Much has been written about the wide reaching impact of the “Little Ice Age,” a period of global cooling that lasted approximately from the mid-13th to the mid-19th centuries. Now, an international team of researchers say they have come across another extraordinary, extended period of cooling that took place in the northern hemisphere between 536 […]
New Ebola Drugs Possible; New Weather Satellite; Bacteria or Virus?
Ebola Antibodies Could Lead to Effective Vaccines and Therapies According to the Centers for Disease Control, the 2014 West African Ebola Epidemic killed 11,316 people with about 28,638 suspected, probable, and confirmed cases of the deadly disease. The worst outbreak of Ebola in history prompted researchers from around the world to work on developing ways […]
On Balmy, Below-Zero Day at South Pole, There’s Work to Do
After a month at the South Pole, you begin to adapt to the frigid conditions. Your body becomes more efficient at generating heat and your metabolism shifts into overdrive — every calorie you consume is burned. As your tolerance of the polar environment changes, so do your perceptions of warm and cold. My first week […]
Working at the South Pole…Not Your Average Day at the Office
I live in the western wing on the first floor of the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Research Station. SOUTH POLE JOURNALRefael Klein blogs about his year working and living at the South Pole. Read his earlier posts here. My room is small — perhaps 3 meters by 3 meters (9 feet by 9 feet) — with […]
Readying for Winter, South Pole Station Is Awash in Activity
From November until February, the South Pole is awash in activity. With only four months to ready the station for the coming winter and fix what broke during the previous one, everyone is consumed with work. The cargo and materials specialists are unloading and organizing 70 C-130 airplanes worth of food, fuel and building supplies. […]
Exploring South Pole on Cross-Country Skis
SOUTH POLE JOURNALRefael Klein is blogging about his experiences as he spends a year working and living at the South Pole. Read his earlier posts here. On a clear day at the South Pole, the horizon sits about 16 kilometers (10 miles) away. We measure the visibility at any given point by referencing large wooden […]
Curiosity Hits Silica Jackpot; Sleep Aid & Strokes; Freshwater Supply Threatened
NASA’s Curiosity Mars Rover Finds Plenty of Silica As they reviewed data gathered by the Mars Rover, scientists found that some rocks in Gale Crater contained the chemical compound silica. In fact they say it’s a very high amount of the compound. According to the researchers, silica is actually a combination of silicon and oxygen. […]
How to Avoid Getting Lost While Living at the South Pole
Cardinal directions become meaningless at the South Pole. There is no east, west or south. You are at the bottom of the world. Any direction you move is north. This makes certain tasks complicated, like giving someone directions to a building they have never been to before, or trying to describe which way the wind […]