In my previous posts about Antarctica, I described features we observed such as penguins and other wildlife, ice bergs, and an active volcano. I even explained why we chose to travel with Antarctica21—a company that flies visitors from Chile to the Antarctica Peninsula. In my final post I’ll explain how a scientific connection motivated us to travel to Antarctica in the first place. I’ll also provide a summary of our itinerary.
Assembling our science-oriented team
As some of you know, my husband Jay is on the board of the Juneau Icefield Research Project (JIRP), where undergraduate and graduate students learn how to do scientific research in a glacial environment (https://www.juneauicefield.org). In fact, Jay is on the icefield with students right now! Last year, Seth Campbell, JIRP’s Research Director, was convinced by Antarctica21’s Marketing Director to bring a scientifically-oriented team on one of their tourist expeditions. The company already has some citizen science projects, but they are considering expanding them.
This photo of Jay (on the left) and Seth (on the right) was taken at one of our landing sites in Antarctica. These two are in their “happy place” when around glaciers.
Seth and board members persuaded 21 people to join the expedition. We were therefore a large percentage of the ship’s 67 passengers.
Here is our science team in front of the 7th Continent sign on the edge of Paradise Bay. We were scientists, K-12 teachers, artists, and other friends and family members interested in learning more about the glacial environment. We even had a 12-year-old boy in the group.
Starting out in Punta Arenas, Chile
Our expedition lasted nine days, from 16-25 February 2026. We spent the first 2.5 days in Punta Arenas, where Antarctica21 has a comfortable facility for their clients. It contains a library filled with books about Antarctica, a store for expedition supplies, a bar for free-anytime drinks, amiable staff to answer questions, and a dining area where we had a gourmet multi-course dinner the evening before our departure. During the day before our departure, we were fitted with waterproof boats and cleaned all of our gear to avoid contaminating Antarctica wildlife.
Left-side photo: The exterior of Antarctica21’s Explorers House, a converted “heritage” building available exclusively for their clients. Right-side photo: The interior of the Explorers House showing the bar and lounge area. Behind where I’m standing is a large library with books about Antarctica that we eagerly perused.Jay and I convinced six of our friends to join the expedition, so we eight were a large percentage of the 21-member science team. Left-side photo: Ralf and Anita, friends from san Francisco who are a geophysicist and an oceanographer; Lorrie, an Ashland friend who started the Ashland Climate Collaborative; Ashland friends Nanci and Michael, who had medical careers and remain excellent sources of medical advice. Right-side photo: Jay, my geologist husband; Bob, an Ashland friend who has worked with non-profits throughout Latin America and who is currently an Ashland city councilor. Notice how old equipment was retained in the interior of the Explorers House.While in Punta Arenas, we learned about the equipment Seth had brought with him. Here, in a park across the street from our hotel, Seth demonstrates the use of his Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) system. He is a geophysicist and has participated in many Antarctica projects using this instrument. I’ll show its use in a section below.
Flying to Antarctica
In a previous post, I explained why we chose to fly to Antarctica (https://landscapes-revealed.net/why-we-flew-to-antarctica/). The map below shows the geographical and geological setting of the Drakes Passage that we were able to fly over rather than boat through.
We flew from Punta Arenas to Frei Station on 19 February. Although we should have arrived in the early afternoon, because of weather delays we arrived in early evening. Fortunately, we were transferred to our Ocean Nova ship in time for the welcome dinner.
I’ve labeled this Google Earth map with the names of the tectonic plates (in white), geographic features (in yellow), and the Drakes Passage (in blue). Our flight started in Chile (yellow pin) and ended at Frei Station on the South Shetland Islands (yellow star).
Transiting to and within the Antarctica Peninsula
From Chile’s Frei Station, we transited across Bransfield Strait. For more details about the strait, see my last post: https://landscapes-revealed.net/isla-decepcion-an-active-volcano-in-antarctica/. Because the strait is deeper and more exposed to strong winds, its passage was the one place we experienced wave action.
This map shows our landing location at Frei Station and the places where we anchored and then were transported to via zodiacs. After dinner on our first day in Antarctica, we crossed Bransfield Strait over night. I woke up during the night to the rolling motion of waves, but happily they were not large and I went easily back to sleep. Our itinerary follows. I’ve shown photos from these locations in previous posts.
20 February: morning in Mikkelsen Harbour; afternoon in Brialmont Cove. 21 February: morning through the Lemaire Channel with landing at Port Charcot; afternoon in Port Lockroy (southernmost post office). 22 February: morning in Neko Bay; afternoon in Paradise Bay. 23 February: morning in Isla Decepción; afternoon in Half Moon Island. 24 February: return to Frei Station and fly back to Punta Arenas. 25 February: Jay and I, and Ralf and Anita, continued on to hiking locations in Patagonia (blogs posted in March).
