Journal entry from Diana Duran '03:
A typical day in the ship consists of two shifts: the midnight shift and the noon shift. The midnight shift runs from midnight to noon, and the noon shift runs from noon to midnight. I have the midnight shift. During my shift I have learned and seen things that I would have never experienced if I wouldn't have come with Gene (Geology Professor Eugene Domack, Hamilton College) to Antarctica. Not many people come to the Antarctic and I consider it a privilege to be here.
The first thing that we learned is ping editing. Ping-editing involves editing data that have been collected from the sea floor so later we can recompile it and make bathy maps and know where to get our cores from.
We take two hour turns at the navigation table. While we are there we record coordinates every 15 minutes and then we plot them on the map.
The best part of the cruise is when we get to one of the stations and get "grabs" and "cores." I love it! The first time I did a grab, I did it with bare hands! No gloves or any sort of protection against the Antarctic's cold. I thought my hands were going to fall off. But it was only temporary! I did it because Gene did it; I should have known better; Gene has more experience than me! Anyway, it was a good experience, I can tell my friends that I have touched some cold Antarctic mud!
After, we get a grab we clean them. The same thing applies to the cores, although we do more cleaning, sampling, and describing of the particular core.
I think that the Antarctic Program is great because it has taken me to a monotonous place, yet I have learned and seen a lot. Yesterday, we went to one of the American stations on the Peninsula, The Palmer Station. It was great! Some of the Hamilton students and I went for a hike. I hiked almost to the top of one of the glaciers, where I took pictures and enjoyed the beautiful landscape.
Even though I miss my parents because of the holidays, I think that the sacrifice is worth it. This is why I want to give thanks to God, my family, my advisor, my friends, Mrs. Conway and Gene, of course, for always supporting me in everything I do.
I went to South Lakes High School in Reston. VA. I want them to know that I'm making it in college, especially Mrs. Nakamura, my 9th grade English teacher; Mr. McKee, my Trigonometry teacher; Diane from the College Partnership Program; and of course Mrs. Knapp!
Diana Duran
Photo caption: Diana collects samples from the Smith-MacIntyre grab sampler for later analysis
