Leaving Port

We are underway! We are currently positioned at 52° 38.64' S, 64° 54.76' W and heading south. This is a picture of the Florida State science crew standing outside the ship.



Standing from left to right is graduate student Matthew Sumner, assistant curator of the ARF Matthew Curren, graduate student Wes Ingram, ARF curator Dr. Fred Weaver and me. The other picture is of the drill rig (I can't wait until we put it to use!).



This picture was taken from the ice tower, which is the highest observation point on the ship. It is six stories high. You have to climb three flights of ladders to get there. Leaving port was very exciting. The feeling of "there's no turning back now" definitely came over me. So far so good on the sea sickness. I felt a little queasy when we first left the pier. But, I took some Dramamine and now I feel fine. We aren't expected to hit open water for a few more hours. So hopefully the Dramamine will continue to work and no one will have to hold my hair back for me. We shall see how sturdy my sea legs are :o)
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Ready for Anything

I'm here in Punta Arenas safe and sound. Trying on all the clothes was pretty interesting. I felt like the little boy from A Christmas Story: "I can't put my arms down!" Needless to say we have to wear a lot of clothes.

Layer 1: silk long johns, layer 2: fleece long johns, layer 3: parka and pants.

I like the sunglass, but the goggles are too big. The yellow suit is my rain suit for if I'm out on the deck and there is a lot of spray and the red suit is my cold weather gear for the rest of the time. I shouldn't have to wear all of my cold weather gear while on the ship only when I go outside.

I'll be sending another shot of this ship. I like this one because it gives an idea of how big the ship really is. We went to the square to rub the toe of the Indian for good luck.

It is custom to rub the toe of the Indian to ensure a safe return. The Indian is part of the Magellan statue.

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Hello World

My name is Lindsey Geary. I am 22 years old and a senior Geology major at Florida State University. I transferred to Florida State University from Mohawk Valley Community College located in the central New York area.

What this is all about

I was offered a position at the Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility (ARF) while attending orientation at FSU. My advisor decided that due to my interest in Marine Geology that I should check out the ARF, as we like to call it. I was given a brief tour of the facility. It was brief partly because I couldn't stand the temperatures of the cold storage room in my Florida weather attire. After my tour the curator informed me that they would need some help in the fall. I accepted the position at the Antarctic Research Facility as a laboratory assistant and it has been a wonderful opportunity for me. Between the work I do and the things I learn from my fellow co-workers I have gained as much knowledge from my work as I have in my classes.

Being a geology student and working at ARF gave me the opportunity to participate in the SHADRIL cruise to Antarctica that is taking place March 30th - April 26th. I'll be the first undergraduate student from FSU to attend an Antarctic cruise in 30 years. This blog will be a record of my experience. I'll be sending updates as often as possible.

Preparing for the cruise has been hard but rewarding. In order to have my final spring semester open for the cruise I had to take two semesters at one time. That meant taking 17 credit hours of upper level geology in one semester. That is 5 classes and 4 labs. Yuck.

Some background information

In addition to doubling up on classes I decided it would be wise to learn more about the geology of Antarctica and the research being conducted there. So, for the past year every paper or presentation I've done has been on an aspect of Antarctic Geology. After all, I am going to be on a ship for a month with highly educated and highly experienced famous scientists.


I have always been very interested in Marine Science. During my junior year of high school I attended a week of study in Marine Science at Long Island University. That experience set in stone my desire to pursue a career in Marine Science. I chose to major in geology rather than biology because rocks, minerals and the earth's processes were more interesting to me than plants and animals. I have always been intrigued by the secrets of the ocean. Marine Science is the no mans land when it comes to the natural sciences. The ocean and all of it's properties are only recently beginning to be understood and I believe there is a wealth of knowledge waiting to be discovered and researched. This is initially what struck my interest in marine geology.

Antarctica has become a new interest for me because I realize that it is extremely important and may even be the key to our understanding climate studies. Also, it's information reservoirs
have barely been tapped. Like the great depths of the oceans Antarctica is another no mans land in the world of geologic science.

Future Plans

This fall I began a research project under the supervision of Dr. Fred Weaver. My research involves the study of Radiolaria. Radiolaria are beautiful single celled siliceous microfossils. Radiolaria are useful for indicating time and temperature. They are like the weathermen for ancient climates. Basically, I am learning different warm and cold water species and important biostratigraphic indicators. I have observed the variations in cold and warm water species through a section of core samples and used them to determine the fluctuations of the Antarctic convergence. If we are lucky enough to obtain cores that contain Radiolaria while on the SHALDRIL cruise I will be able to continue my research and perform biostratigraphy utilizing the new found Radiolaria.

After graduation I plan to attend graduate school where I hope to continue my educational career as a marine geologist/micro-paleontologist.
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