David, our expedition leader, used the Windy app to decide on each day’s landing locations. Lightest wind is in blue and strongest wind is in red. Notice that wind (and therefore waves) are strongest in Bransfield Strait between the South Shetland Islands and the Antartica Peninsula. David did an excellent job finding locations along the west coast of the Antarctica Peninsula with light wind. Temperatures were around 2° C (35° F) and without strong winds our layers were sufficient to keep us warm.The captain and his associates ably navigated us through straits and icebergs. They let clients enter the bridge to view the instruments and they even let Jay sit in the captain’s chair.
Excursions to land
Every day we had two excursions to land—one between breakfast and lunch, and one between lunch and dinner. While it was great to sit in the lounge and watch the landscape from there, going to land twice each day was the expedition highlight.
Some of our science team members preparing for zodiac transport to land. After breakfast, we immediately donned 6-7 layers plus red life jacket and proceeded to the lower level of the ship where the zodiacs pulled up one by one to load passengers. The exterior waterproof layer was particularly important, mainly because of splashing when in the zodiac.Here’s a photo of one of our zodiacs in front of a glacier in Paradise Bay. We enjoyed the landings and the travel via zodiac when we could see wildlife and glacial ice close up. Sometimes we spent an hour or more just riding around in a bay to fully appreciate the environment.
Doing some science
Seth was able to bring several instruments: an instrument to measure the temperature and salinity of the water, and a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) instrument to detect changes in ice layers beneath the surface. In general, the idea was to test the process of using these instruments on a tourist expedition. We could then provide feedback about future expansions of citizen science projects on Antarctica21’s expeditions.
These photos show how we used the CTD: Conductivity (i.e., salinity), Temperature, Depth. Left and middle photos: Seth and Ralf putting the CTD in the water at the end of a fishing line. They reeled the line out until the instrument was near the bottom and then reeled the instrument back in. Right-side photo: Seth reading the results on his phone. The results are a plot showing how salinity and temperature change with depth. These changes are significant factors in understanding the potential for ice melt as our climate changes.
Conclusions about the CTD instrument. It was easy to deploy the CTD from the zodiac while we were transiting between the ship and land. Consequently, we were able to do many measurements. The most useful data are how these measurements change at the same location over time. Because Antarctica21 tends to visit the same locations over their tourist season (October–March), they would be able to collect a useful data set.
Left-side photo: Four members of the science team deploy the GPR instrument over the snow at Port Charcot. The red box is the antenna that emits the radar waves that travel beneath the surface and bounce off of different layers. The antenna also receives the returning radar waves. A control unit processes the information received by the antenna to generate profiles of what lies underground. A display screen provides a visual picture of the results. Right-side photo: I took this photo of a snow profile at Port Charcot. The layers show various episodes of snow accumulation—this is the type of profile that could be generated by a GPR instrument where it’s not possible to see below the surface.We did not have time to process the data collected at two locations, but here is an example of a profile that was generated by a GPR unit. The delineated layers are labelled. The figure is from Samiur Rahman’s PhD thesis: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/309572151_FMCW_Radar_signal_processing_for_Antarctic_Ice_Shelf_profiling_and_imaging.
Conclusions about the GPR instrument. Using the GPR instrument needed more time than we had. Typically, we were at each location for just a few hours, which was not sufficient to scope out a good location for a transect and collect enough data to analyze. But a more science-focused expedition could prioritize the GPR process and provide new data about the locations Antarctica21 visits.
What about the rocks?
The Antarctica Peninsula has been geologically active for many millions of years and, as a consequence, it is very mountainous. Most of the rocks are covered in snow and ice, but we were able to see some rocks with interesting features.
During our excursion in Paradise Bay, the expedition staff member driving our zodiac excitedly told us we were going to see something very special. Although she is not a geologist, she has been to Antarctica many times and is very knowledgeable about the locations we visited. Sure enough, we got to see rocks with turquoise-colored copper deposits (right side of cliff face). Copper forms when hot, mineral-rich fluids associated with volcanoes precipitate copper-rich minerals in the rocks.Left-side photo: A closeup of the turquoise copper deposit. Right-side photo: A section of rock that revealed a lot. The thin layers were deposited by turbidity flows in an ancient ocean that was adjacent to a subduction zone. Similarly, these types of layers are found off the coast of Oregon near our Cascadia Subduction Zone. Cutting across the sedimentary layers is a dike of igneous rock. After the sediments were deposited, molten magma associated with subduction-related volcanoes intruded into the sediments. See what stories can be told from just one little outcrop.Some rocks help to tell glacier stories. These smooth, polished rocks show that glaciers once covered this area. Around the world, glaciers have shrunk since the Last Glacial Maximum 18,000 years ago, but unfortunately the pace of shrinking has accelerated with human-induced climate change.
