I remember how frustrating it was trying to put the sounds together – the beginning and ending of consonant blends and multiple syllable words, but I was eager to build a vocabulary. The pleasure of reading without assistance was unmatchable. It was one of my greatest achievements as a child… Reading helped me focus, comprehend, dream, and expand.
-Loretta, BestWordsForward.com
Introductions:
My name is Rhonda Stoffer. I am head of Indiana History and Genealogy Services at Marion Public Library. I am married and have 4 children ages 14-21.
Molly Sue Jones. I work as the center director of Sylvan Learning Center in Marion, IN. I design programs that help students reach their full academic potential. I also train staff to assist them in teaching every student according to that particular student's learning style. I also run the finances and conference with parents to ensure that the entire family is working toward a common goal of higher education. My life's passion is to help children become the learners that will change the world!
Hello! My name is Anna Baker, and I work at the best place in the world...the local public library! Yes, you may think this would make me partial to reading, but scouts honor, I've been hooked on reading as long as I can remember!
I'm Sheri Conover Sharlow, a reference assistant at the Marion Public Library. I am a recovering journalist, having worked at newspapers as a copy editor and reporter. My professional experience was 1987-1999, with free-lance stints before and after, as well as 3 at the college newspaper.
What is the definition of reading?
Rhonda: Looking at the printed language and understanding what is written.
Molly: Comprehending written language.
Anna: I believe reading is the taking in of letters joined together in a series, forming words and sentences. Or a less scientific definition would be books, magazines, comic books, newspapers, letters, subtitles, and the list goes on and on.
Sheri: Reading is gleaning information from the printed word -- though with new media, "printed" is outmoded, as digital images count.
When reading and you come to a word you don’t know what do you do?
Rhonda: Look at its context and most of the time, go on. Occasionally look it up.
Molly: Use context clues to figure out the meaning, if that does not work I get a dictionary
Anna: Sound it out, or look it up. Usually if I recognize a base word in an unfamiliar word I can draw a conclusion as to what the word is supposed to mean. Also analyzing the context of the word can give important clues.
Sheri: I tend to grab a dictionary for unfamiliar words I cannot figure out through context, though reading where there may not be a dictionary can mean this doesn't happen as it should -- i.e. I don't usually carry a dictionary in my beach bag. (However, I have been known to tote a financial report and meat grinder in my diaper bag -- at the same time....)
Top three reasons why reading matters:
Rhonda:
A. Learn more.
B. Enjoyment, escape to another place.
C. Increases intelligence.
Molly:
A. Sharpens the mind.
B. Keeps you informed.
C. Relieves stress.
Anna:
A. Our brains are capable of retaining an infinite amount of information.
B. Reading is valuable to helping us learn about others and the world around us. Understanding and respecting other person’s individual thoughts, beliefs and feelings can be greatly enhanced simply by reading about it.
C. Reading significantly improves our communication and interaction skills.
Sheri:
A. You cannot function fully without reading. A person reliant on images or sounds misses out on valuable context that reading provides.
B. If you cannot read critically, you're easy prey for charitans. Those who can read critically, gather information from varied sources, and, most importantly, weigh and understand that information, can avoid problems that plague those who lack that skill. Gullibility is a curable malady, and reading is the cure.
C. Reading opens windows to other worlds, both real and imaginary. Readers can learn to take apart their cars (and with skill, put them back together), wind yarn around needles to make a scarf or follow a boy's journey through wizarding school. All provide fabulous opportunities.
How many ways can we read?
Rhonda: For enjoyment, required reading, informational reading
Molly: We can read in countless ways I break them up into reasons like reading for information (nonfiction, newspaper), reading for pleasure (fiction), and reading to reach a goal or for a purpose (owner's manual, homework). I think every type of reading is important but at least two of the three are necessary to have an independent and well functioning life.
Anna: In a house, on a train, in the rain, in the park after dark, with a lark, high, low, here, there reading can be anywhere. Especially in America we are allowed to read anything our hearts desire. In some countries certain books are banned and citizens do not have the freedom to read whatever they want. Utilizing this right is something that should be exercised.
Sheri: Well, there's reading ingredient labels (reading for needed personal information), reading economics web sites (reading for needed civic information), reading for revolution in Iran (reading to find like-minded people to accomplish goals), reading how-to books or web sites (reading for directions), reading "unimportant books" that are quite important to firing our imaginations (reading for entertainment), reading social web sites (reading to create and restore community across place and time, much as letters used to do), reading to fill out onerous paperwork (reading to make someone else's life easier, even if it pains the person filing the report), reading for a bazillion other things.
“The new digital revolution threatens the values of classic reading.” (Carter, 2009) What do you think about this statement?
Rhonda: I'm sure it will come in the future as technology improves. A computer/eBook reader will never take the place and feel of the printed book and you can't take a computer into the bathtub!
Molly: I think it is true. I still don't get books on tape. I think that reading needs to be an escape not a chance to multi task if I listened to a book and got into it like I did when I read while I was driving a car many people would die. Also, why read the book when you could watch the movie, even when the movie is half of the story that the author was trying to portray.
Anna: Phewy!!! If anything I would say the new digital revolution enhances the values of classic reading. I have a very close friend who has become vision impaired in the last decade. Before losing her sight she was an avid reader. Without the digital revolution she would be completely unable to continue the enjoyment of reading.
Sheri: It depends how you use digital information. If you're just IMing, you miss out on the texture of language; the fullness of sentences and paragraphs; the nuance of words used precisely; the context that conveys subtleties of emotion, tone and intent; the intimacy of words crafted specifically for that individual communication -- as opposed to LOL and emoticons that inadequately convey these things.
However, the Internet allows everyday people access to information they may not access otherwise. Google Scholar leads us to reports previously limited to university libraries. Web sites for aspiring writers give samples of work in development, even with critical feedback. You can even post your own work at sites specific to your interests.
Surely many contemporaries thought that those new-fangled printing presses dumbed down reading because now the unwashed masses could participate! I see more opportunities than downsides. It's just too new in the revolution to see the great places it could lead.
What do you feel are the component skills necessary for children to learn to read?
Rhonda: Being read to from a young age, access to books, good eyesight, hearing, early learning (preschool, Sesame Street type programs) a teacher who makes it fun.
Molly: Visual discrimination (telling text from picture and differences between letters) auditory discrimination (differences between sounds) speech and an understanding that what you can say is what you can write.
Anna: Letter recognition, phonics. Encouragement from parents, teachers, peers and other adults is also a key factor.
Sheri: Children must be able to understand that letters, standing for sounds, pull together to produce unique words. When they finally learn that you must place the letters in a specific order to get a word, it's a huge revelation -- one that I watched evolve from randomly placed letter magnets on the refrigerator to real words. They must have ability to see context in those letters that a word stands for a thing or idea or movement or whatever. They must have heard or otherwise experienced the world to understand that writing conveys the real world in a way that others not in earshot can understand, and that those others will read that writing.
“Estimates indicate that at least 20 million of the nation's 53 million school-age children are poor readers - about two out of five children.” (National Institutes of Health, 2009)
What can we do to get more kids reading and reading well?
Rhonda: Find interesting books that appeal to kids, Harry Potter, Twilight, make reading cool and fun
Molly: I believe in supplemental education and early intervention. I think that parents should be reading to their children from day one.
Anna: I believe that the adults in a child’s life are extremely influential. If adults give a good example to follow children will most likely follow. Not always but enough to see a change.
Sheri: First, we must understand that not everyone will be able to read on the same level or at the same time or pace. Some children seemingly read without instruction. Some struggle until it clicks, then it all comes together, but at a pace that is their own and not anyone else's. And some have strong barriers to reading, some strong, frustrating and mysterious enough to make them extremely difficult to teach.
At what point does it become unfair to persist? A good question, an important question, one that must be answered on a case-by-case basis. The struggle matters when the child can comprehend the information, but cannot easily glean it from letters and words. However, some honestly cannot understand the information, even when presented in oral and image formats. Perhaps we need to admit that not everyone can read. And if their functioning is that low, it is cruel to push them where they cannot go, just as it would be cruel to beat us until we run as fast as a cheetah.
The problem is that those who are most worried about this tend to be those who read easily, who do not understand the honesty of that struggle. We should give opportunities, yes. We should try to diagnose the barriers and find ways around them, yes. But we also should understand that people ARE different and some come without this capacity to read and write.
That percentage may be higher than we would like to think. I'd like to think that nearly 40 percent of functional illiteracy is a bit high -- I'm inclined to think 5-10 percent is more reasonable -- but then again, I spend more time with people like myself, people who can read fully and write basically.
How did you learn to read?
Rhonda: At school, Dick and Jane type books.
Molly: My mom reading to me until I memorized a book then put two and two together the words I was saying were the words on the page.
Anna: I really don't remember learning to read. If I had to guess I would say I learned to read from teachers at school.
Sheri: I could read red words from flashcards as a toddler. Apparently, my diaper was falling off as I read them. By the time I was 2, my mother heard that it's bad to learn reading on a word-by-word basis that children learn better phonetically, so she stopped.
I still remember that first or second full day of first grade, when we came to our first lesson in our reading books. It was the letter "H". I looked at the pictures and the words beneath them, and read them all. I saw the picture of the house, yet I knew the word wasn't "house" but "home" -- this was without the teacher telling me so. I already knew how to read, but hadn't known it until that moment!
What are some of your favorite books?
Rhonda: Too many to name, I reread lots of books.
Molly: Right now I am stuck on the sookie Stackhouse mysteries. I am on my second way through them.
Anna: First of all let me add the disclaimer that I have not read quite as many books as I would like, and the list of books that I would like to conquer goes on and on. With that being said...
A Tale of Two Cities, The Grapes of Wrath, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, and of course the incomparable Mr. Harry Potter books!
Sheri: Depends on the mood and the purpose. I enjoy funny books, difficult books, some political-economics books that are difficult on their own level. Recent fiction favorites include Jennifer Crusie's Bet Me, Christopher Buckley's Boomsday, (and a nonfiction counterpart, The Coming Generational Storm by Laurence Kotlikoff and Scott Burns), Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series; as well as nonfiction Real Education: Four Simple Truths for Bringing American Schools Back to Reality by Charles Murray (one that particularly pertains to this question) and Richard Florida's Rise of the Creative Class. Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged and Fountainhead fall under fiction, yet their appeal to me is closer to nonfiction works -- i.e., it's not escapist like my typical fiction choices.
Who are your favorite writers?
Rhonda: Again, too many to name: Nora Roberts, Dean Koontz, Michael Connelly, Robin Cook, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, JD Robb, Iris Johansen, many more
Molly: HP Lovecraft, Charlaine Harris, Stephenie Meyer, Maeve Binchy
Anna: I have the problem of liking certain authors and being stuck in my own little author bubble, but I am getting better. Charles Dickens hands down is my favorite. He has a way of putting words on a paper that is so beautiful it makes me cry. John Steinbeck is another one that captures feelings and emotions on ink and paper. Rounding out the top three is C.S. Lewis the man was so absolutely brilliant! Other favorites that continue to amaze and dazzle- Love, love, love Rudyard Kipling (the man was a god in his own country), Robert Louis Stevenson, J.K. Rowling, Lois Lowry, H.G. Wells. I know I'm gonna be mad when I realize who I've forgotten.
