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Laura Thieme

Bizresearch President – 10 years - 2007

Fisher College of Business Lecturer on Search Marketing

OSU Russian Studies Grad – 1993

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12th December 2007

Arrival in Antarctica

I feel like I am slowly but surely renewing my body’s energy source. A
combination of sleep, Dramamine, food and a calmer sea state this morning has
enabled activities including breakfast, lectures, and photography.

I took some photos outside of cape & giant petrel and whales. There were
penguins as well swimming through the water, but if I saw them, I didn’t
recognize them as penguins as they are very small and look like jumping fish.
I enjoyed taking photos with the new digital Canon 40D on three settings:
automatic, action and manual. I did the best with the action photos and will
soon review them on my computer.

There are about six naturalists in yellow parkas outside during designated
times with various cameras, a couple with major zoom lenses. I find it
difficult to use the zoom on deck, because it constrains your images to a small
region, which is difficult if you are watching birds soaring over the ocean
back and forth. It was pretty cool to hear the naturalists become excited, if
not “geeked out” by seeing a particular type of albatross or a whale for the
first time, or to be able to point it out to a newcomer to the crowd.

I heard a nice presentation from Lecturer Jim McClintock this morning on
climate change and its affect on marine life. Adelie penguins seem to be the
most drastically affected, declining 70% in population over the years (I need
to get the exact yearly range later). Adelie penguins release their eggs on
rocks and incubate by laying on them. However, in recent years there has been
a lot of snow. Adelies will remain on their eggs until they are deeply covered
in snow with only a small hole to breathe out of - the adults are fine however
the eggs do not survive. Gentoo and chinstrap penguins on the other hand, have
increased their populations in the warmer temperatures and do not seem to be
adversely affected by climate change and global warming. With warmer
temperatures, there is more humidity in the air, and thus more snow in this
region.

We have arrived in Antarctica this evening - perhaps a sign of a good
expedition ahead was the excitement of humpback whales near the ship. Explorer
II slowed quite a bit in order to enable us to take pictures. We paused for
nearly an hour or more to take in the sights. I wish I could show you my
photos while I’m here but as of yet, my Iridium satellite phone is not able to
connect fast enough to make this possible. I hope that All Road Sat Co

I do have several photos of the humpbacks, up close and personal, and really
enjoyed this. I’ve uploaded all my photos taken thus far to my computer and am
excited about the opportunity to share these with you, when possible. They
were quite curious about the boat and spent about an hour or more crossing in
front of the boat.

Tomorrow, at 8 a.m., we board the Zodiac boats and go on shore, with a wet
landing. We’re wearing waterproof pants, donated rubber boots by the ship,
parkas, layers of clothing and lots of camera gear as you can imagine. I’ll
take the tripod tomorrow as you never know what opportunities exist.

So, I’m going to go to sleep. I’m sorry this is not yet a live posting, but
hopefully my excellent technology colleagues can help me to make this possible.
In the meantime, I’m hoping for a receptionist to help me take my USB device,
send it in an email to Karen and Stephanie, and allow Steph to post two entries
or so at a time. When there is a will, there is usually a way.

Without a doubt, this is a beautiful if harsh country. It’s nearly midnight
and it’s quite light outside, perhaps looking like it’s 9:00 on a summer
evening. No sunset or sunrise seen yet.

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