ISB News

ISB in Antarctica: Give Us the Water!

By Allison Lee, ISB Research Associate Just how much water is there to be had in the Ross Sea? There are approximately 265,000,000,000,000,000 liters*. Did that number go in one eye and out the other? It did for me. Let’s just say that’s a lot of water and scientists want to know about all of it—where it came from, where it’s going, the chemistry, the biology, temperature, salinity, floating particles,…

ISB in Antarctica: Algae Samples

It’s not all about water. Studying the cycle of carbon in the sea is a huge undertaking. There are so many parts to look at all the way from the sea surface to the deepest depths. The Ross Sea ranges from about 500 to 1,200 meters deep. Scientists on board want a closer look at the sea’s bottom. We have cameras that are able to take photos of the sea…

ISB in Antarctica

There have been many stories in the news about research projects in Antarctica. Most projects are related to the climate and environment, or to how organisms survive in such extreme conditions. On Feb. 6, for example, the New York Times published a report about the Wissard (Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling) project, which involves looking for a microbial community in the lake located half a mile under the…

ISB in Antarctica: An Epic Journey Begins

LAB NOTEBOOK By Allison Lee, ISB Research Associate In a collaborative research effort, chief scientist Dennis Hansell invited four co-chief scientists (Alexander Bochdansky, Jack DiTullio, Rob Dunbar, and ISB’s Mónica Orellana) to be part of a grant looking at the origination, utilization, and movement of carbon in the oceans, specifically the Ross Sea. The National Science Foundation funded the grant and it has been dubbed TRACERS which encompasses the objective…