Sheri: Again, it depends. Right now, I'm enjoying Jennifer Crusie, Christopher Buckley and Janet Evanovich.
What was your favorite book as a child?
Rhonda: Boxcar children series, Nancy Drew, Hardy Boys, Trixie Belden
Molly: Marvin K Mooney Will you Please Go Now
Anna: My dad loves to tell the story about how I would have him read "Hand Hand Fingers Thumb" over and over. As a young adult Babysitters Club and Sweet Valley Twins kept me busy.
Sheri: I loved the Cat in the Hat Dictionary, which inspired my first poem in the first grade. Anything Pippi Longstocking pretty much followed.
How often and how long do you read for pleasure?
Rhonda: All the time, I always have a book in progress and go from one to the next. Average about 3 books a week.
Molly: I read at least one novel a week if I am on a reading binge as I call it can be as many as four novels in one week.
Anna: Oh how I long for the days when I had time to read for pleasure....Being a full-time student seriously cuts into my pleasure reading time. In the "old days" I would read up to several hours per day. Now I'm lucky to get more than half an hour in here and there.
Sheri: It varies wildly.
How would you say reading has helped you the most in your life?
Rhonda: Gave me a chance to visit other places I wouldn't have been able to travel to myself.
Molly: It is relaxing and it has helped me be well spoken and very knowledgeable. I have a better vocabulary and it has given me strategies to keep myself from looking dumb like when someone says a word I don't know I can use the reading strategies of context clues to figure out the meaning.
Molly: Well I can certainly say I have learned a lot about the world around me. It has also increased my vocabulary. I have also learned a lot about how other people think, feel and interact.
Sheri: With writing, editing and research as my careers, reading IS my job.
How many books do you normally read at a time?
Rhonda: One book at a time reading and one recorded book in the car.
Molly: I read one at a time.
Anna: Usually not more than two.
Sheri: Too many.
What do you like most about the library, from a patron point of view to a staff member point of view?
Rhonda: A library is always a comfortable place for me, you can find out almost anything in a library. I've always worked in a library setting, academic, school or public. I like being able to research a problem and find an answer.
Molly: I like the website from a patron point of view I can go in knowing exactly what I want. From a staff point of view I love that I have first choice to check out whatever does not have a hold on it.
Anna: From a patron point of view I love the selection, also the versatility of staff to find and or order whatever my heart desires. From a staff member point of view, the other staff members!!! Everyone who works here is so stinkin nice and kind and considerate, just plain awesome really!
Sheri: As a patron, I look at the library as a means to meet different ends, whether it's researching my dietary needs du jour, finding out how to do my latest creative obsession, or meeting my manic needs to take home SOMETHING that, thanks to the library, I'll have to return.
As a staffer, I know better what resources are available at the library. It's the mellowest workplace I've ever had by an unestimatable longshot.
**End of Interviews
My First Memory (of Librarians)
by Nikki Giovanni
This is my first memory:
A big room with heavy wooden tables that sat on a creaky
wood floor
A line of green shades—bankers’ lights—down the center
Heavy oak chairs that were too low or maybe I was simply
too short
For me to sit in and read
So my first book was always big
In the foyer up four steps a semi-circle desk presided
To the left side the card catalogue
On the right newspapers draped over what looked like
a quilt rack
Magazines face out from the wall
The welcoming smile of my librarian
The anticipation in my heart
All those books—another world—just waiting
At my fingertips.
From Acolytes by Nikki Giovanni. Copyright © 2007 by Nikki Giovanni. Published by arrangement with William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
Blog Archive
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Blame It on the Music!
Music makes us dance, cry, laugh, remember, and forget. It is the only language that can be feed to one person in a thousand dialects and make sense. While some people prefer one genre of music, there are many that just enjoy the vibrancy of a good bass line, the clarity in a guitar riff, the atmosphere of a piano, and the familiarity in the lyrics. When we listen to music we are not just hearing something beautiful; our senses are playing on a heightened plane of existence. Your Best Words Forward interviewed several music enthusiasts about some of their experiences with music. Please read their responses below.
INTRODUCTIONS:
Meredith Hamons
I started studying piano at the age of five and music was a huge part of my life growing up. I also was fascinated by the way music could affect people in ways no other medium could. I studied classical music and went on to major in Music Therapy at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. After college, I completed my internship at the San Antonio State Hospital. I chose the field of music therapy as I love music, and I love being able to share music with other people. While research shows that music stimulates the entire brain in ways other things cannot and that music can affect the body in tangible ways such as lowering blood pressure, lowering breath rate and reducing a patient’s perception of pain, I also believe in music’s innate ability to touch people deeply and personally.
Sean McCormick
Hi. My name is Sean, and I’m a musiholic...... I’ve always liked listening to music, and have been interested in the inner workings of it - from how the instrument is making noise to how the producer puts final touches on it.
Amy Sciarretto
"Amy is a 15-year veteran of the rock music scene and one of the most prolific females in the metal scene who was recently profiled in the national trade magazine Radio & Records where she was dubbed “The Queen of Metal.” She’s a highly respected international rock journalist and bio writer who got her start when she was still in high school. She created columns (and wrote them for 5 years) when Revolver relaunched in 2001. She has written cover stories for international rock Bible Kerrang!, and through the years, her words have continuously appeared in the pages of Alternative Press, AOL Spinner, Guitar World, Decibel, Hit Parader (which she still co-edits), CMJ New Music Report (where she served as Loud Rock Editor for 8 years, in-house and freelance, taking the column for 1 page and 1 chart to 5 pages and 2 charts), Spin.com, VH1.com, CMJ New Music Monthly, FMQB, Chord, Sucker, Outburn, Amp, Hails & Horns, Ruin, Teen People, music.com, Metal Maniacs, Aquarian Weekly, Rockpile, ARTISTdirect, Ultimate Guitar, Rebel Ink, Urban Ink and LAX, to name a select few. She was a weekend DJ on Sirius Satellite Radio’s 24/7 metal channel Hard Attack for 2 years, hosting two radio shows per weekend. A consummate multi-tasker, she also served as Roadrunner’s Director of Hard Rock Radio and Video Promotion for 6 years before being promoted to Director of Publicity/Media/Artist Relations in 2007. She has expanded into the mainstream women’s journalism field, writing cosmetic and fashions stories for the hugely popular blog, www.beautynewsnyc.com as well as writing about Fashion and Beauty trends as the Fashion/Beauty editor of the recently launched LAX Magazine. She has guested on countless radio platforms throughout the past decade and has been covering film and movies for a variety of the aforementioned publications for the past year. She is also a lead blogger on AOL's newly launched metal blog, Noisecreep.com."
Jason Haitkin
"Jason Haitkin, former producer of Uranium and Headbanger's Ball, also director of music videos and toured with several bands throughout the world as an interested observer and roadie. I hold degrees in communications and psychology from Widener University in Pennsylvania. I currently work in real estate."
Kaila Tailor
I hail from San Diego, CA. My passion for music began at a young age, maybe 8. My father has a massive record collection, and I used to love going through them and playing one after the other. Even now, I listen to a record occasionally just to hear the hisses and crackles. I was a Deadhead, Phishead, Metalhead… I love music, especially live music.
Juan Garcia
Hello. My name is Juan Garcia. I’m 23 years old and live in Marion, IN. I've been playing the guitar for almost six years. Currently I play in a local band called LateNightJam. Other members of the band include Kyle Beck (Lead Guitar), Todd Bradley (Drums), and TJ Williams (Bass).
MUSIC AS THERAPY:
Sean McCormick
What is better for a bad mood - being able to sit in your car and yell with an angry song or sitting and talking to a counselor?
Jason Haitkin
Music can be good for therapy for different reasons for different people. For some people music can remind them of a happy experience when they're feeling down, it can raise their spirits through upbeat rhythms. It can also distract them from whatever problems are bothering them.
Meredith Hamons
Music stimulates the whole brain, which makes it uniquely effective for therapy. Many other attributes of music make it an ideal approach for therapy, such as rhythm which is beneficial for synchronizing and coordinating motor movements, its repetitive nature, which makes it ideal for learning (music serves as a background for learning),as well as the way music can touch people emotionally and be an effective and less threatening vehicle for self-expression.
Amy Sciarretto
I think music has a universal healing quality. When you listen to music, there is usually something in the sound or lyrics than can be a comfort or make you feel like someone else has been where you are, gets it, understands or endured it. Music is therapy for the person who makes the music and the person who listens to it, and it can be interpreted in different ways, so it means different things to different people and that's beautiful!
Kaila Tailor
When those headphones are plugged in, there is just me and the music. The day, good or bad, is simplified. For me, music is isolating, understanding, and without judgment. It allows me to detach myself from everything and take a breath of new air. At the end of a song, I may have found peace, a burst of creativity, and/or comfort.
Juan Garcia
I feel that a lot of musicians have been through a lot in their lives, and it's easy to connect with them, on a personal level, when their lyrics relate to the situation you're experiencing. Knowing you're not the only one who's been in that that type of situation makes it easier to cope with your problems.
APPROACHES AND THEORIES OF MUSIC THERAPY:
Meredith Hamons
There are many different approaches and theories of music therapy. Nordoff-Robbins technique focuses on improvisation and allowing the client to lead. Neurological and biological music therapy focuses on the scientific aspects of music and how music affects parts of the body and the brain, to name a few.
Jason Haitkin
I'm not personally familiar with any specific approach, but sometimes exercising while listening to music can be doubly therapeutic because you get the rush of endorphins from the exercise, but you also get the positive feeling of enjoying the music you love. Just listening to music sometimes can relax your feelings and help take the focus off your problems.
Kaila Tailor
If I am studying or reading, I prefer instrumental music for better concentration, and if I am working in the office I like to listen to metal or something more upbeat to help me stayed focused at my desk. I don’t know any specific approaches, but it seems that for every emotion there is a song, for every movement there is rhythm.
Juan Garcia
Well you can go into a quiet room, and put on your favorite music, or you can pick up whatever instrument you play and jam it with as much feeling and emotion you're experiencing. Guaranteed to feel better after a good jam session!!
THE FUTURE OF MUSIC THERAPY:
Meredith Hamons
I don’t think anyone can accurately predict the future; however, the field of music therapy is definitely growing as more and more people become aware of how effective it can be.
A ROUND OF MUSIC THERAPY FOR EVERYONE:
Jason Haitkin
In my opinion music therapy is only helpful to those who love music. If music is just something that has no value to you, and you just listen to whatever is on, then the most it can do for you is remind you of something. But there are other forms of therapy that would probably be more effective in this aspect.
Sean McCormick
It depends on how into music the individual is.
Juan Garcia
I believe it can be, if you truly enjoy music and all aspects of it!!
MUSIC ENHANCEMENTS FOR HUMANS:
Jason Haitkin
...I think it depends on how much you let it. Any therapy will ultimately fall onto the shoulders of the person seeking the therapy in the first place, and if there is no inherent love of music in the first place the therapy is useless.
Amy Sciarretto
Each person's experience with music is different than the next. You can take away something different than the person next to you, and music is also created through notes and that is something that a person has to use cognitive skills to understand...