Some takeaways
The expedition company is important. We were very satisfied with Antarctica21’s expedition. They carefully followed the rules for “good behavior” set out by the Antarctica Treaty member countries. For example, they delineated places where we could walk to maintain the 5-meter (15-feet) distance from penguins. With telephoto lenses, it was still possible to get good photographs and be close enough to enjoy the penguins’ antics.
The expedition staff who are employed by Antarctica21 were phenomenal. They hailed from around the world and had considerable experience in Antarctica. They were knowledgeable about most aspects of the region and some had even done research there. For example, John (lower right) has studied seals in Antarctica and gave a talk about that.One of the most important elements, for me, was the small size of the ship. Companies can take no more than 100 passengers to land at one time. Our ship, the Ocean Nova (on the left), only held 67 passengers, so we could all go to land twice each day. The only other ship I noticed during our expedition (on the right) is much larger and undoubtedly held hundreds of passengers. So they had to take turns going on excursions to land.
The small size of the ship also made the experience feel more intimate. We got to know the other passengers, who hailed from the U.S., Europe and China, and we got to know most of the staff. The ship was not as luxurious as some of the larger ships, but that seemed to suit all of us just fine.
The time of year is important. All of the expeditions are during the austral summer, from November to March. At the beginning of summer, there is more snow, as melting is just beginning. At the end of summer, when we went, there is less snow, although that was not a problem.
One consideration is the penguins’ life cycle. At the beginning of summer, the chicks are hatching and, as the summer continues, they are growing up. During this time, the adults waddle to the sea to eat krill and then return to regurgitate food for their chicks. At the end of the summer, when we went, the penguins seemed a little sad.
These gentoo penguins were all just waiting around until their old features fell off and their new waterproof feathers grew out. Notice all of the old white feathers scattered on the rocks. Some of the juvenile penguins were still trying to get food from their parents, which also seemed a little sad since most of the parents couldn’t yet go to the sea to eat. There was lots of guano on the ground since the penguins had been in their colony all summer. It made walking around a little tricky in places, although the smell wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. Nevertheless, watching the penguins was of course a highlight for everyone (see prior posts).
Antarctica is less pristine than imagined. Sure, there are no suburban developments or strip malls, but there were signs of human occupation almost everywhere we went. At some locations structures were remnants from the past, like the whaling infrastructure on Isla Decepción. More commonly, structures were still-used buildings like the post office at Port Lockroy.
A view from our Ocean Nova ship with beautiful light. But yes, there are buildings (red color) that must be a base for some country.
More time would be needed to do much science. Our science team convened six weeks after the expedition via zoom. The goal was to share impressions of our experience. Everyone had a positive experience, of course, but most agreed that integrating more data collection into the program would require another day or two of time. Seth will share our ideas with Antarctica21, including the idea of having one or two expeditions each season that would have a bigger focus on science. I thought of rafting companies that include several trips with a geologist onboard. This is an attraction for many people, including Jay and me.
The scientific information is being disseminated. I imagine most of us on the expedition have shared aspects of our experience with others. For example, I have written these blog posts. But probably the most impactful sharing has been the K-12 teachers who have taught their students about Antarctica and its importance for our planet’s health. Yesterday, Krista, an environmental science teacher in Spokane, told us that, so far, she has given 12 presentations to >2000 people. That’s in addition to her everyday classes with her high school students. She showed a photo of Canadian children who had been studying Antarctica and were excitedly hanging on to her every word.
The importance of Antarctica for our planet
Because Earth’s largest amount of ice is in Antarctica, and because the polar regions are changing at a faster rate then the rest of the planet, we need research there to help us plan for the future.
This map shows the melting rate of ice throughout Antarctica. The dark red–purple colors are where melting rates are highest. West Antarctica, including the Antarctica Peninsula, are melting the fastest of all. I’ve labeled the location of Thwaites glacier, which is flowing into the Amundsen Sea. It is probably the most unstable glacier in Antarctica and it has been the focus of much research, including a scientific cruise in January 2026. Collapse of this glacier would raise global sea level several feet—its condition is therefore a reason for great concern. Searching online yields a wealth of information about the Thwaites glacier and the recent cruise. For example, the New York Times sent a reporter and a photographer who documented the science being done while on the cruise.
Ending on a positive note
To visit Antarctica is an unforgettable experience. I learned a lot and I hope you, the reader, learned something too.
And luckily you escaped the Hanta virus of some less fortunate Antarctic tourists that came a couple of months after you!!!
That’s for sure. Quarters were pretty tight on the ship. But as far as I know, nobody gets any kind of sickness!