Jonna's journal day:

"Shovel, dive, sieve". That is our abbreviated group motto for each day. The truth is actually "eat, chain saw, chipper bar, shovel, dip net, dive, eat, sieve, transfer samples, office work, eat, socialize (maybe), collapse and repeat the following day. The "chain saw, chipper bar, shovel, and dip net" part is what is involved in dive hole maintenance and it is as hard, if not harder, than it sounds. We have several dive holes that are not covered by huts and these holes are the hardest to clear--a thick layer of ice forms each night unless a Weddell Seal decides to use our hole as an air hole.

	Jennifer down on the ice exhausted from clearing dive holes.

Monday through Saturday we meet in the lab at 7:30AM and start our day. Most of us quickly scramble to check our email hoping to hear from friends and loved ones which puts a smile on our faces. We usually end our day with a confab to plan the next day but inevitably things change and flexibility and the ability to change gears is a must in our group.

First thing this morning Jennifer, Jim, and I went out to clear five holes. When we got to our furthest hole at Cape Armitage and started working at chipping the ice, we soon realized that we needed a chain saw. The only people in our group who are chainsaw certified are Craig and Dan so I returned to the Crary Lab to get Craig. However, we decided to abort clearing holes and get ready to dive out at Turtle Rock instead. So, back I went to get Jim and Jennifer and we turned our attention to preparing for diving at Turtle Rock.

Turtle Rock.	Turtle Rock Dive Hut 01

I was dive tender and Stacy and Craig and Jennifer and Jim were buddy pairs. They had successful work dives and were treated to four seals in the water with them. The seals were vocalizing so loudly that I could easily hear them on the surface. The vocalizations are part of their courting ritual and the sounds they make are eerie and make me think of Star Trek or outer space.

The illustrious dive team - Jim, Jennifer, Stacy, and Craig

Once we were back in the lab we had infaunal cores to sieve, samples to transfer, and journal entries to write. I don't think we have shown you photos of our lab space in the Crary Lab building so here are a couple:

After we finished our work in the lab, Rob, Stacy and I did a dive at our Cape Armitage site. Rob and I collected 50 Odontaster validus (sea stars) and 50 Sterechinus neumayeri (sea urchins) for population genetic work that Stacy is collaborating on with two researchers from Hopkins Marine Station. Stacy brought Craig's digital camera and the Nikonus still camera and took lots of photos. Some of the creatures she photographed included an isopod and anemones eating a jellyfish. I grabbed a photo of my favorite snail from the McMurdo Underwater guide: (http://mcmurdo.gov/science/fieldguide/index.html).

	Stacy with the Nikonus 5 underwater camera.

	Glyptonotus antarcticus is the giant Antarctic isopod. It can reach up to 20 cm in length and 70 grams in wieght. It is an omnivore eating almost anything including algae, worms, sea stars, sea urchins, and anything dead and decaying. This isopod lives 5-8 years.

	The sea anemone, Urticinopsis antarctica, is one of the largest benthic invertebrates in Antarctica. It feeds predominantly on sea stars and sea urchins however 21% of its diet is comprised of medusae or jellyfish that it captures with its tentacles..

Marseniopsis mollis is my favorite Mollusk in Antarctica. Although it resembles a sea slug it does have a thin, fragile internal shell and it is actually a lamellarian gastropod. It ranges from 1.4 to 7 cm in length and is the primary predator of the giant tunicate, Cnemidocarpus verrucosa. While consuming the tunicate it also ingests bryozoans and hydroids which are believed to be the source of the toxin, homarine, which is found in the tissue of M. mollis and serves as a predation deterrent.

Something you may not think about is how important it is for us to be considerate of our fellow team members in terms of our personal hygiene. It is imperative that we wash our clothes frequently because we sweat a lot due to the huge effort it takes to keep our dive holes clear of ice. Even though it is very cold you can really work up a good sweat. Immediately after clearing our dive holes we usually go directly to the dive locker to suit up for diving. Since we are using dry suits, we just slip off our outer layers and get into our dive underwear in our long underwear. There have been a couple days when some of us nearly pass out from the odiferous scents emanating from our dive locker (which is heated and a perfect environment for bad smells to settle in) and when that happens a polite "time to do laundry" is announced.