Meredith Hamons
Yes! Music definitely enhances our abilities to learn, cope and develop across a wide spectrum of areas.
Amy Sciarretto
... I definitely believe there is a connection between music and our movement. Music is made of beats and beats inspire the toe to tap, the blood to flow, the bones/muscles to move. A lot of these movements are emotionally driven, too, and can be dictated by music!
Jason Haitkin
Coordination, rhythm, memory, writing all essential useful tools for communication and accomplishing goals and tasks which are present throughout music structure.
Kaila Tailor
Absolutely! Music can enhance a wide array of things! I believe it even enhances our ability to communicate and critically think.
Juan Garcia
I believe it makes whatever you're doing more enjoyable. As far as human skills and processes, like making you drive faster or slower.... I think if a person feels like they want to drive fast, then they're going to drive fast! If they want to drive slowly, then they're going to drive slowly! I don’t think music has anything to do with it. But that’s my own personal opinion!
Sean McCormick
Sometimes it helps to listen to something at work.
Amy Sciarretto
Pleasure, art, comfort, entertainment. You can experience different emotions EVERY time you listen to a piece of music.
Jason Haitkin
I believe it varies from person to person. But I believe music to be an art form, and therefore it is meant to be of entertaining value first and foremost.
Kaila Tailor
Personal enjoyment, group entertainment, comfort, artistic expression…
Sean McCormick
Anything could be applied, at least used as background most of the time.
Juan Garcia
Everything! From the people you have in your group, to the breakdown in a song.
REASONS TO LISTEN:
Sean McCormick
Some people have new TV shows they like to watch; some don’t. I listen to music.
Amy Sciarretto
Whatever feels good, I listen to. Mostly rock and hard rock, but if something lightweight or popular tickles my ears, sure, I listen to it. I am much more open minded about music than when I was young and wanted the music I loved to be mine and would be disappointed when "everyone" else would discover it, latch on and make it feel a little less mine. I listen to music because I always like to hear something in the background. Because it feels good. Because it makes my adrenaline flow and either stimulates or supplements or enhances my mood, even if it's not a good mood that I am in.
Jason Haitkin
I listen to music, because I enjoy it. I like the way it makes me feel. I mostly listen to heavy metal because it offers a different type of energy that is more primal and angry, which I like to tap into and feel in touch with my inner caveman so to speak.
Kaila Tailor
It feels good. I prefer to have something playing in the background at home, in the car, at work, and most places. I don’t sit in silence very often.
Juan Garcia
I listen to music, because I love everything about music, and it makes me feel good!! I listen to about everything - from bluegrass to Hip Hop. About 85% of the time you'll catch me listening to my favorite band Ekoostik Hookah.
"THE SILENCE IN A SONG IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE MUSIC."
Sean McCormick
Agreed to an extent. On beat and not long – perfect. Otherwise, don’t keep us waiting on something forever.
Amy Sciarretto
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Every PART of a song, even the silence, gets you to the next part. It can be a bridge.
Jason Haitkin
I think it’s ambiguous and too open to interpretation. If what you want to say is that what a band chooses not to do in a song is just as important as what they choose to do, then just say that.
Juan Garcia
I believe this statement is a true statement! When a band is playing and it get's quiet, then they come back into a killer jam. That gives me goose bumps!! The silence makes you anticipate what’s going to happen next! That’s the good thing about music! You never know what’s going to happen next!!
"FOR THE MUSICIAN IT'S MORE THAN A PERFORMANCE... FOR THE LISTENER IT'S MORE THAN A SONG... IT'S A WAY OF LIFE, A LANGUAGE WITH NO BARRIERS, NO CODE TO DECIPHER."
Sean McCormick
Listen if you want. Create if you feel. Everyone has a different degree on which they "get into it". You'll rarely talk someone into liking something more...let it be and it will fall into place.
Amy Sciarretto
100% wholeheartedly agree!
Jason Haitkin
Sounds good. Pass the whiskey and turn up the Slayer!
Kaila Tailor
Yes, I agree.
Juan Garcia
I find this statement to be very true!! For a performer his performance is a short glimpse of his true emotions, and for the listener, a song may be something he's using as a scapegoat from his problems! So like you said it's more than a performance or a song. It's a way of life! Music is life!!
A SONG FOR GUARANTEED SMILE:
Sean McCormick
“One Week” - Barenaked Ladies
Amy Sciarretto
“That's Amore.” LOVE IT!
Jason Haitkin
Crotchduster - "Mammal Sauce" & Bloodhound Gang - "I hope you die."
Kaila Tailor
“The Bantam Cock” by John Thackray
Juan Garcia
Ekoostik Hookah's "Good Time" (Mary Go Round.) It makes me think of a big party where everyone you know is at, and everyone is having a Good Time, like a little kid on a Mary Go Round!
A SONG WITH A DEFINITE TEAR:
Amy Sciarretto
Aimee Mann's "Wise Up"
Jason Haitkin
Alice in Chains (unplugged) - "Down in a Hole"
Kaila Tailor
Stevie Wonder’s “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers”
Juan Garcia
"Goodbye To Romance" by Ozzy Osborne. It makes me think of a good friend of mine who passed away last year.
NAME YOUR SONG:
Amy Sciarretto
I'd write it myself, first of all. As for the title, it'd be I Heart You.
Sean McCormick
Life's life, then you Die.
Kaila Tailor
I would use the Rolling Stones “Get Off My Cloud”.
Jason Haitkin
"My Way" - Frank Sinatra (written 50 years ago)
Juan Garcia
"Through The Eye's Of A Good Man"
RECOGNITION:
Meredith Hamons
Thank you so much for your interest in the profession of music therapy. I hope my answers increase your understanding of this exciting field. Unfortunately I am unable to address these last few questions as they are of a more personal nature, but I wish you the best of luck with your article. Also, I would highly recommend checking out the American Music Therapy Association’s website and their FAQ for more information. www.musictherapy.org
INTRODUCTIONS:
Meredith Hamons
I started studying piano at the age of five and music was a huge part of my life growing up. I also was fascinated by the way music could affect people in ways no other medium could. I studied classical music and went on to major in Music Therapy at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, PA. After college, I completed my internship at the San Antonio State Hospital. I chose the field of music therapy as I love music, and I love being able to share music with other people. While research shows that music stimulates the entire brain in ways other things cannot and that music can affect the body in tangible ways such as lowering blood pressure, lowering breath rate and reducing a patient’s perception of pain, I also believe in music’s innate ability to touch people deeply and personally.
Sean McCormick
Hi. My name is Sean, and I’m a musiholic...... I’ve always liked listening to music, and have been interested in the inner workings of it - from how the instrument is making noise to how the producer puts final touches on it.
Amy Sciarretto
"Amy is a 15-year veteran of the rock music scene and one of the most prolific females in the metal scene who was recently profiled in the national trade magazine Radio & Records where she was dubbed “The Queen of Metal.” She’s a highly respected international rock journalist and bio writer who got her start when she was still in high school. She created columns (and wrote them for 5 years) when Revolver relaunched in 2001. She has written cover stories for international rock Bible Kerrang!, and through the years, her words have continuously appeared in the pages of Alternative Press, AOL Spinner, Guitar World, Decibel, Hit Parader (which she still co-edits), CMJ New Music Report (where she served as Loud Rock Editor for 8 years, in-house and freelance, taking the column for 1 page and 1 chart to 5 pages and 2 charts), Spin.com, VH1.com, CMJ New Music Monthly, FMQB, Chord, Sucker, Outburn, Amp, Hails & Horns, Ruin, Teen People, music.com, Metal Maniacs, Aquarian Weekly, Rockpile, ARTISTdirect, Ultimate Guitar, Rebel Ink, Urban Ink and LAX, to name a select few. She was a weekend DJ on Sirius Satellite Radio’s 24/7 metal channel Hard Attack for 2 years, hosting two radio shows per weekend. A consummate multi-tasker, she also served as Roadrunner’s Director of Hard Rock Radio and Video Promotion for 6 years before being promoted to Director of Publicity/Media/Artist Relations in 2007. She has expanded into the mainstream women’s journalism field, writing cosmetic and fashions stories for the hugely popular blog, www.beautynewsnyc.com as well as writing about Fashion and Beauty trends as the Fashion/Beauty editor of the recently launched LAX Magazine. She has guested on countless radio platforms throughout the past decade and has been covering film and movies for a variety of the aforementioned publications for the past year. She is also a lead blogger on AOL's newly launched metal blog, Noisecreep.com."
Jason Haitkin
"Jason Haitkin, former producer of Uranium and Headbanger's Ball, also director of music videos and toured with several bands throughout the world as an interested observer and roadie. I hold degrees in communications and psychology from Widener University in Pennsylvania. I currently work in real estate."
Kaila Tailor
I hail from San Diego, CA. My passion for music began at a young age, maybe 8. My father has a massive record collection, and I used to love going through them and playing one after the other. Even now, I listen to a record occasionally just to hear the hisses and crackles. I was a Deadhead, Phishead, Metalhead… I love music, especially live music.
Juan Garcia
Hello. My name is Juan Garcia. I’m 23 years old and live in Marion, IN. I've been playing the guitar for almost six years. Currently I play in a local band called LateNightJam. Other members of the band include Kyle Beck (Lead Guitar), Todd Bradley (Drums), and TJ Williams (Bass).
MUSIC AS THERAPY:
Sean McCormick
What is better for a bad mood - being able to sit in your car and yell with an angry song or sitting and talking to a counselor?
Jason Haitkin
Music can be good for therapy for different reasons for different people. For some people music can remind them of a happy experience when they're feeling down, it can raise their spirits through upbeat rhythms. It can also distract them from whatever problems are bothering them.
Meredith Hamons
Music stimulates the whole brain, which makes it uniquely effective for therapy. Many other attributes of music make it an ideal approach for therapy, such as rhythm which is beneficial for synchronizing and coordinating motor movements, its repetitive nature, which makes it ideal for learning (music serves as a background for learning),as well as the way music can touch people emotionally and be an effective and less threatening vehicle for self-expression.
Amy Sciarretto
I think music has a universal healing quality. When you listen to music, there is usually something in the sound or lyrics than can be a comfort or make you feel like someone else has been where you are, gets it, understands or endured it. Music is therapy for the person who makes the music and the person who listens to it, and it can be interpreted in different ways, so it means different things to different people and that's beautiful!
Kaila Tailor
When those headphones are plugged in, there is just me and the music. The day, good or bad, is simplified. For me, music is isolating, understanding, and without judgment. It allows me to detach myself from everything and take a breath of new air. At the end of a song, I may have found peace, a burst of creativity, and/or comfort.
Juan Garcia
I feel that a lot of musicians have been through a lot in their lives, and it's easy to connect with them, on a personal level, when their lyrics relate to the situation you're experiencing. Knowing you're not the only one who's been in that that type of situation makes it easier to cope with your problems.
APPROACHES AND THEORIES OF MUSIC THERAPY:
Meredith Hamons
There are many different approaches and theories of music therapy. Nordoff-Robbins technique focuses on improvisation and allowing the client to lead. Neurological and biological music therapy focuses on the scientific aspects of music and how music affects parts of the body and the brain, to name a few.
