Point Sur Reaches Antarctica

A team of scientists disembark from Moss Landing’s research vessel with the goal of “scouring islands for sedimentary rock looking for evidence that there may have been glaciers in the earth’s past when the planet was much warmer than it is today,” writes chef/steward/photographer Tara Pastuszek.

When scientists needed a lift to the South Pole, they called Moss Landing Marine Laboratories. So began a truly epic, 8,000-mile journey for the research vessel Point Sur and crew, full of spectacular sunsets, wildlife sightings and, just a few days ago, landfall at their ice encrusted destination, Palmer Station. Researchers on board include a team led by University of South Carolina PhD candidate Ben Oliver, whose blog offers many amazing photos. “Our current science party has been busy at work scouring islands for sedimentary rock looking for evidence that there may have been glaciers in the earth’s past when the planet was much warmer than it is today,” writes Point Sur crew member Tara Pastuszek on the Point Sur blog, which offers equally impressive imagery. “One of the objectives of this study is to gain insight into how glaciers will be impacted by modern climate change.” In this and many other ways, Point Sur and MLML support marine science research with worldwide impacts. MLML is a consortium of California State University campuses administered by San Jose State and the SJSU Research Foundation.