2021 Field Team Ready To Go! L-R: Parker Levinson, Evan Shields, and Victor Villalobos. Photo by Parker Levinson.
Field Report From Parker Levinson:
Field work has begun! Monday was our first day in the field, and we did what’s called a “shakedown”, which is basically a shorter day where we test out our gear in the elements. This includes making sure we have the right layering system for snowmobile rides, ensuring the proper equipment gets placed on the snowmobiles, and orienting ourselves with the geographic landmarks. It was a gorgeous, calm day, about 7 degrees Fahrenheit without a cloud in the sky, and we all thoroughly enjoyed being out in the field.
First Weddell seal pup recorded for the 2021 pupping season,
as mom looks on. Photo by Parker Levinson.
On Tuesday, we tagged our first pup of the 2021 season! He was born at Big Razorback island to an 8 year old mom. It’s still a little early for pups, so he was our only pup for the day, but it was really nice to see our first pup. The carpenters also brought out and secured our emergency shelter and fuel cache to Big Razorback. The shelter is a hard-sided, red dome known as an apple. Because we won’t have a camp in the field this year, we’ll have an apple in two different locations so that we have a place to get out of the elements and warm up if necessary.
One of the team's two hard-shelled "Apples" which serve as a warming
station and shelter if needed in the field. Photo by Parker Levinson.
Today was another productive day in the field! We made substantial progress on our road system. These flagged routes are in place to keep us safe in case weather conditions change while we are in the field and we have to navigate back to our emergency shelters or to McMurdo station. In order to make roads, we drill into the sea ice to place a bamboo flag as a marker. We put these flags at 50 meter intervals and continue in a straight line to wherever our destination may be. Occasionally, we’ll have to cross a sea ice crack, which we first profile by measuring the width and ice thickness to ensure it is crossable.
Using a hand drill to profile a sea ice crack as part of flagging safe routes about the study area sea ice. Photo by Parker Levinson.
Each of us goes through a full day of training on how to safely work on the sea ice where we learn how to profile these cracks. In terms of seals, there was one more pup today. This male was born to an untagged mother. We tagged the mother today, so although we don’t know her age, we’ll have a record of any pups she has in future seasons.
The season is off to a great start so far, and we can’t wait to share it with you!
- Parker Levinson (she/her)
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