Silje-Kristin Jensen, Calista Morrison and Jenny Baeseman represented APECS on the Students on Ice 2011 University Expedition to the Antarctic Peninsula. The expedition ran from 14 - 27 February and included students from over 15 countries and 25 Universities. The trip took them to the bottom of the world starting in Ushuaia, Argentina surrounded by the mountains in Tierra del Fuego to 'Iceberg Alley' and the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust's Port Lockroy and many places in-between… including the dreaded Drake Passage.
The amazing ice-bergs, calving glaciers, playful fur seals, and curious penguins were only part of the exciting adventure. The expedition included 6 different upper level undergraduate/ masters level courses on a variety of topics taught be wonderful professors. Eric Galbraith and his team from McGill University looked at Antarctica and the Earth System, specifically the important role the Southern Ocean plays in moderating global climate. The discovery of the K/T Boundary and other great geologic formations and paleoclimate reenactments were part of the course by Claudia Schrder-Adams and Natalia Rybczynski from Carleton University. Luke Copland from the University of Ottawa and Jeff Kavanaugh from the University of Alberta and their students looked at glaciers, ice-sheets and every other form of frozen water. The group from St. Andrews University, led by Sonja Heinrich, watched the behavior of top predators in the Antarctic Marine Ecosystem and were always around to help spot whales on the horizon. Hans Gelter and his ladies from Luleå University in Sweden held a class on Antarctic Tourism and were assessing how students viewed the Coldest Continent.
In addition to the great courses, and inspiring lectures, many other Polar Leaders and explorers were on hand to mentor the participants - including the youngest Canadian to climb Mt. Everest and seasoned polar naturalist Olle Carlsson from Sweden.
To find out more about this exciting expedition, read the daily journal of the participants, and watch the great videos from the courses, visit http://www.uantarctic.org/.
