Our major research site is McMurdo Sound, part of the Ross Sea, which is situated due south of New Zealand. Experiments are carried out in the Crary Laboratory at McMurdo Station, which is on Ross Island. A remote field camp was established on the shores of Explorers Cove in 1987, which houses scientists interested in the unique habitat found in New Harbor. Explorers Cove is near the Taylor Dry Valleys, on the Antarctic mainland.
Bowser Lab research:
New for December 2006 "Across the Southern Ocean" Cybergallery: Claire Beynon is a New Zealand-based artist who worked with our field team in 2005. An exhibit of her work, "Route Markings", opened in Dunedin, New Zealand on November 24, 2006. This companion Web site is a cyberopening of her work and of an exhibit by several Antarctic artists.
Field Diary from the 2005 field season.
Follow our field team during a typical field season in the Explorers Cove Diary.
More first-person accounts: Tina King's experiences, and Bob Sanders tells an icy tale.
Remote observation of microscopic organisms: The ROMEO project.
Our other current project, supported by the NSF Antarctic Biology and Medicine program. We are using the superb Antarctic foraminiferal assemblage to answer questions about the evolution of ancient forams, and to determine how they are able to employ such different trophic strategies.
Explorers Cove Datastore: Information about our research sites in Antarctica.
Home and away: The Bowser lab in Albany and Antarctica.
Antarctic Sun article on our research
As others see us: Other people talking about our work. Photographer Norbert Wu dives Under Antarctic Ice (and pays New Harbor, Explorers Cove, and our camp a visit), Congressman Boehlert visits our field camp, Terry Trimingham, Dale Stokes (scroll down to entry 10)
Getting around in Antarctica: How to Travel.
Don't forget our James Eights Resource Pages, for a 19th century explorer's Antarctic tales.
Other Explorers Cove and Antarctica links:
Where is Explorers Cove, anyway?
Images of Ross Sea, December 2002
What lives in Explorers Cove? Stuff we care about, and lots more too.
United States Antarctic Resource Center
Current McMurdo Station weather report
NOAA photo archive
Another group explores
Robert Holmes on Antarctic experiences past and present
About the Image: The formation above is a grounded iceberg at the entrance to Explorers Cove.
Science is useless unless it's shared, and most kids are born scientists. (What do you expect from a species that's asking "Why?" by the time they turn three?) We believe in getting people involved with science, no matter their age or experience level.
Skittle Core Exercise: Using forams to teach math.
Lectures: We're available to talk to your class.
Forams on the Hudson: We collaborate with the crew of the Half Moon, an educational replica of the first European ship to explore the Hudson River. Half Moon student crewmembers have helped us find foraminifera living in the Hudson River estuary.
James Eights: A 19th century Albany native, he explored the Antarctic and described a number of new species. Our James Eights Resource Pages introduce you to this scholar and artist.