10 interesting things I learned in Antarctica

Back from the end of the world

For as long as I remember, I have loved penguins. I’m pretty sure my love affair began after reading Mr Popper’s Penguins - the delightful kids book by Richard and Florence Atwater.

In 1996, I was given the photograph below by my grandfather’s partner in his medical practice. It has set above my desk every day since.

A Gentoo penguin with chicks by Dr. William Strode

Since then it has been a long-term dream to be able to go on my own trip to Antarctica - a trip from which I just returned.

I’m still digesting an incredible experience for which there may be more to share later. But en lieu of something more reflective, I wanted to share 10 things I learned during my trip.

1. Some albatross can spend as long as 5 years at sea without ever returning to land

2. Glacial ice makes a popping sound as it melts. Some areas sound almost like a big bowl of Rice Krispies

3. Weddell seals will use an air hole to live in the water during the winter. They will use their teeth to scrape out the hole

4. Whaling removed almost 3 million whales from the ocean with the greatest percentage coming from the Southern Ocean

5. Steve the Dog at Detaille island

6. Whales poop before they dive deep. Whale poop brings vital nutrients to the upper layers of the water

7. The scale of Antarctica is deceiving. Everything is massive and panoramic making it hard to distinguish what is large or small

8. Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. “The AMOC is a system of ocean currents that circulates water within the Atlantic Ocean, bringing warm water north and cold water south.”

9. You can turn on a level on your iPhone camera so you know that your photos have a correctly horizontal horizon line

10. Seawater can go below 0 degrees Celsius without freezing because of the salt content