Overcoming (or coping with) Seasickness

I just started graduate school in oceanography, with this trip to the Antarctic being my first extensive experience at sea. I knew before I came that I was prone to seasickness from a brief previous cruise, but hoped that wouldn’t be the case here, where I would be on a giant icebreaker in the “calm” waters found in the Ross Sea. Alas, my inner ear proved to be extra in-tune, and I turned out to be susceptible to seasickness in even the mildest of conditions.

On the first day at sea on the Palmer, I woke up with confidence, telling myself that I was going to beat this. To do this, I decided that the first thing I should do is go up to the bridge to pre-emptively watch the horizon before my seasickness could even begin. Bad idea. As I sat at the bridge, one of the highest—and thus least stable—points of the boat, and stared intently at the lurching horizon, my head began to get heavy and my stomach started to churn. I knew at that point that I was doomed.

Sarah showing signs of seasickness on the bridge. Photo credit: A. Lee, at the expense of losing her breakfast shortly after taking this photo.

The head (bathroom) closest to the galley, which Sarah has gotten to know quite well. Photo credit: A. Margolin.

I spent the next several days learning oceanography fieldwork while battling seasickness, which I think is best described as doing science while feeling simultaneously the worst kind of drunk, yet incredibly hung over. I grew accustomed to the feeling, all the while trying a series of normal and sometimes bizarre seasickness remedies that I’ve collected this past week. These include:

·  Chilean saltines

·  Pickles (surprisingly not bad)

·  Caffeine

·  Avoid caffeine

·  Raw ginger

·  Ginger candy

·  Rice and lentils

·  A natural herb oil placed behind my ear

·  Holding my thumb

·  Acupuncture bracelets

·  Exercise

·  Apple juice

·  Seltzer water

·  Saying “f*** it all” and taking a bite of a peanut butter fudge brownie. Worth it? Definitely.

The stash of the seasickness remedies that Sarah has stored next to her workstation in the hydro lab. Photo credit: A. Margolin.

From my time at sea so far and this eclectic mix of seasickness treatments, I’ve grown some less shaky sea legs (I hope). One other remedy I heard was from the captain himself, recited from an old sailor he knew: “Two ounces of whiskey, a beer, a raw egg, and tomato juice.” Didn’t try that one. Maybe I’ll save it for crossing the Drake Passage.

Sea spray, caused by rough seas and strong winds, creates a small rainbow in Terra Nova Bay. Photo credit: A. Lee.

–Sarah

Sampling the Ross Sea Time Lapse: A Day’s Work Condensed Into 60 Seconds

Greetings from Terra Nova Bay, in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. I've put together this one-minute time lapse to share what it's like to do science on the ice! 

The video is narrated by Stanford Professor Rob Dunbar aboard the NSF icebreaker Nathaniel B. Palmer.

All the best,
Cassandra

Or Click Here to View the Video on YouTube!

Health, Safety, and Questionable Photography

On February 15^th, we were all surprised to find out that we had to put sampling on pause for a day because we had to head back to McMurdo. None of us were exactly sure why, because all we knew is that one of the crew members had a medical issue that required us to return to McMurdo before we could continue collecting seawater. The 15^th was originally scheduled to be a busy day of sampling, so it was relieving to take a break, although, time passes faster when our days are busy. The seas were rough that day as we hurried back, fighting through 50 knot winds and cruising at a speed of 10 knots. I had fun walking outside into the wind to snap some photos of icebergs as we passed them by. We dropped the crew member off around 1:30 AM or so on the 16^th via zodiac, which I unfortunately didn’t get a photo of, but you can see a photo of one of the Palmer’s zodiacs in the interview with Jamee. From what I understood his condition was serious enough to warrant turning back, and now he is in good hands, either at McMurdo Station or possibly New Zealand.

View of Beaufort Island as we passed by on our way back to McMurdo Station. 

Photo credit: A. Margolin.

An iceberg sighted in the 50 knot winds as we hurried back to McMurdo. 

Photo credit: A. Margolin.

I wanted to share that brief story to let you all know that our health and our safety is our number one concern, even before the science that we are conducting at sea. If someone on board is in need of medical attention, our EMT, Jamee, will treat them. If further attention is required and we will change course towards the nearest medical facility. If you would like to learn more about what it’s like to be an EMT in the Antarctic, check out the interview with Jamee, our onboard EMT.

For the most part, that is all I have to say for the time being, or at least all that is all that I have prepared for this post. Since we received our first question earlier today, I thought I would share some of the photos that we have recently take while sampling in the Ross Sea, since the question is on photography. If you have questions for any of us on board, I encourage you to send us an email at tracers-blog@nbp.usap.gov, and we will get back to you through this blog as soon as we can. I hope you enjoy these photos that we have had the privilege of taking over the past week.

Snow petrel flying over pancake ice. Photo credit: K. Goetz.

Cape Washington as Jerry and his group survey for penguins on February 14^th.
Photo credit: A. Lee.

View from the Palmer docked at McMurdo Station. Photo credit: T. Purcell.

View of McMurdo Station from Observation Hill. Photo credit: J. Race.

Crossing over Antarctica during our C-130 flight on February 7^th. Photo credit: A. Westman.

Five molting Adélie penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae), taken February 18^th. 
Photo credit: A. Margolin.

I hope you are all doing well, wherever you are in the world!

–Andrew