8 August, 2000

This is the second day of training for what promises to be an adventure--joining a research team on a trip to Antarctica.

We have seen presentations on previous trips to both the Arctic and Antarctica. These were fascinating, and included memorable pictures and stories. Today we were shown the clothing that people wear in polar climates. You may be interested to know that this statement was made, "You should never be cold in Antarctica." The gear is that good. This is reassuring!

Researchers have also presented the results of their work. Today we learned about the clues that can be extracted from sediment cores taken from the sea floor just off the coast of Antarctica. Scientists look for magnetic records, and fossils large and small. Much of this work is tied to gaining a better understanding of climate change.