Polar Discovery
In less than a month, three teams of scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will ship off for "the bottom of the world"—Antarctica. From November 24 to December 23, the groups will sidle up to a dormant volcano, examine 300,000-year-old lava flows, scrutinize the health of the continent's rocks, and get to know the life and times of two penguin colonies facing global warming.
This is the third of four treks to the Earth's poles, Antarctica and the Arctic. If the past two expeditions are any measure, the media team accompanying the researchers will also do some heady stuff. The group behind Polar Discovery, the expedition's website, has shown its prowess at crafting an especially rich online experience. Thanks to them, interested parties from around the globe will be able to follow the field researchers through live calls, daily photojournals, videos, and the occasional sport of "polar fun."
Already, readers can read up on the splash tags that will be affixed to the Antarctic penguins, consider the "lidar" camera that will capture three-dimensional images of the rock faces, and read more about Antarctica, a place Encarta Encyclopedia describes as "the southernmost, coldest, windiest, highest, most remote, and most recently discovered continent." That's one serious list of accomplishments.
"We are storytellers," the Polar Discovery Web maestros say, and they certainly know how to weave a great online tale. They've dedicated themselves to providing a true "inside look" at these field research efforts. That behind-the-scenes peek means "you will learn everything—not just the research team's tools and findings, but also how they get to remote locations like the North Pole, how they stay warm when the mercury drops to -30F, and even what they eat for lunch." PB&J?
Polar Discovery promises that "no one is going to get seasick" on this upcoming trek to the Antarctic. We'll cheer to that—and we'll be checking back to see if they're right. Bon voyage, team!
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