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 Image courtesy of Rob Robbins / National Science Foundation |
Solving Polar Fossil Mysteries
The seafloor below Antarctic sea ice is covered with living things like molluscs and echinoderms. However, core samples from the layers of sediments below the surface contain very few fossils. Were there few animals living on the Antarctic sea floor in the geologic past? Or is it just difficult for fossils to form in polar environments so there isn't a record of them? From October until December 2008 a research team will be in Antarctica exploring below the sea ice to get to the bottom of this mystery. Dr. Sally E. Walker will be sending in virtual postcards to Windows to the Universe describing her experience with this research. |
Postcards
McMurdo Station, Ross Island, Antarctica from Sally Walker, October 12, 2008
Arrival on Ross Island, Antarctica from Sally Walker, October 10, 2008
Flight over Southern Ocean from Sally Walker, October 10, 2008
Boarding U.S. Airforce C-17 Globemaster III from Sally Walker, October 10, 2008
Clothing Distribution Center, United States Antarctic Program from Sally Walker, October 8, 2008
Christchurch, New Zealand from Sally Walker, October 7, 2008
Page created September 25, 2008 by Lisa Gardiner.
Last modified October 8, 2008 by Lisa Gardiner.
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