Sampling Site #1: Robinson Ridge

Located approximately 1 hour via Hägglund from Casey Station sits Robinson Ridge, our first sampling site.

Direct from the field hut logbook ~ a la Dan Wilkins:

SAT 16/02/19

Ferrari project arrives to resample the long anticipated soil biodiversity transect. Whoever thought that 300m could seem so long? Perfect conditions for sampling. Warm day, 0/8 cloud, winds less than 5 knots. Team cracked on to 10:30pm sampling, then returned to hut for wine and cheese dinner.

SUN 17/02/19

Ferrari project had brilliant conditions yet again, transect sampling complete by 6:50pm. Retired to hut for wine and veg tajine, then walked down to water. No whales. No seals. Lovely though. First timers most impressed.

MON 18/02/19

Ferrari project unable to depart until 2nd Häg arrives from station so that we can comply with new SOP’s —> NO NAUGHTY EXPEDITIONERS ARE ALLOWED IN THE REAR OF THE HÄG. Anticipated departure close to lunch.

View of Robinson Ridge from the hut.

View of Robinson Ridge from the hut.

Beautiful moss beds.

Beautiful moss beds.

Robinson hut, quite roomy.

Robinson hut, quite roomy.

Black encrusting lichen on the rocks.

Black encrusting lichen on the rocks.

AAS 4406

The overall aim of AAS No. 4406 is to understand how atmospheric chemotrophy supports primary production and drives microbial community structure in eastern Antarctica. We resampled three remote locations (pictured below) using the same geospatial design and diversity assessments. The purpose of the activity is to collect soil for analysis back in Australia as part of a decadal plan to monitor community shifts and potential effects from global change between 2005 and 2018 at three sites in the Windmill Islands. This research will challenge our global understanding of the biological sciences, as a new strategy for survival at the nutritional limits of life will be described with ramifications for understanding global hydrogen and carbon cycling.

Check out more from “this week at casey”: http://www.antarctica.gov.au/living-and-working/stations/casey/this-week-at-casey/2019/this-week-at-casey-8-march-2019

#1: Robinson Ridge

#1: Robinson Ridge

#2: Mitchell Peninsula

#2: Mitchell Peninsula

#3: Browning Peninsula

#3: Browning Peninsula

Westpac STEM Ph.D. Program

Big congratulations to Kate Montgomery, a Ph.D. student in the Ferrari Lab, for being a successful applicant in Westpac's prestigious 2018 STEM program. We wish her all the best in her new and exciting role. 

“The STEM Ph.D. Program offers Ph.D. students with a focus on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics disciplines part-time employment with the Westpac Group while they complete their Ph.D.

Based in Sydney, participants work three days a week at the Westpac Group, gaining valuable business and commercial experience in a supportive environment with a structured development program tailored specifically to STEM students.

During the program participants will complete two, 24-month rotations in two different Westpac Group Business Units.”
— Westpac

Reddit's Top 10 Science Stories of the Year

Image: Getty Images. 

Image: Getty Images. 

#9 Breatharian bacteria

In the frozen wastes of Antarctica, scientists found bacteria that can survive by drawing energy from trace gases in the atmosphere without the aid of sunlight or geothermal energy. The discovery redraws the parameters of whatmight be possible for life, on Earth or elsewhere.

<https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/air-eating-bacteria-found-in-antarctica>

Air-Eating Bacteria

Congratulations to Belinda Ferrari and her team whose article had been accepted by Nature in December 2017. 

The research has found that microbes in Antarctica can scavenge hydrogen, carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide from the air to stay alive in such extreme conditions, and this has implications for the search for life on other planets. 

The article has also garnered international interest, read more about it here:

  1. https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/science-tech/living-thin-air-microbe-mystery-solved
  2. https://cosmosmagazine.com/biology/air-eating-bacteria-found-in-antarctica
  3. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/antarctic-alien-life-other-planets-possible-sustained-microbes-scientific-discovery-a8095411.html
  4. https://phys.org/news/2017-12-thin-airmicrobe-mystery.html
“Antarctica is one of the most extreme environments on Earth. Yet the cold, dark and dry desert regions are home to a surprisingly rich diversity of microbial communities.”
— Belinda Ferrari
Image: Adam's Flat - A hyper arid sampling site.&nbsp;Image taken by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD).&nbsp;

Image: Adam's Flat - A hyper arid sampling site. Image taken by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). 

Guinness World Record attempt: UNSW Science Showcase

On Monday 27 November 2017, we celebrated our diversity, broke a world record and celebrated our achievements at the end of year faculty celebrations. 

“To break the world record, we’ll need everyone in the one area dressed in a laundered lab coat, safety goggles, and holding a piece of (safe and uncontaminated) lab equipment for 5 minutes. We will supply this kit if you need it. To break the stereotype, we’ll then take off our lab coats and goggles and show the world what real scientists look like. The contrasting images will be used in a major campaign to engage communities with our work” ”
— Emma Johnston 2017
UNSW Science Participants.

UNSW Science Participants.