Jason Haitkin
I'm not personally familiar with any specific approach, but sometimes exercising while listening to music can be doubly therapeutic because you get the rush of endorphins from the exercise, but you also get the positive feeling of enjoying the music you love. Just listening to music sometimes can relax your feelings and help take the focus off your problems.
Kaila Tailor
If I am studying or reading, I prefer instrumental music for better concentration, and if I am working in the office I like to listen to metal or something more upbeat to help me stayed focused at my desk. I don’t know any specific approaches, but it seems that for every emotion there is a song, for every movement there is rhythm.
Juan Garcia
Well you can go into a quiet room, and put on your favorite music, or you can pick up whatever instrument you play and jam it with as much feeling and emotion you're experiencing. Guaranteed to feel better after a good jam session!!
THE FUTURE OF MUSIC THERAPY:
Meredith Hamons
I don’t think anyone can accurately predict the future; however, the field of music therapy is definitely growing as more and more people become aware of how effective it can be.
A ROUND OF MUSIC THERAPY FOR EVERYONE:
Jason Haitkin
In my opinion music therapy is only helpful to those who love music. If music is just something that has no value to you, and you just listen to whatever is on, then the most it can do for you is remind you of something. But there are other forms of therapy that would probably be more effective in this aspect.
Sean McCormick
It depends on how into music the individual is.
Juan Garcia
I believe it can be, if you truly enjoy music and all aspects of it!!
MUSIC ENHANCEMENTS FOR HUMANS:
Jason Haitkin
...I think it depends on how much you let it. Any therapy will ultimately fall onto the shoulders of the person seeking the therapy in the first place, and if there is no inherent love of music in the first place the therapy is useless.
Amy Sciarretto
Each person's experience with music is different than the next. You can take away something different than the person next to you, and music is also created through notes and that is something that a person has to use cognitive skills to understand...
Meredith Hamons
Yes! Music definitely enhances our abilities to learn, cope and develop across a wide spectrum of areas.
Amy Sciarretto
... I definitely believe there is a connection between music and our movement. Music is made of beats and beats inspire the toe to tap, the blood to flow, the bones/muscles to move. A lot of these movements are emotionally driven, too, and can be dictated by music!
Jason Haitkin
Coordination, rhythm, memory, writing all essential useful tools for communication and accomplishing goals and tasks which are present throughout music structure.
Kaila Tailor
Absolutely! Music can enhance a wide array of things! I believe it even enhances our ability to communicate and critically think.
Juan Garcia
I believe it makes whatever you're doing more enjoyable. As far as human skills and processes, like making you drive faster or slower.... I think if a person feels like they want to drive fast, then they're going to drive fast! If they want to drive slowly, then they're going to drive slowly! I don’t think music has anything to do with it. But that’s my own personal opinion!
Sean McCormick
Sometimes it helps to listen to something at work.
Amy Sciarretto
Pleasure, art, comfort, entertainment. You can experience different emotions EVERY time you listen to a piece of music.
Jason Haitkin
I believe it varies from person to person. But I believe music to be an art form, and therefore it is meant to be of entertaining value first and foremost.
Kaila Tailor
Personal enjoyment, group entertainment, comfort, artistic expression…
Sean McCormick
Anything could be applied, at least used as background most of the time.
Juan Garcia
Everything! From the people you have in your group, to the breakdown in a song.
REASONS TO LISTEN:
Sean McCormick
Some people have new TV shows they like to watch; some don’t. I listen to music.
Amy Sciarretto
Whatever feels good, I listen to. Mostly rock and hard rock, but if something lightweight or popular tickles my ears, sure, I listen to it. I am much more open minded about music than when I was young and wanted the music I loved to be mine and would be disappointed when "everyone" else would discover it, latch on and make it feel a little less mine. I listen to music because I always like to hear something in the background. Because it feels good. Because it makes my adrenaline flow and either stimulates or supplements or enhances my mood, even if it's not a good mood that I am in.
Jason Haitkin
I listen to music, because I enjoy it. I like the way it makes me feel. I mostly listen to heavy metal because it offers a different type of energy that is more primal and angry, which I like to tap into and feel in touch with my inner caveman so to speak.
Kaila Tailor
It feels good. I prefer to have something playing in the background at home, in the car, at work, and most places. I don’t sit in silence very often.
Juan Garcia
I listen to music, because I love everything about music, and it makes me feel good!! I listen to about everything - from bluegrass to Hip Hop. About 85% of the time you'll catch me listening to my favorite band Ekoostik Hookah.
"THE SILENCE IN A SONG IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE MUSIC."
Sean McCormick
Agreed to an extent. On beat and not long – perfect. Otherwise, don’t keep us waiting on something forever.
Amy Sciarretto
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Every PART of a song, even the silence, gets you to the next part. It can be a bridge.
Jason Haitkin
I think it’s ambiguous and too open to interpretation. If what you want to say is that what a band chooses not to do in a song is just as important as what they choose to do, then just say that.
Juan Garcia
I believe this statement is a true statement! When a band is playing and it get's quiet, then they come back into a killer jam. That gives me goose bumps!! The silence makes you anticipate what’s going to happen next! That’s the good thing about music! You never know what’s going to happen next!!
"FOR THE MUSICIAN IT'S MORE THAN A PERFORMANCE... FOR THE LISTENER IT'S MORE THAN A SONG... IT'S A WAY OF LIFE, A LANGUAGE WITH NO BARRIERS, NO CODE TO DECIPHER."
Sean McCormick
Listen if you want. Create if you feel. Everyone has a different degree on which they "get into it". You'll rarely talk someone into liking something more...let it be and it will fall into place.
Amy Sciarretto
100% wholeheartedly agree!
Jason Haitkin
Sounds good. Pass the whiskey and turn up the Slayer!
Kaila Tailor
Yes, I agree.
Juan Garcia
I find this statement to be very true!! For a performer his performance is a short glimpse of his true emotions, and for the listener, a song may be something he's using as a scapegoat from his problems! So like you said it's more than a performance or a song. It's a way of life! Music is life!!
A SONG FOR GUARANTEED SMILE:
Sean McCormick
“One Week” - Barenaked Ladies
Amy Sciarretto
“That's Amore.” LOVE IT!
Jason Haitkin
Crotchduster - "Mammal Sauce" & Bloodhound Gang - "I hope you die."
Kaila Tailor
“The Bantam Cock” by John Thackray
Juan Garcia
Ekoostik Hookah's "Good Time" (Mary Go Round.) It makes me think of a big party where everyone you know is at, and everyone is having a Good Time, like a little kid on a Mary Go Round!
A SONG WITH A DEFINITE TEAR:
Amy Sciarretto
Aimee Mann's "Wise Up"
Jason Haitkin
Alice in Chains (unplugged) - "Down in a Hole"
Kaila Tailor
Stevie Wonder’s “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers”
Juan Garcia
"Goodbye To Romance" by Ozzy Osborne. It makes me think of a good friend of mine who passed away last year.
NAME YOUR SONG:
Amy Sciarretto
I'd write it myself, first of all. As for the title, it'd be I Heart You.
Sean McCormick
Life's life, then you Die.
Kaila Tailor
I would use the Rolling Stones “Get Off My Cloud”.
Jason Haitkin
"My Way" - Frank Sinatra (written 50 years ago)
Juan Garcia
"Through The Eye's Of A Good Man"
RECOGNITION:
Meredith Hamons
Thank you so much for your interest in the profession of music therapy. I hope my answers increase your understanding of this exciting field. Unfortunately I am unable to address these last few questions as they are of a more personal nature, but I wish you the best of luck with your article. Also, I would highly recommend checking out the American Music Therapy Association’s website and their FAQ for more information. www.musictherapy.org
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Antarctic Paradise?
While we do know that there are at least 17 species of penguins in the Southern Hemisphere and approximately 35 species of seabirds south of the Antarctic Convergence, much of these icy lands remains a mystery. How many species live in the icy lands out of explorers’ sight? Is there a connection between what's happening in Antarctica and what's happened on Mars? The Antarctic holds many secrets still in blocks of ice. Your Best Words Forward asked for help in uncovering some clues to the Antarctic mystery, and this is what we received.
INTRODUCTIONS:
Jim Mastro
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology and have worked at several biology-related jobs over the years. I was working at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego when I first learned of the Antarctic Program. In 1982, I took my first job there, a 14-month position as assistant manager and winter manager of the Eklund Biological Center at McMurdo Station. That experience put the Ice in my blood, and I ended up going back again and again, in a variety of positions, until I had spent a total of almost 72 months in Antarctica -- almost 6 years. I last went in 2005 and, although I don't rule out returning, I now spend my time as a writer. I've had three books on Antarctica published. The first is my memoir, (with photos): Antarctica: A Year at the Bottom of the World.
Matt Rosenberg
He has been a Guide to Geography on About.com since 1997. A few highlights from Matt’s extensive biography include, published two books about geography, The Handy Geography Answer Book and The Geography Bee Complete Preparation Handbook, awarded the Excellence in Media Award from the National Council for Geographic Education for his contributions over the years to the discipline of geography, and holds a Master’s degree in geography from California State University, Northridge.
Claire Christian
I am a Campaign Associate with the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, an organization dedicated to the preservation of Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean.
Nicholas Johnson
I’m the author of “Big Dead Place: Inside the Strange and Menacing World of Antarctica” and editor of the website BigDeadPlace.com. I’ve worked 8 contracts in Antarctica, spending over 4 years total on the ice, including two winters at McMurdo Station on the coast, and one winter at South Pole in the continental interior.
Elaine Hood
After almost twenty years of teaching high school social studies, I quit my job and went to Antarctica for what I thought would be a one-season stint working for the US Antarctic Program. However, that was 11 years ago and here I am, still in love with the continent, the science and the amazing people who work there. I am now the Communications Specialist for the support contractor to the USAP. The National Science Foundation manages the program and hires various contractors to perform different functions. There are three permanent US stations: Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is located at 90 degrees south; McMurdo Station is located along the coastline "under" New Zealand; and Palmer Station is located on Anvers Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula "under" South America. There are also two research ships and many field camps that we maintain.
ABOUT THE ICE:
Nicholas Johnson
Approximately 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice.
Claire Christian
Short answer: most of the world’s ice is in Antarctica.
Here are some more details (courtesy of www.antarcticconnection.com):
- The ice is up to 3 miles deep and covers about 5.3 million square miles, or about 97.6 percent of the continent.
-This volume of ice amounts to about 6 million cubic miles - if it were returned to the oceans, it would raise global sea level about 200 feet.
- The average thickness of ice makes Antarctica the highest continent.
-Antarctic ice represents 90 percent of all the world's ice and 70 percent of all the world's fresh water.
Jim Mastro
It's a lot of ice! Imagine all of the United States and Mexico covered with ice, in some places up to 3 miles thick. That's how much ice is in Antarctica.
Matt Roseberg
Ice covers 13.72 million sq km of Antarctica and it is 2000-4000 feet thick, on average.
