February 2010
2 posts
January 2010
26 posts
WatchI saw a few people gathered outside my lab window this morning. When I went out to see what was going on, I found out they were looking at a little elephant seal on the rocks. I took this video of it. I wish I could have recorded the smell as well as the picture and the sound! Enjoy!
Students in Mrs. McLaughlin’s 6th grade E-block science class at Berkeley Prep asked:
“What is done with...
WatchI am trying to finish my last few experiments before having to pack up. While I was waiting for an experiment to begin, I took a little video of an Antarctic Krill (Euphausia superba) under the microscope. On the animal’s back (dorsal surface) you can see the heart beating, and its gills (for obtaining oxygen) are the frilly things on its belly (ventral surface). The legs near the eye...
WatchIt has been a long day, with several zodiac trips to try and collect krill for my experiments. Not much luck with krill, but I caught all sorts of really neat plankton! This video is a pteropod or “sea butterfly.” It is related to snails and clams, and it uses its “wings” to swim! In the background you can hear people who are out on zodiacs talking on the...
WatchPalmer Station is a fantastic place to view wildlife. This will be the subject of my next post. For now, check out this video of a crabeater seal that I took yesterday. It was on the rocks just outside the door of my research laboratory.
Water, Food, and Fun
A bunch of EXCELLENT questions have come from several schools. I’ll answer a few today, and more tomorrow.
Students in Ms. Himmelstein’s 4th grade class at Roland Park Country School asked:
“Do you drink bottled water or do you boil water from the ocean?”
Palmer Station gets its fresh water from the ocean. There is a big pump that brings water from the ocean into a...
WatchThis evening a group of us from station went by zodiac to visit a penguin colony on a nearby island, named Torgersen Island. A large portion of the island is off-limits to visitors at this time of year because the penguin chicks have just hatched. They are little grey fluffballs tucked beneath their parents at this point. It will be fun to come back and visit over the next few weeks and watch...
A few days in "PA"
The town of Punta Arenas (or “PA”) is located on the southern tip of South America. It is very windy. The weather is a little cool (about 50°F), but warmer than the Antarctic will be! Walking around town I found a chocolate shop which had amazing hot chocolate! The drive from the airport to downtown was pretty – there were wildflowers and llamas on the side of the road. The food...
December 2009
2 posts
WatchHow exciting, my first attempt at uploading a video to the blog!
This is a video taken in 2008 at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. It shows a tardigrade, which are also called “water bears” because they sort of look like little bears. They are really neat critters!
November 2009
0 posts
About the Project
Dr. Cohen is working in Antarctica in collaboration with the Palmer Station Long Term Ecological Research Program. This 17-year long project is funded by the National Science Foundation and aims to document and understand the phenology (timing) and variability in sea ice dynamics, primary production, zooplankton ecology, Adélie penguin demography, microbial and biogeochemical processes in the...
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About Dr. Jonathan Cohen
Hi! I am Dr. Jonathan Cohen. I am a professor at Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, FL. I teach classes in biology and marine science. I grew up in Maryland, received a Bachelor’s degree from Dickinson College, a doctoral degree from Duke University, and worked for a few years at the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution before coming to Eckerd. My research is on “marine invertebrate...