Conservators Launch Antarctic Blog

Posted on May 11, 2006

Scientists and researchers are making great use of blogs to bring their research and explorations closer to readers. One good example of this is the chimp blog by anthropologists studying chimpanzees in the wild.

Another new blog comes from the Natural History Museum's new Antarctic heritage and conservation website. The site has a blog by conservators who are in Antarctic this winter preserving Ernest Shackleton's hut.

The website features a blog with regular postings from conservators who are spending the Antarctic winter preserving Ernest Shackleton's hut. They will be updating the blog with their stories and pictures to raise awareness of this important preservation project.

The team of conservators, Sarah Clayton, Nicola Dunn and Ainslie Greiner, will be living for seven months in the harshest conditions the world has to offer, including hurricane-force winds, 24-hour darkness and temperatures that reach minus 47 degrees Celcius at night. You can follow their daily challenges through the team's Antarctic conservation blog.

The website highlights the history of scientifc research in the Antarctic that began in the early years of the last century when explorers were racing to reach the South Pole.

The scientists talk about their conservation work and what it is like living in the Antarctic. They also provide some great photographs of sun dogs, auroras and Minus 30ºC. When they aren't blogging the conservators take the time to relax in their improvised hot tubs.