Elaine Hood
That would be a good mathematical question for a group of high school students. I don't have any answers at my fingertips. The continent of Antarctica is about 1 1/2 times the size of the US and the snow depth varies from 1 to 2.5 miles deep.
EQUIPMENT:
Nicholas Johnson
I take clothes, books, an audio recorder, a camera, and occasionally some sort of Halloween costume, among other things. Most anything you forget to bring can be ordered on the internet during the Austral summer, but not in the winter when there are no planes.
Jim Mastro
That depends entirely on what you plan to do there. A team studying glaciers will take different equipment than one studying bottom-dwelling sea creatures. But everyone has to have the appropriate Extreme Cold Weather clothing and other survival gear. This means a heavy, hooded parka, plenty of thick long underwear, fleece jackets, wind breakers and wind pants, thick socks, thick gloves and mittens, caps, face protectors, and heavy boots.
Elaine Hood
The company I work for, Raytheon Polar Services, provides people with everything they need to have a safe and successful season "on the Ice" as we say. The majority of people travel through Christchurch, New Zealand, where they will receive the Extreme Cold Weather clothing for safe survival outdoors. Once they arrive at McMurdo Station and before traveling out to a remote field camp, they will be issued tents, food, sleeping bags, heaters, camp stoves, etc. Scientists send us their "request checklist" months in advance, telling us what they will need. If the scientist tells us he or she will have four team members, they will be in the field for 2 months and they need to have a helicopter arrive every three days to take samples back to McMurdo, we arrange for all these things ahead of time so when the science team arrives, we have everything ready for them.
TESTING AND RESEARCH:
Matt Rosenberg
The geology of the continent, astronomical studies, atmospheric studies, biology of the continent, ice sampling for climate studies, and more.
Jim Mastro
Every kind of scientific research you can imagine takes place in Antarctica: biology, geology, paleontology, glaciology, meteorology, upper atmospheric physics, astronomy, astrophysics, medicine, human physiology, oceanography, ecology, and so on. What makes Antarctica so valuable as a scientific laboratory is that it is relatively untouched by humans, is home to large numbers of organisms that are adapted to an extreme environment, contains a climate record in the ice dating back hundreds of thousands of years, holds valuable clues to geological history and plate tectonics, exerts control over the world's weather, has the cleanest and clearest atmosphere on Earth, is a natural laboratory for high-energy particle detection, and a host of other reasons too numerous to go into here. NASA scientists study Antarctica's microorganism extremophiles (tiny creatures that live in extreme environments) for clues to possible life on Mars. Climate scientists and glaciologists look for data on Earth's climate history and clues regarding its future. Atmospheric scientists track ozone loss and recovery. The list goes on.
Elaine Hood
Every type of science imaginable is done in Antarctica. Due to the extreme dryness and 24 hours of darkness at the South Pole, astrophysics is the main science done there. The world's largest neutrino detector is under construction there. There is also a 10-meter telescope examining the origins of the universe. Also, one of the most sensitive seismic detectors on Earth is at the South Pole, able to detect earthquakes with extreme accuracy. Palmer Station's science is primarily biology. Oceanography and various benthic studies and biology are done from the ships. McMurdo Station, the largest station on the continent, hosts everything from geology, glaciology, biology, atmospheric studies, global warming....you name it.
MISSIONS:
Nicholas Johnson
According to the National Science Foundation website, Long-Duration Balloon (LDB) missions conduct astrophysical experiments from the upper atmosphere. I have helped construct and maintain the launch pad for the LDB project at Williams Field near McMurdo Station, where I once saw a seal starving to death because it is against the Antarctic Treaty to move seals back to the water, though other seals are sometimes killed for scientific studies. In any case, if you want to know more about these matters, I suggest contacting Peter West (pwest@nsf.gov) at the National Science Foundation. Send him my regards.
Jim Mastro
Physicists launch giant, high-altitude balloons with payloads containing experiments designed to measure astrophysical phenomena, such as cosmic rays or cosmic background radiation. The balloons rise to the edge of space and circle the continent, returning to very near where they were launched. This makes recovery of the scientific payload and data fairly easy, and it allows scientists to study the universe much more cheaply than with satellites or shuttle launches, while still getting above the damping effect of the atmosphere (or most of it, anyway).
An orbital mission is a satellite launch. Both satellites and balloon payloads have their advantages and disadvantages (some noted above). The bottom line is, if it can be done with a balloon, it's a lot cheaper. Some experiments absolutely require satellite launches, though.
Elaine Hood:
NASA works closely with us at McMurdo to send up two or three enormous balloons every December carrying a payload of science instruments. I call these the "poor man's satellite." If a university or institution has millions of dollars, they build a satellite and send it up to space on a rocket. But most scientific institutions don't have that kind of money, so a cheaper option is to build the instrument and send it up to the stratosphere to collect data for a month. The upper altitude winds circle the continent in a perfect circle during December, so if you send up a balloon today, a week or two from now it will have circled around the continent and returned to you. You use a remote control to release the payload. Scientists study solar flares, cosmic microwave background radiation, black holes, etc. this way.
PROJECTS:
Nicholas Johnson
There have been many big projects in Antarctica. Including the original construction and ongoing upkeep of McMurdo Station, the building of the new South Pole Station, and the constant maintenance of three airfields at McMurdo (plus one at Pole), and numerous other logistical projects throughout the years. More time, expense, and people in Antarctica are dedicated to logistics, maintenance, and station or field services than are dedicated directly to science.
Jim Mastro
There have been and continue to be … large scientific projects. But I believe IceCube is the biggest.
Nicholas Johnson
I know many people who work on the IceCube project, and I have seen their large and colorful equipment when I worked at the South Pole. That it is one of the more significant Antarctic science projects in recent years.
Jim Mastro
IceCube consists of a large number of deep holes drilled into the ice at the South Pole. A string of very sensitive photo detectors is lowered into each hole. These detect the incredibly dim flashes of light that result when a neutrino collides with a water molecule. Since neutrinos hardly ever interact with matter, these flashes are rare, which means you need a lot of detectors and a lot of water (or ice) that is very dark. Antarctica has it in abundance. The cool thing about the IceCube instrument is that it is designed to detect neutrinos that have already passed through the Earth and are on their way out the other side. There is an official website for IceCube that has a lot more information than I can provide.
Nicholas Johnson
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is in charge of the project (IceCube), funded by the National Science Foundation.
Elaine Hood
Your BEST option is to visit their web site: http://www.icecube.wisc.edu/
Simply put, neutrinos are infinitely smaller than atoms...trillions of them pass through the earth, you, every second. We can't see them. We can't really measure them easily. We're not really sure what they are. But they make up most of the universe. So, this detector being built at Pole has instruments in the ice. Hundreds of these round balls are frozen a kilometer down into the ice. As neutrinos bombard the earth at the North Pole and zip through the earth and exit at the South Pole, these teeny tiny particles will occasionally hit a molecule of ice, giving off a flash of blue light. These instruments will detect that flash. That is the closest we can get to seeing neutrinos and their properties. It is all truly amazing stuff.
SPECIES:
Claire Christian
According to the Census on Marine Life, there are about 7,500 Antarctic animal species.
Jim Mastro
New species are still being discovered. Of course, the vast majority of life in Antarctica lives in the sea and largely consists of invertebrates and fish (mostly invertebrates). Four species of penguin live in Antarctica (only one of them year round on the continent), with several others living on the sub-Antarctic fringes. Several species of whale live there, but only in the summer. Five species of seal live there (but only one of them is a year-round resident) and one species of fur seal (related to sea lions). Several others frequent the sub-Antarctic fringes. There are also a few bird species besides penguins that live in Antarctica in the summer, such as McCormick's skua. The sea floor is characterized by a sponge community, and there are approximately 300 known species of sponge.
Claire Christian
Thanks to the Census of Marine Life, a multi-year, worldwide effort to survey the oceans, there is much exciting new information about Antarctic marine ecosystems, including a “brittlestar city” in which tens of millions of starfish-like creatures crowd together to take advantage of nutrient-rich water current. It is expected that some of the species surveyed by the census will be new species. Additionally, on land, many new species of bacteria have been discovered.
ENDANGERED SPECIES:
Claire Christian
There is no process for declaring species endangered under the Antarctic Treaty, which governs the continent. However, the United States has declared 7 penguin species as threatened. Six of these species were given a general designation as threatened; only part of the population of the seventh is considered threatened. These protections only apply to U.S. entities and citizens. Conservation groups have identified numerous Antarctic species as endangered or threatened. The best list is probably the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List, on which there are several species listed as endangered. They are:
-Sei whales
-Blue whales
-Fin whales
-Northern Rockhopper penguins
-Sooty albatross
-Black-browed albatross
Other species of animals such as penguins, petrels, albatrosses, fish, and others are experiencing serious population declines due to range of threats including climate change, expanded fishing, and pollution.
Jim Mastro
If you consider only year-round residents, then I think the answer is none. That is, I don't believe there are any officially listed endangered species. However, several penguin populations seem to be declining, and among the summer visitors there are several endangered whale species (blue whale, for instance).
MAJOR THREATS:
Claire Christian
Human activity. Both climate change and overfishing threaten Antarctic environments and ecosystems. Climate change affects breeding cycles and breeding success, food availability, and habitat for numerous species. For example, because of the growing popularity of omega-3 nutritional supplements, many companies are trying to expand fishing in the waters around Antarctica for krill, a tiny shrimp-like crustacean. Although krill are very numerous, they are the base of the Antarctic ecosystem and it is not known how reduced populations will affect seals, whales, and penguins. Even as fishing increases, krill populations have declined due to the melting of sea ice, which protects krill from predators and fosters the growth of algal blooms, an important source of food for krill.
Jim Mastro
The leading risk for all Antarctic creatures right now is global climate change. Changes in winter and summer ice cover is already leading to a decline in krill populations, which is perhaps responsible for reductions in penguin populations. Declining krill stocks will also negatively affect whale populations. The permanent loss of sea ice would cause many species to go extinct.
GLOBAL WARMING:
Matt Rosenberg
Ice is breaking off the ice sheet in what seems to be increasingly larger chunks.
Claire Christian
Global warming in Antarctica has already resulted in the breakup of glaciers and major ice shelves. According to one study, the Antarctic ice sheet is losing up to 36 cubic miles of ice every year, perhaps more. While ice melting presents a more immediate problem in terms of sea level rise, the breakup of certain ice shelves could also raise sea levels because they currently prevent land ice from moving into the ocean. Once in the ocean, they could add to sea level. Additionally, warming contributes to the declining populations of some species. The loss of sea ice that affects krill necessarily affects the species who eat krill or who eat krill-dependent predators. When there are fewer krill, more animals will go hungry and die. Many animals breed on the ice and when it melts, may lose traditional nesting grounds and habitat ideal for nesting. Changing weather patterns have also been shown to impact breeding patterns and reproductive success.
