St. Lawrence Blues: The Magnificent Obsession of Richard Sears
By Jeff Stolzer
This thought crossed my mind as I sat in the crow's nest of the Shelagh, a 45-foot converted fishing trawler that was motoring slowly back and forth in the Gulf of St. Lawrence along the north shore of Quebec's Gaspe Peninsula. It was the first Saturday of September 2006, and I had joined a research team led by Explorers Club member Richard Sears, one of the world's preeminent experts on the blue whale. Read More...
A Fang-tastic Journey: Pursuing the Venomous Snakes of Papua New Guinea
By Mark O'Shea
Papua New Guinea has one of the highest death rates from snakebite in the world, suffering over 200 deaths a year from a population of 5.5 million. By comparison, Australia,with a population of 20 million and many closely related venomous snakes, has an annual snakebite mortality of two to four. Clearly, PNG has snakebite problem, and the Australian Venom Research Unit (AVRU) is trying to sort it out. Read More...
The International Polar Year: Celebrating the Sublime Spectacle of International Research
By Kristin Larson
Though they may be enemies in all else, here they are to be friends. So wrote Commander Maury, a mid- 19th century American naval officer and meteorologist who saw clearly that the destinies of mankind were influenced by forces of nature extending far beyond any one nation’s range of observation. He proposed a “sublime spectacle” of international research that would enjoy diplomatic immunity similar to that accorded early exploring ships by men-of-war. Maury reasoned that the knowledge gained would create not only a holistic understanding of the processes influencing the earth—its jet Celebrating the Sublime Spectacle of International Research Polar Year streams, solar flux, magnetic storms, ocean pump, and low pressures—but also would create bonds transcending political animosities. During this same period, the pervasive influence of polar regions on these large Earth systems became increasingly clear. Of all the locations on Earth, research in the high latitudes demanded cooperation and sharing of logistical burdens. Maury’s vision ultimately took shape several decades later as the International Polar Year (IPY) in 1882, the first in a series of four highly significant international scientific collaborations, including its progeny-IPY set to commence this March. Read More...
Beneath the Sands of Time: Explorations with Sue Henrickson
By Anne L. Doubilet
To slip slowly and exquisitely beneath the surface of the sea is to enter another realm-a realm of science and fiction and history. No one knows this better than Sue Hendrickson, independent explorer extraordinaire, whose discoveries have taken her around the planet from dusty desert landscapes to ancient underwater artifact sites. She is perhaps best known for her discovery of the largest and most complete skeleton of Tyrannosaurus rex ever found. On display in Chicago's Field Museum, "Sue" (also female) is appropriately named for her finder. Or as Hendrickson describes, "Sue actually found me. She was embedded in the dry, dusty cliffs directly above my head where I was searching for dinosaurs in an exposure in the badlands of South Dakota." Read More...
Mountaineering Ethics: Quo Vadis?
By Richard B. Birrer, Christopher D. Birrer, Richard B. Birrer, Daniel E. Birrer
In May of 2006, David Sharp, a young British climber, slowly succumbed to the elements 300 meters below the summit of Everest, despite being observed by more than three dozen climbers en route. How could such a "horrifying" event transpire? Read More...