I am a marine geology graduate student at Rice University, USA, studying the retreat history of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. The main focus of our cruise on the Oden is to find material, shells or other former living things, to radiocarbon date. In very general terms, we can use these dates to determine when individual ice sheets retreated. We can also see whether the retreat was swift or if it occurred slowly.

First time experiences

1. Climbed a mountain (technically it was in New Zealand but it was part of this trip so I am still counting it).
2. Set foot on Antarctica.
3. Saw penguins, seals, and whales in the wild.
4. Spent 15 continuous hours on an airplane.
5. Was far enough away from shore to see nothing but ocean (I’m from Nebraska which is almost directly in the center of the United States, so we’re not what you’d call born sailors).
6. Ate turnips.
7. Ate pickled herring.

Biggest surprises

1. The food on the Oden is spectacular.
2. It’s colder in my hometown right now than it is in Antarctica (I know I’m comparing summer to winter but it’s the coldest place on earth and I was hoping for a little more cold).
3. Washing mud is strangely therapeutic.
4. All of the Swedish scientist have huge, professional looking cameras.
5. You have to travel east to get to the western Ross Sea and vice versa.
6. At the bottom of the world most directions you point are north.
7. Fish is served at every breakfast.

Biggest disappointments

1. It’s worth mentioning the cold, or lack thereof again.
2. You can’t take rocks back home from Antarctica.
3. They started translating the names for lunch and dinner. It was much more exciting when I had no idea what I was going to eat.