Elaine Hood
We know the warmer ocean currents are melting the underbellies of ice. If you imagine a glacier coming down a slope and then moving out into the ocean...partially floating on the water. The warmer ocean current will melt it from the bottom up and then this "cork" or plug, moves away allowing more glaciers to move out into the ocean more quickly. We know West Antarctica (below the Pacific Ocean area) is melting much more quickly than the Eastern Plateau area. Something the public doesn't not always understand is that most of Antarctica is too cold to get snow. When it is -30, -60, -100 F, it is too cold to snow. Most of the new snow that falls is along the warmer coastline and then it blows to the interior part, does not melt there, building up over thousands of years. When we do see warmer temperatures, only -10 or even zero degrees, it can now snow. So warmer temperatures can mean MORE SNOW in Antarctica. Most people will hear on the news that it is snowing more and they think "oh, it isn't warming, it is getting colder" but that is not correct.
ACTION:
Claire Christian
First, we need to slow the rate at which global climate change is taking place. Antarctica is very vulnerable to even small changes in temperature. Second, we need to implement more effective regulations to protect Antarctica from other environmental threats such as pollution and overfishing. Such regulations include tighter restrictions on dumping of waste into the Southern Ocean by ships; management plans for Southern Ocean fisheries that take into account the needs of other animals in the ecosystem as well as the fact that populations may be declining due to environmental problems, and designating ecologically important or fragile marine and land areas as “protected areas” in which special rules and regulations limit human activity and keep the environment pristine.
Antarctica is the heritage of the entire world. It is a continent devoted to peace and science, and the world will benefit if it stays that way. Although most people will never get to visit, Antarctica plays a critical role in the world’s climate, and the results of scientific research conducted on the continent contribute greatly to scientific knowledge on a variety of subjects. It’s not easy to think about Antarctic environmental problems when we have to tackle so many complicated problems here at home, but we absolutely cannot ignore Antarctica if we want a healthy planet.
Jim Mastro
An immediate reduction to near zero global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel.
Matt Rosenberg
Reduce human impact on global warming.
TRAVELERS:
Jim Mastro
I believe the first to cross the continent was the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1955-1958 -- and it was on ice, not land! The first group to penetrate inland to any appreciable degree was Robert F. Scott's Discovery Expedition of 1901-1902.
Nicholas Johnson
Thousands of people in Antarctica have trekked to the South Pole and other places, but actual crossings of the entire continent are more rare. Notable expeditions to this end include those of Børge Ousland, Ranulph Fiennes and Mike Stroud, and Eirik Sønneland and Rolf Bae ( for an interview with them, see here: http://bigdeadplace.com/sonneland01.html).
Elaine Hood
Vivian Fuchs made the first transcontinental journey in 1957-58 using tractors.
Nicholas Johnson
In the American program, travel to Antarctica most commonly occurs by aircraft, though at Palmer Station, on the Antarctic Peninsula, travel is by ship.
Jim Mastro
Over 20,000 tourists go to Antarctica every year. Most countries access their Antarctic bases via ship, but the U.S. has the most people in Antarctica at any given time, and most U.S. researchers and support personnel travel by airplane to McMurdo Station.
Elaine Hood
Transcontinental journeys are done, but not commonly. They are mostly done by adventurers who are hoping to achieve a record (first woman, first Chinese, first done on skis, first done ...). There are many shorter traverses done by the various nations who conduct science in Antarctica. For example, the French will haul supplies from the coastline to their base at Dome C. The past two austral summers saw a US-Norwegian traverse from the Norwegian Troll Station to the South Pole and back to Troll, collecting ice core samples.
Nicholas Johnson
The flight typically lasts from 5 to 10 hours, depending on which type of military aircraft you’re on. This time does not include boomerangs, in which you fly halfway down, the weather turns ill, the plane turns around to deposit you at your starting point, and then you wake up the next day to try again.
Claire Christian
It often depends on the sometimes brutal weather, but under ideal conditions it would take about two or three days from Ushuaia, Argentina or Puntas Arenas, Chile (two common departure points for ships) to the Antarctic Peninsula.
Jim Mastro
A cruise ship gets from the tip of South America to the Antarctic Peninsula in a couple of days. From New Zealand to McMurdo Station by air is about 5 hours by jet and 8 hours by turboprop.
Elaine Hood
If you are talking about those of us who work there....this is how it works.
Most people are flown to Denver to attend a 2-day orientation. So, if you live in New York, let's say you leave home on Sunday and fly to Denver. You attend an orientation on Monday and Tuesday and fly Tuesday evening from Denver to LA. From LA you fly to New Zealand and since you cross the International Dateline, you will skip a day and arrive on Thursday morning in Auckland and then take another flight to Christchurch where you will arrive around noon. Friday you will be issued your cold weather clothing. Saturday you will get up around 4 to be at the aiport at 5 so your US Air Force jet cargo flight can leave around 7 am, flying 5 hours to McMurdo Station, arriving around noon on Saturday. So, the whole process takes about a week.
PARADISE FOUND:
Jim Mastro
Scientists have found many clues to plate tectonics. Rocks, fossils, and geologic formations is many areas of Antarctica exactly match those in Africa, South America, and Australia, making it quite clear that those land masses were once connected.
While it wasn't exactly a tropical paradise, 65 million years ago Antarctica had thick forests and a thriving animal population -- mostly dinosaurs. To get to tropical paradise status, you'd have to go back a lot further, to when Antarctica was part of Pangaea and was located nearer to the equator. (Of course, it wasn't really "Antarctica" yet!) Even after the dinosaurs went extinct, there was still substantial terrestrial life in Antarctica.
What happened was this: About 40 million years ago, Antarctica finally separated from South America. This opened up what is now known as the Drake Passage and allowed the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to begin. This current, which circles the continent, effectively isolated Antarctica thermally from the rest of the world and it began to cool down.
Elaine Hood
Fifty years ago many of the scientists in the US and Europe did not believe in plate tectonics and the idea that we were once a supercontinent. It was several scientists from New Zealand and Australia, I believe, who were pushing this theory and it was their research in Antarctica fifty years ago that showed conclusive evidence that the various continents used to be connected. Scientists have since discovered many fossils of ferns, plants, dinosaurs and other forms of life showing Antarctica was once very tropical....when it was farther north.
http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/antarcticsun/science/documents/dinos.pdf
THAT’S RIGHT, MARS.
We are more likely to learn more about Mars from Antarctica than the other way around, which is why NASA scientists go to Antarctica frequently and why studies such as this one of the Dry Valleys take place.
POSTCARD:
Nicholas Johnson
An intriguing community working on an industrial project against an insane backdrop.
Jim Mastro
Watching the sun dip down lower each day as winter approaches. Temperatures getting colder, storms more frequent, blown snow drifting around buildings, and nights getting longer. But on the upside, the sunsets are spectacular, with the sun taking several hours to set, and each moment the colors in the sky are reflected off the ice shift and change, from brilliant gold to orange to deep, blood red.
Matt Rosenberg
Cold. At the end of March, Antarctica is about to enter into its winter.
Elaine Hood
I've spent my life traveling the world and I have never seen any place as stunningly beautiful as this. It is breathtakingly beautiful!
RECOGNITION:
Elaine Hood
We have a wealth of resources your readers can access. Everything can be reached through our web site: www.usap.gov
At the bottom of the main page is The Antarctic Sun newspaper which is updated every week with new stories about the science being conducted. http://antarcticsun.usap.gov Just above that is the Antarctic Photo Library containing over 4,000 photos available for anyone in the world to use:
http://photolibrary.usap.gov The Participant's Guide is a book we provide for deploying personnel to help them know what to pack and what to expect when they get to their final destination. http://www.usap.gov/travelAndDeployment/contentHandler.cfm?id=541 And if anyone is interested in spending the austral summer (Oct-Feb) working in Antarctica, they should check out this page: http://www.usap.gov/jobsAndOpportunities/ OTHER REFERENCES:
AMANDA and IceCube. (2008, November 26). Index. Retrieved from IceCube: Neutrino Observatory: http://icecube.wisc.edu/
Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. (2009). Home: ASOC. Retrieved from Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition: http://www.asoc.org/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx
Antarctic Connection. (n.d.). Retrieved from AntarcticConnection.com: www.antarcticconnection.com
British Antarctic Survey. (2007). About. Retrieved from Natural Environment Research Council: http://www.antarctica.ac.uk//about_antarctica/geopolitical/treaty/
Johnson, N. (2009, February 27). Index: Big Dead Place . Retrieved from Big Dead Place: http://www.bigdeadplace.com
Mastro, J. (2002). Antarctica: A Year at the Bottom of the World. Boston: Bulfinch Press.
MastroMedia. (1998-2009). Home: Antarctica Online. Retrieved from The Premier Source for Antarctic Images and Information: http://www.antarcticaonline.com/antarctica/home/home.htm
National Science Foundation. (2009, January 9). News: Press Release 09-002. Retrieved from NSF, NASA Successfully Flight-Test New Balloon Over Antarctica: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112956
National Science Foundation. (2008, July 10). OPP - PRSS - McMurdo Station. Retrieved from Office of Polar Programs: http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/support/mcmurdo.jsp
Office of Marine Programs. (2009). Index. Retrieved from Census of Marine Life: Making Ocean Life Count: http://www.coml.org/
Rosenberg, M. (2009). Geography. Retrieved from About.com: http://geography.about.com/
Rosenberg, M. (May 2002). The Geography Bee Complete Preparation Handbook. Prima Pub.
Rosenberg, M. (October 1998). The Handy Geography Answer Book. Visible Ink Press.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography. (2009). Index: SIO.USCD. Retrieved from Global Discoveries for Tomorrow's World: http://www.sio.ucsd.edu/
INTRODUCTIONS:
Jim Mastro
I have a Bachelor of Science degree in zoology and have worked at several biology-related jobs over the years. I was working at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego when I first learned of the Antarctic Program. In 1982, I took my first job there, a 14-month position as assistant manager and winter manager of the Eklund Biological Center at McMurdo Station. That experience put the Ice in my blood, and I ended up going back again and again, in a variety of positions, until I had spent a total of almost 72 months in Antarctica -- almost 6 years. I last went in 2005 and, although I don't rule out returning, I now spend my time as a writer. I've had three books on Antarctica published. The first is my memoir, (with photos): Antarctica: A Year at the Bottom of the World.
Matt Rosenberg
He has been a Guide to Geography on About.com since 1997. A few highlights from Matt’s extensive biography include, published two books about geography, The Handy Geography Answer Book and The Geography Bee Complete Preparation Handbook, awarded the Excellence in Media Award from the National Council for Geographic Education for his contributions over the years to the discipline of geography, and holds a Master’s degree in geography from California State University, Northridge.
Claire Christian
I am a Campaign Associate with the Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition, an organization dedicated to the preservation of Antarctica and the surrounding Southern Ocean.
Nicholas Johnson
I’m the author of “Big Dead Place: Inside the Strange and Menacing World of Antarctica” and editor of the website BigDeadPlace.com. I’ve worked 8 contracts in Antarctica, spending over 4 years total on the ice, including two winters at McMurdo Station on the coast, and one winter at South Pole in the continental interior.
Elaine Hood
After almost twenty years of teaching high school social studies, I quit my job and went to Antarctica for what I thought would be a one-season stint working for the US Antarctic Program. However, that was 11 years ago and here I am, still in love with the continent, the science and the amazing people who work there. I am now the Communications Specialist for the support contractor to the USAP. The National Science Foundation manages the program and hires various contractors to perform different functions. There are three permanent US stations: Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station is located at 90 degrees south; McMurdo Station is located along the coastline "under" New Zealand; and Palmer Station is located on Anvers Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula "under" South America. There are also two research ships and many field camps that we maintain.
