{"id":3118,"date":"2023-02-02T10:46:27","date_gmt":"2023-02-02T18:46:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/?p=3118"},"modified":"2023-10-11T16:21:06","modified_gmt":"2023-10-11T23:21:06","slug":"24-october-2022-life-at-scott-base","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/2023\/02\/02\/24-october-2022-life-at-scott-base\/","title":{"rendered":"24 October 2022: Life at Scott Base"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pl-3118\"  class=\"panel-layout\" ><div id=\"pg-3118-0\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-3118-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-3118-0-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_text panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"0\" >\t\t\t<div class=\"textwidget\"><style type=\"text\/css\">\n#foogallery-gallery-3109 .fg-image { width: 1000px; }\n#foogallery-gallery-3109 { --fg-gutter: 10px; }<\/style>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"foogallery foogallery-container foogallery-default foogallery-lightbox-foobox fg-center fg-default fg-ready fg-light fg-border-thin fg-shadow-outline fg-loading-default fg-loaded-fade-in fg-caption-hover fg-hover-fade fg-hover-zoom\" id=\"foogallery-gallery-3109\" data-foogallery=\"{&quot;item&quot;:{&quot;showCaptionTitle&quot;:true,&quot;showCaptionDescription&quot;:true},&quot;lazy&quot;:true}\" style=\"--fg-title-line-clamp: 0; --fg-description-line-clamp: 0;\" >\n\t<div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/02\/Blog-two-pic-1.jpg\" data-attachment-id=\"3110\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/cache\/2023\/02\/Blog-two-pic-1\/2188813077.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%221000%22%20height%3D%22600%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201000%20600%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" loading=\"eager\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n<p><em>View of Scott Base from a helicopter<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">Life at Scott Base is fairly comfortable and homey. It\u2019s a largish, boxy looking facility with long heated hallways with ramps and stairs connecting the various buildings and felt like a maze when we first arrived. It was very easy to get lost the first few days and accidentally wander into a cargo room or someone else\u2019s sleeping corridor. Everyone here has been extremely friendly and genuinely excited to see new faces and help out the confused new scientists running around. There is a culture of mutual appreciation between the scientists and the teams of people that make it possible for us to do our work. There are so many logistics that go into each project and all the projects are so varied. Electricians, mechanics, field logistic support crews, cargo crews, flight crews, engineers, communications specialists, field trainers, chefs, and people that keep the place clean, warm, and livable. It\u2019s been a pleasure getting to know them and we certainly couldn\u2019t do any of our work without them.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">My favorite part of Scott Base (other than the people) is the fact that there are nearly 5 meals a day that are all incredible. We are offered the typical breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but also \u201csmoker\u201d which comes between the three meals and consists of coffee or tea accompanied by tasty snacks \u2013 like toast smothered in cheese, tomato, and bacon. The chefs are also so thoughtful and accommodating with dietary issues, which has been critical for some of us!<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">My other favorite part, is that just outside base you can walk along pressure ridges where the sea ice bumps up against land and creates beautiful ice sculptures. Of course, you have to have had proper field training first, must always sign out and back in to avoid a search and rescue, and must bring a radio to signal when you\u2019ve transitions onto and off of the sea ice for safety purposes. It\u2019s a lot of work just to go for a 30-minute walk, but it\u2019s worth it! Not only is the scenery gorgeous, but it\u2019s a place where Weddell seals nudge their way through cracks and thinner ice to haul out on thicker slabs of snowy ice to give birth to their pups. On our last walk around the pressure ridges we counted 9 seals and 3 pups.<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><style type=\"text\/css\">\n#foogallery-gallery-3119 .fg-image { width: 1000px; }\n#foogallery-gallery-3119 { --fg-gutter: 10px; }<\/style>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"foogallery foogallery-container foogallery-default foogallery-lightbox-foobox fg-center fg-default fg-ready fg-light fg-border-thin fg-shadow-outline fg-loading-default fg-loaded-fade-in fg-caption-hover fg-hover-fade fg-hover-zoom\" id=\"foogallery-gallery-3119\" data-foogallery=\"{&quot;item&quot;:{&quot;showCaptionTitle&quot;:true,&quot;showCaptionDescription&quot;:true},&quot;lazy&quot;:true}\" style=\"--fg-title-line-clamp: 0; --fg-description-line-clamp: 0;\" >\n\t<div class=\"fg-item fg-type-image fg-idle\"><figure class=\"fg-item-inner\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/2023\/02\/Pic-2-wedd-seal.jpg\" data-caption-title=\"Permit# ACA 2023-003\" data-attachment-id=\"3111\" data-type=\"image\" class=\"fg-thumb\"><span class=\"fg-image-wrap\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ACA 2023-003\" title=\"Permit# ACA 2023-003\" width=\"1000\" height=\"600\" class=\"skip-lazy fg-image\" data-src-fg=\"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/40\/cache\/2023\/02\/Pic-2-wedd-seal\/199271779.jpg\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%20width%3D%221000%22%20height%3D%22600%22%20viewBox%3D%220%200%201000%20600%22%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" loading=\"eager\"><\/span><span class=\"fg-image-overlay\"><\/span><\/a><figcaption class=\"fg-caption\"><div class=\"fg-caption-inner\"><div class=\"fg-caption-title\">Permit# ACA 2023-003<\/div><\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure><div class=\"fg-loader\"><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\"><em>Weddell seal along the pressure ridges hike in front of Scott Base with view of Mt. Erebus in the distance. <\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"font-weight: 400\">There aren\u2019t too many downsides to being at Scott Base, which is good since we got stuck here longer than intended due to delayed cargo and the delayed arrival of the Antarctic New Zealand helicopter (our means of transportation to the penguin colony where we camp and work). The only real negative I can come up with is the extremely dry air which leads to itchy eyes, dry skin, nasal congestion and random large shocks of static electricity every time you touch metal. Which is a lot! The trick is to touch metal as consistently as possible while walking anywhere to discharge the static, and everyone looks like they\u2019ve got a compulsive tick to tap things constantly. And we do, or else we suffer the consequences!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>View of Scott Base from a helicopter Life at Scott Base is fairly comfortable and homey. It\u2019s a largish, boxy looking facility with long heated hallways with ramps and stairs connecting the various buildings and felt like a maze when we first arrived. It was very easy to get lost the first few days and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":207,"featured_media":3111,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3118","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Vertebrate Ecology Lab","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3118","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3118"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3118\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3340,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3118\/revisions\/3340"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3111"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3118"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3118"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mlml.sjsu.edu\/birdmam\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3118"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}