to the climate in Antarctica.
Larry Madin
Chief Scientist
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Dear people on Expedition 10, Antarctica:
My name is David Griffin and I am wondering if salps are edible, like clams, because if they are that would be awesome. I would also like to know: What is the largest salp that you have caught?
Dave
Dear Dave:
Most people would NOT find salps tasty. A couple of the scientists have tried them (I'm not telling who!) and they seem to taste like saltwater, but with a texture like Jello—not very nice. The largest salp we have caught here on this trip was about 5 inches (13 centimeters) long. There are some, of another species, that can be even larger.
Larry Madin
Chief Scientist
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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