ABOUT THE ICE:
Nicholas Johnson
Approximately 98% of Antarctica is covered by ice.
Claire Christian
Short answer: most of the world’s ice is in Antarctica.
Here are some more details (courtesy of www.antarcticconnection.com):
- The ice is up to 3 miles deep and covers about 5.3 million square miles, or about 97.6 percent of the continent.
-This volume of ice amounts to about 6 million cubic miles - if it were returned to the oceans, it would raise global sea level about 200 feet.
- The average thickness of ice makes Antarctica the highest continent.
-Antarctic ice represents 90 percent of all the world's ice and 70 percent of all the world's fresh water.
Jim Mastro
It's a lot of ice! Imagine all of the United States and Mexico covered with ice, in some places up to 3 miles thick. That's how much ice is in Antarctica.
Matt Roseberg
Ice covers 13.72 million sq km of Antarctica and it is 2000-4000 feet thick, on average.
Elaine Hood
That would be a good mathematical question for a group of high school students. I don't have any answers at my fingertips. The continent of Antarctica is about 1 1/2 times the size of the US and the snow depth varies from 1 to 2.5 miles deep.
EQUIPMENT:
Nicholas Johnson
I take clothes, books, an audio recorder, a camera, and occasionally some sort of Halloween costume, among other things. Most anything you forget to bring can be ordered on the internet during the Austral summer, but not in the winter when there are no planes.
Jim Mastro
That depends entirely on what you plan to do there. A team studying glaciers will take different equipment than one studying bottom-dwelling sea creatures. But everyone has to have the appropriate Extreme Cold Weather clothing and other survival gear. This means a heavy, hooded parka, plenty of thick long underwear, fleece jackets, wind breakers and wind pants, thick socks, thick gloves and mittens, caps, face protectors, and heavy boots.
Elaine Hood
The company I work for, Raytheon Polar Services, provides people with everything they need to have a safe and successful season "on the Ice" as we say. The majority of people travel through Christchurch, New Zealand, where they will receive the Extreme Cold Weather clothing for safe survival outdoors. Once they arrive at McMurdo Station and before traveling out to a remote field camp, they will be issued tents, food, sleeping bags, heaters, camp stoves, etc. Scientists send us their "request checklist" months in advance, telling us what they will need. If the scientist tells us he or she will have four team members, they will be in the field for 2 months and they need to have a helicopter arrive every three days to take samples back to McMurdo, we arrange for all these things ahead of time so when the science team arrives, we have everything ready for them.
TESTING AND RESEARCH:
Matt Rosenberg
The geology of the continent, astronomical studies, atmospheric studies, biology of the continent, ice sampling for climate studies, and more.
Jim Mastro
Every kind of scientific research you can imagine takes place in Antarctica: biology, geology, paleontology, glaciology, meteorology, upper atmospheric physics, astronomy, astrophysics, medicine, human physiology, oceanography, ecology, and so on. What makes Antarctica so valuable as a scientific laboratory is that it is relatively untouched by humans, is home to large numbers of organisms that are adapted to an extreme environment, contains a climate record in the ice dating back hundreds of thousands of years, holds valuable clues to geological history and plate tectonics, exerts control over the world's weather, has the cleanest and clearest atmosphere on Earth, is a natural laboratory for high-energy particle detection, and a host of other reasons too numerous to go into here. NASA scientists study Antarctica's microorganism extremophiles (tiny creatures that live in extreme environments) for clues to possible life on Mars. Climate scientists and glaciologists look for data on Earth's climate history and clues regarding its future. Atmospheric scientists track ozone loss and recovery. The list goes on.
Elaine Hood
Every type of science imaginable is done in Antarctica. Due to the extreme dryness and 24 hours of darkness at the South Pole, astrophysics is the main science done there. The world's largest neutrino detector is under construction there. There is also a 10-meter telescope examining the origins of the universe. Also, one of the most sensitive seismic detectors on Earth is at the South Pole, able to detect earthquakes with extreme accuracy. Palmer Station's science is primarily biology. Oceanography and various benthic studies and biology are done from the ships. McMurdo Station, the largest station on the continent, hosts everything from geology, glaciology, biology, atmospheric studies, global warming....you name it.
MISSIONS:
Nicholas Johnson
According to the National Science Foundation website, Long-Duration Balloon (LDB) missions conduct astrophysical experiments from the upper atmosphere. I have helped construct and maintain the launch pad for the LDB project at Williams Field near McMurdo Station, where I once saw a seal starving to death because it is against the Antarctic Treaty to move seals back to the water, though other seals are sometimes killed for scientific studies. In any case, if you want to know more about these matters, I suggest contacting Peter West (pwest@nsf.gov) at the National Science Foundation. Send him my regards.
Jim Mastro
Physicists launch giant, high-altitude balloons with payloads containing experiments designed to measure astrophysical phenomena, such as cosmic rays or cosmic background radiation. The balloons rise to the edge of space and circle the continent, returning to very near where they were launched. This makes recovery of the scientific payload and data fairly easy, and it allows scientists to study the universe much more cheaply than with satellites or shuttle launches, while still getting above the damping effect of the atmosphere (or most of it, anyway).
An orbital mission is a satellite launch. Both satellites and balloon payloads have their advantages and disadvantages (some noted above). The bottom line is, if it can be done with a balloon, it's a lot cheaper. Some experiments absolutely require satellite launches, though.
Elaine Hood:
NASA works closely with us at McMurdo to send up two or three enormous balloons every December carrying a payload of science instruments. I call these the "poor man's satellite." If a university or institution has millions of dollars, they build a satellite and send it up to space on a rocket. But most scientific institutions don't have that kind of money, so a cheaper option is to build the instrument and send it up to the stratosphere to collect data for a month. The upper altitude winds circle the continent in a perfect circle during December, so if you send up a balloon today, a week or two from now it will have circled around the continent and returned to you. You use a remote control to release the payload. Scientists study solar flares, cosmic microwave background radiation, black holes, etc. this way.
PROJECTS:
Nicholas Johnson
There have been many big projects in Antarctica. Including the original construction and ongoing upkeep of McMurdo Station, the building of the new South Pole Station, and the constant maintenance of three airfields at McMurdo (plus one at Pole), and numerous other logistical projects throughout the years. More time, expense, and people in Antarctica are dedicated to logistics, maintenance, and station or field services than are dedicated directly to science.
Jim Mastro
There have been and continue to be … large scientific projects. But I believe IceCube is the biggest.
Nicholas Johnson
I know many people who work on the IceCube project, and I have seen their large and colorful equipment when I worked at the South Pole. That it is one of the more significant Antarctic science projects in recent years.
Jim Mastro
IceCube consists of a large number of deep holes drilled into the ice at the South Pole. A string of very sensitive photo detectors is lowered into each hole. These detect the incredibly dim flashes of light that result when a neutrino collides with a water molecule. Since neutrinos hardly ever interact with matter, these flashes are rare, which means you need a lot of detectors and a lot of water (or ice) that is very dark. Antarctica has it in abundance. The cool thing about the IceCube instrument is that it is designed to detect neutrinos that have already passed through the Earth and are on their way out the other side. There is an official website for IceCube that has a lot more information than I can provide.
Nicholas Johnson
The University of Wisconsin-Madison is in charge of the project (IceCube), funded by the National Science Foundation.
Elaine Hood
Your BEST option is to visit their web site: http://www.icecube.wisc.edu/
Simply put, neutrinos are infinitely smaller than atoms...trillions of them pass through the earth, you, every second. We can't see them. We can't really measure them easily. We're not really sure what they are. But they make up most of the universe. So, this detector being built at Pole has instruments in the ice. Hundreds of these round balls are frozen a kilometer down into the ice. As neutrinos bombard the earth at the North Pole and zip through the earth and exit at the South Pole, these teeny tiny particles will occasionally hit a molecule of ice, giving off a flash of blue light. These instruments will detect that flash. That is the closest we can get to seeing neutrinos and their properties. It is all truly amazing stuff.
SPECIES:
Claire Christian
According to the Census on Marine Life, there are about 7,500 Antarctic animal species.
Jim Mastro
New species are still being discovered. Of course, the vast majority of life in Antarctica lives in the sea and largely consists of invertebrates and fish (mostly invertebrates). Four species of penguin live in Antarctica (only one of them year round on the continent), with several others living on the sub-Antarctic fringes. Several species of whale live there, but only in the summer. Five species of seal live there (but only one of them is a year-round resident) and one species of fur seal (related to sea lions). Several others frequent the sub-Antarctic fringes. There are also a few bird species besides penguins that live in Antarctica in the summer, such as McCormick's skua. The sea floor is characterized by a sponge community, and there are approximately 300 known species of sponge.
Claire Christian
Thanks to the Census of Marine Life, a multi-year, worldwide effort to survey the oceans, there is much exciting new information about Antarctic marine ecosystems, including a “brittlestar city” in which tens of millions of starfish-like creatures crowd together to take advantage of nutrient-rich water current. It is expected that some of the species surveyed by the census will be new species. Additionally, on land, many new species of bacteria have been discovered.
ENDANGERED SPECIES:
Claire Christian
There is no process for declaring species endangered under the Antarctic Treaty, which governs the continent. However, the United States has declared 7 penguin species as threatened. Six of these species were given a general designation as threatened; only part of the population of the seventh is considered threatened. These protections only apply to U.S. entities and citizens. Conservation groups have identified numerous Antarctic species as endangered or threatened. The best list is probably the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s Red List, on which there are several species listed as endangered. They are:
-Sei whales
-Blue whales
-Fin whales
-Northern Rockhopper penguins
-Sooty albatross
-Black-browed albatross
Other species of animals such as penguins, petrels, albatrosses, fish, and others are experiencing serious population declines due to range of threats including climate change, expanded fishing, and pollution.
Jim Mastro
If you consider only year-round residents, then I think the answer is none. That is, I don't believe there are any officially listed endangered species. However, several penguin populations seem to be declining, and among the summer visitors there are several endangered whale species (blue whale, for instance).
MAJOR THREATS:
Claire Christian
Human activity. Both climate change and overfishing threaten Antarctic environments and ecosystems. Climate change affects breeding cycles and breeding success, food availability, and habitat for numerous species. For example, because of the growing popularity of omega-3 nutritional supplements, many companies are trying to expand fishing in the waters around Antarctica for krill, a tiny shrimp-like crustacean. Although krill are very numerous, they are the base of the Antarctic ecosystem and it is not known how reduced populations will affect seals, whales, and penguins. Even as fishing increases, krill populations have declined due to the melting of sea ice, which protects krill from predators and fosters the growth of algal blooms, an important source of food for krill.
Jim Mastro
The leading risk for all Antarctic creatures right now is global climate change. Changes in winter and summer ice cover is already leading to a decline in krill populations, which is perhaps responsible for reductions in penguin populations. Declining krill stocks will also negatively affect whale populations. The permanent loss of sea ice would cause many species to go extinct.
