Antarctica

During the fall of 2011 I traveled to Antarctica to work with Biologist Dr. Samuel Bowser and his science research team.  The focus of Dr. Bowser’s work is the single-celled organisms known as Foraminifera. In my role as “field/research assistant and art/science liaison” I worked with team, “Bravo 043”, which included Dr. Bowser as lead scientist, scientists Dr. Jan Pawlowski and Dr. Andy Gooday, and divers Cecil Shin, Danielle Woodward, and Hilary Hudson.  We collected sediment samples from the sea floor and conducted studies at Explorers Cove, a remote field camp situated at the base of the Taylor Valley, in the Dry Valleys, west of McMurdo Station in Antarctica.

The 2011 research season for Bravo 043 on the “ice” ended in mid December. The foraminifera samples were packed up for further study at Sam Bowser’s lab in Albany, NY.  The work is not finished! To keep up with Dr. Bowser’s research please visit his blog: Ice Labyrinth, and his lab web page: http://www.bowserlab.org/.  You can also learn more and keep up with us by “liking” Team Bravo 043 on Facebook. In the future Dr. Bowser and I plan to collaborate on Art/Science projects related to this research. 

Upcoming events: AntARTica Talk and Exhibition on Saturday, March 30, 2013, from 4 to 6 pm at the Tannery Pond Community Center in North Creek, NY.  At 4 pm Sam Bowser and I will talk about our experience working together in Antarctica.  At 5 pm there will be a gallery reception for the exhibition AntARTica: Paintings by Laura Von Rosk and Sam Bowser; short film works by documentary film maker Hilary Hudson and musician Henry Kaiser.

Below I collected a (small!) sample of some of my favorite photos from the season: Assisting divers before and after they collected sediment core samples from the sea floor, thrilling skidoo rides on the frozen sea, passing pressure ridges, icebergs and glaciers, helicopters rides over McMurdo Sound, seals popping out of dive holes, watching steam escape from Mount Erebus, viewing incredible living creatures under a microscope, learning to identify different species of forams, and working with a group of people with a great sense of humor.

McMurdo Station

Bravo 043 at work

Around Camp

Wildlife

Cape Bernacchi			Salmon Bay

Pressure Ridges

New Zealand

Follow the links below to learn more about the scientific research, and some of our adventures!

Hilary Hudson's Short  Film: No Expectations: Art and Science Collaboration in Antarctica

Article from the Post Star, Glens Falls, NY: Schroon Lake Artist to Showcase work from Antarctica

North Country Public Radio interviews Sam Bowser and Laura Von Rosk: Exploring Art & Science at the Bottom of the World

The Antarctica Sun: Evolutionary Insight

NPR’s Science Friday blog: Science and Art in Antarctica

Numéro Cinq:
What it’s like living in Antarctica—from Laura Von Rosk at McMurdo Station
More Adventures at the Bottom of the World, Laura Von Rosk Reports from Antarctica

Article from the Lake George Mirror, Lake George, NY: An Artist Encounters Antarctica

Article from The Times Union, Albany, NY: In Antarctica, a meeting place of art and science

From The Crux (Cell Biologist Lynne Quarmby’s Science Blog):
Science Meets Art in Antarctica, an Interview with Scientist Sam Bowser and Artist Laura Von Rosk

Dr. Sam Bowser’s Blog: Ice Labyrinth

Like Bravo 043! on Facebook

Interview with Dr. Sam Bowser on Green Sense Radio:
Antarctica and the Environment (Fast forward to 9:35 to hear his interview)