I only just learned about 70 Degrees South, a documentary film project funded by Rutgers University and the National Science Foundation. The documentary features the science and scenery of the Palmer Long Term Ecological Research Project. In support of the project, each January (the height of the Austral summer) the research vessel Laurence M. Gould reoccupies a series of stations along the central West Antarctic Peninsula. Reoccupying grid points might not sound too exciting, but the WAP is a fantastic and rugged place to do science. Sea ice blows in and out, storms charge in out of the Southern Ocean, wildlife is all around. The film crew went down the year before I was on the Gould, so I missed my 15 minutes of fame, but I’ve heard that the film is worth checking out. I had to chuckle at a few points in the description; I don’t think anyone’s called the Laurence M. Gould a “world class icebreaker” before (it doesn’t even make the grade for the coastguard’s list of major icebreakers), and saying the science team is equipped with “an arsenal of cutting edge technology” might be a stretch. Antarctic science is typically conducted on a shoestring budget, and this cruise is no exception.
The film is now screening at a few points across the country. Check it out and support Antarctic science!
Princeton, NJ Princeton Environmental Film Festival March 24, 2015
Minneapolis, MN Minneapolis Film Festival April 9 – 25, 2015
New York, NY Quad Cinema Opens April 17, 2015
Missoula, MT International Wildlife Film Festival April 18 – 25, 2015
Los Angeles, CA Laemmle Music Hall Opens May 15, 2015