GLOBAL WARMING:
Matt Rosenberg
Ice is breaking off the ice sheet in what seems to be increasingly larger chunks.
Claire Christian
Global warming in Antarctica has already resulted in the breakup of glaciers and major ice shelves. According to one study, the Antarctic ice sheet is losing up to 36 cubic miles of ice every year, perhaps more. While ice melting presents a more immediate problem in terms of sea level rise, the breakup of certain ice shelves could also raise sea levels because they currently prevent land ice from moving into the ocean. Once in the ocean, they could add to sea level. Additionally, warming contributes to the declining populations of some species. The loss of sea ice that affects krill necessarily affects the species who eat krill or who eat krill-dependent predators. When there are fewer krill, more animals will go hungry and die. Many animals breed on the ice and when it melts, may lose traditional nesting grounds and habitat ideal for nesting. Changing weather patterns have also been shown to impact breeding patterns and reproductive success.
Elaine Hood
We know the warmer ocean currents are melting the underbellies of ice. If you imagine a glacier coming down a slope and then moving out into the ocean...partially floating on the water. The warmer ocean current will melt it from the bottom up and then this "cork" or plug, moves away allowing more glaciers to move out into the ocean more quickly. We know West Antarctica (below the Pacific Ocean area) is melting much more quickly than the Eastern Plateau area. Something the public doesn't not always understand is that most of Antarctica is too cold to get snow. When it is -30, -60, -100 F, it is too cold to snow. Most of the new snow that falls is along the warmer coastline and then it blows to the interior part, does not melt there, building up over thousands of years. When we do see warmer temperatures, only -10 or even zero degrees, it can now snow. So warmer temperatures can mean MORE SNOW in Antarctica. Most people will hear on the news that it is snowing more and they think "oh, it isn't warming, it is getting colder" but that is not correct.
ACTION:
Claire Christian
First, we need to slow the rate at which global climate change is taking place. Antarctica is very vulnerable to even small changes in temperature. Second, we need to implement more effective regulations to protect Antarctica from other environmental threats such as pollution and overfishing. Such regulations include tighter restrictions on dumping of waste into the Southern Ocean by ships; management plans for Southern Ocean fisheries that take into account the needs of other animals in the ecosystem as well as the fact that populations may be declining due to environmental problems, and designating ecologically important or fragile marine and land areas as “protected areas” in which special rules and regulations limit human activity and keep the environment pristine.
Antarctica is the heritage of the entire world. It is a continent devoted to peace and science, and the world will benefit if it stays that way. Although most people will never get to visit, Antarctica plays a critical role in the world’s climate, and the results of scientific research conducted on the continent contribute greatly to scientific knowledge on a variety of subjects. It’s not easy to think about Antarctic environmental problems when we have to tackle so many complicated problems here at home, but we absolutely cannot ignore Antarctica if we want a healthy planet.
Jim Mastro
An immediate reduction to near zero global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel.
Matt Rosenberg
Reduce human impact on global warming.
TRAVELERS:
Jim Mastro
I believe the first to cross the continent was the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1955-1958 -- and it was on ice, not land! The first group to penetrate inland to any appreciable degree was Robert F. Scott's Discovery Expedition of 1901-1902.
Nicholas Johnson
Thousands of people in Antarctica have trekked to the South Pole and other places, but actual crossings of the entire continent are more rare. Notable expeditions to this end include those of Børge Ousland, Ranulph Fiennes and Mike Stroud, and Eirik Sønneland and Rolf Bae ( for an interview with them, see here: http://bigdeadplace.com/sonneland01.html).
Elaine Hood
Vivian Fuchs made the first transcontinental journey in 1957-58 using tractors.
Nicholas Johnson
In the American program, travel to Antarctica most commonly occurs by aircraft, though at Palmer Station, on the Antarctic Peninsula, travel is by ship.
Jim Mastro
Over 20,000 tourists go to Antarctica every year. Most countries access their Antarctic bases via ship, but the U.S. has the most people in Antarctica at any given time, and most U.S. researchers and support personnel travel by airplane to McMurdo Station.
Elaine Hood
Transcontinental journeys are done, but not commonly. They are mostly done by adventurers who are hoping to achieve a record (first woman, first Chinese, first done on skis, first done ...). There are many shorter traverses done by the various nations who conduct science in Antarctica. For example, the French will haul supplies from the coastline to their base at Dome C. The past two austral summers saw a US-Norwegian traverse from the Norwegian Troll Station to the South Pole and back to Troll, collecting ice core samples.
Nicholas Johnson
The flight typically lasts from 5 to 10 hours, depending on which type of military aircraft you’re on. This time does not include boomerangs, in which you fly halfway down, the weather turns ill, the plane turns around to deposit you at your starting point, and then you wake up the next day to try again.
Claire Christian
It often depends on the sometimes brutal weather, but under ideal conditions it would take about two or three days from Ushuaia, Argentina or Puntas Arenas, Chile (two common departure points for ships) to the Antarctic Peninsula.
Jim Mastro
A cruise ship gets from the tip of South America to the Antarctic Peninsula in a couple of days. From New Zealand to McMurdo Station by air is about 5 hours by jet and 8 hours by turboprop.
Elaine Hood
If you are talking about those of us who work there....this is how it works.
Most people are flown to Denver to attend a 2-day orientation. So, if you live in New York, let's say you leave home on Sunday and fly to Denver. You attend an orientation on Monday and Tuesday and fly Tuesday evening from Denver to LA. From LA you fly to New Zealand and since you cross the International Dateline, you will skip a day and arrive on Thursday morning in Auckland and then take another flight to Christchurch where you will arrive around noon. Friday you will be issued your cold weather clothing. Saturday you will get up around 4 to be at the aiport at 5 so your US Air Force jet cargo flight can leave around 7 am, flying 5 hours to McMurdo Station, arriving around noon on Saturday. So, the whole process takes about a week.
PARADISE FOUND:
Jim Mastro
Scientists have found many clues to plate tectonics. Rocks, fossils, and geologic formations is many areas of Antarctica exactly match those in Africa, South America, and Australia, making it quite clear that those land masses were once connected.
While it wasn't exactly a tropical paradise, 65 million years ago Antarctica had thick forests and a thriving animal population -- mostly dinosaurs. To get to tropical paradise status, you'd have to go back a lot further, to when Antarctica was part of Pangaea and was located nearer to the equator. (Of course, it wasn't really "Antarctica" yet!) Even after the dinosaurs went extinct, there was still substantial terrestrial life in Antarctica.
What happened was this: About 40 million years ago, Antarctica finally separated from South America. This opened up what is now known as the Drake Passage and allowed the Antarctic Circumpolar Current to begin. This current, which circles the continent, effectively isolated Antarctica thermally from the rest of the world and it began to cool down.
Elaine Hood
Fifty years ago many of the scientists in the US and Europe did not believe in plate tectonics and the idea that we were once a supercontinent. It was several scientists from New Zealand and Australia, I believe, who were pushing this theory and it was their research in Antarctica fifty years ago that showed conclusive evidence that the various continents used to be connected. Scientists have since discovered many fossils of ferns, plants, dinosaurs and other forms of life showing Antarctica was once very tropical....when it was farther north.
http://antarcticsun.usap.gov/antarcticsun/science/documents/dinos.pdf
THAT’S RIGHT, MARS.
We are more likely to learn more about Mars from Antarctica than the other way around, which is why NASA scientists go to Antarctica frequently and why studies such as this one of the Dry Valleys take place.
POSTCARD:
Nicholas Johnson
An intriguing community working on an industrial project against an insane backdrop.
Jim Mastro
Watching the sun dip down lower each day as winter approaches. Temperatures getting colder, storms more frequent, blown snow drifting around buildings, and nights getting longer. But on the upside, the sunsets are spectacular, with the sun taking several hours to set, and each moment the colors in the sky are reflected off the ice shift and change, from brilliant gold to orange to deep, blood red.
Matt Rosenberg
Cold. At the end of March, Antarctica is about to enter into its winter.
Elaine Hood
I've spent my life traveling the world and I have never seen any place as stunningly beautiful as this. It is breathtakingly beautiful!
RECOGNITION:
Elaine Hood
We have a wealth of resources your readers can access. Everything can be reached through our web site: www.usap.gov
At the bottom of the main page is The Antarctic Sun newspaper which is updated every week with new stories about the science being conducted. http://antarcticsun.usap.gov Just above that is the Antarctic Photo Library containing over 4,000 photos available for anyone in the world to use:
http://photolibrary.usap.gov The Participant's Guide is a book we provide for deploying personnel to help them know what to pack and what to expect when they get to their final destination. http://www.usap.gov/travelAndDeployment/contentHandler.cfm?id=541 And if anyone is interested in spending the austral summer (Oct-Feb) working in Antarctica, they should check out this page: http://www.usap.gov/jobsAndOpportunities/ OTHER REFERENCES:
AMANDA and IceCube. (2008, November 26). Index. Retrieved from IceCube: Neutrino Observatory: http://icecube.wisc.edu/
Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition. (2009). Home: ASOC. Retrieved from Antarctic and Southern Ocean Coalition: http://www.asoc.org/Home/tabid/36/Default.aspx
Antarctic Connection. (n.d.). Retrieved from AntarcticConnection.com: www.antarcticconnection.com
British Antarctic Survey. (2007). About. Retrieved from Natural Environment Research Council: http://www.antarctica.ac.uk//about_antarctica/geopolitical/treaty/
Johnson, N. (2009, February 27). Index: Big Dead Place . Retrieved from Big Dead Place: http://www.bigdeadplace.com
Mastro, J. (2002). Antarctica: A Year at the Bottom of the World. Boston: Bulfinch Press.
MastroMedia. (1998-2009). Home: Antarctica Online. Retrieved from The Premier Source for Antarctic Images and Information: http://www.antarcticaonline.com/antarctica/home/home.htm
National Science Foundation. (2009, January 9). News: Press Release 09-002. Retrieved from NSF, NASA Successfully Flight-Test New Balloon Over Antarctica: http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=112956
National Science Foundation. (2008, July 10). OPP - PRSS - McMurdo Station. Retrieved from Office of Polar Programs: http://www.nsf.gov/od/opp/support/mcmurdo.jsp
Office of Marine Programs. (2009). Index. Retrieved from Census of Marine Life: Making Ocean Life Count: http://www.coml.org/
Rosenberg, M. (2009). Geography. Retrieved from About.com: http://geography.about.com/
Rosenberg, M. (May 2002). The Geography Bee Complete Preparation Handbook. Prima Pub.
Rosenberg, M. (October 1998). The Handy Geography Answer Book. Visible Ink Press.
Scripps Institution of Oceanography. (2009). Index: SIO.USCD. Retrieved from Global Discoveries for Tomorrow's World: http://www.sio.ucsd.edu/
Friday, February 20, 2009
Blog
The complete articles from BestWordsForward.com Blog will be published soon. We apologize for the delay. Thank you for your patience.
--BWF Staff
http://astore.amazon.com/youbesworfo07-20
http://www.bestwordsforward.com
--BWF Staff
http://astore.amazon.com/youbesworfo07-20
http://www.bestwordsforward.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Search 2.0
Followers
Best Words Forward's Fan Box