Dawn in Antarctica

Dale Andersen, Ian Hawes, Chris McKay, Asim Bej, Valery Galchenko, Vladirmir Akimov, and I will be heading to Lake Untersee, Antarctica under the auspices of the Russian Antarctic Program in November this year.  Our expedition is being funded through the Field Museum, Chicago, from private donations!  I'll provide details when I have a complete list from Dale, who has managed to raise enough money and in-kind support to make this expedition possible. As I start to plan for the trip, I realize how luxurious our trips with the National Science Foundation have been.  They provide good food, lots of help with equipment, warm clothing, and lots of logistics.  This time, we have to bring all our own food and field equipment, including warm clothes.  We'll be eating a lot of freeze dried food rather than "home cooked" meals from regular groceries.  I'll also be doing an new clothing inventory since I won't have the great layers from NSF.  I bought a mid-weight down

Our first paper on Lake Joyce is now online in Geobiology.  In it, we focus on evidence for a 7 meter rise in lake level in the past 40 years and the responses of the microbial communities to that environmental change.  It's exciting to have it out!