There's a sweet new Antarctic blog in town

I did my undergrad in environmental science and during my senior year I did a lake water chemistry research study. During this time, a friend mentioned someone he grew up with ended up at the research station in Antarctica and had the wildest stories. It was 1995 and I was intrigued.

I remember tracking down the research proposal process for getting onto a project in Antarctica. If I remember correctly, if you proposed your own directed research it was kind of a fast-track to getting a spot down there, but there was also a general pool of "I'm a scientist with years of bench chemistry experience willing to do anything for anyone else's project" option but that one required that you apply about a year and a half before you'd get picked and deployed.

I can't remember if I went through with my application, but I do remember thinking that a gap year spent in Antarctica after undergrad or immediately after grad school would be quite an experience, but it never came to be.

Ever since, I've been drawn to stories from the otherworldly place because honestly, there's no reason humans should be living there year round if it wasn't for extreme measures, ample technology, and gumption.

I loved Maciej's adventures in Antarctica, and the book Big Dead Place where the writer spends a season working down there, and heck, any time some friend ends up on a research trip or even a tourist vessel, I'm all ears and all in on hearing tales from Antarctica.

So it's no surprise when I saw this being passed around on Mastodon over the weekend, I immediately fell in love with a new blog from someone on the ground and learning the ropes in Antarctica.

It's called Brr and it's a hoot. Do check it out. I know I'll be following along with this one closely.