My Day In Antarctica
Copyrighted - Ann Hawthorne

MY DAY IN ANTARCTICA

Written by Kristy Watson

Programmed by Bethany Roberts

The first thing I do every morning is get dressed in special clothing. I have to wear dry clothes. We try to wear waterproof clothes. I wear warm clothes but not too warm because we don't want perspiration. Perspiration isn't good because it causes a very high risk of frostbite. We have to wear warm shoes which are larger than normal. Our boss wants us to keep our feet as comfortable as possible. We're going to wear protective eyewear to prevent snowblindness. If one of us gets snowblindness he'll be pulled off on the trail.

That brings us to what we're doing today. We're going to tag about 15 penguins then go on a trail. The temperatures average about -25 degrees F, so it's going to be tough. Trails are always tough because we have fears of avalanches and ice storms which form very quickly. We will sometimes have to ride separately on ice rafts. We'll be on the trails until 6:00 - 7:00 p.m. We eat when we get back. We may run tests or experiments and go up to our rooms for bed. We'll then get up the next morning and prepare to do the same thing again. This is what I do as a scientist in Antarctica on the R. V. Polar Duke.