Last updated: 12 February, 1998
From my journal:"Fresh from the Scotia Sea we approach King George Island, bringing with us howling winds and sleety snow. Ice and salt spray lash our faces as we huddle in the zodiacs on our trip to shore. The point marking this station has a rocky head topped with a small light. Below the light, enclosed in glass, is a statue of the Virgin Mary.
We are met by two of the Polish researchers, a benthic invertebrate biologist and a geomorphologist. The biologist is here on her second trip to the Antarctic. She informs us that the benthic fauna here is relatively impoverished in terms of species diversity, but that quite interestingly, the invertebrates that are present tend to be generalists rather than specialists. That is, they might forage both by grazing and by predation, whereas the benthic fauna of warmer waters would have quite specific niches.
The geologist is studying the relationship of climatology and glacier morphology in the Antarctic. There are plenty of objects for study within sight of the station, which is surrounded by glaciers.
The cobbled beach is not easy to walk on. The wind is still blasting us with pellets of sleet. We stand at the edge of the penguin colony for a while, then work our way back toward the station. There we have our passports stamped and buy tee-shirts and some patches.
As I leave the station with Scott and Nancy Parker, we are stopped by a gentleman who turns out to be Professor Rakusa-Suszczewski, the Director of the station. He kindly invites us into the hut that comprises the original facility. There is a great deal of activity going on here, with new buildings being put in place. The station is sponsored by the Polish Academy of Sciences, and funding is apparently good.
The station is named, he tells us, for Henryk Arctowski, one of two Poles who were on Adrienne de Gerlache's Beligica expedition, which was trapped in the ice pack and became the first ship to overwinter in the Antarctic back in 1898.
There are displays on the walls of mosses and lichens of the South Shetlands. I mention briefly that I noticed a red-orange lichen on the rocks outside, and that, in the North American alpine tundra, similar appearing lichens denote the location of rocks where mammals such as marmots urinate frequently, the lichen thriving in a nitrogen-rich environment. He laughs and says that there is similarly an algae here that grows abundantly where men frquently urinate. So if he sees it growing around the buildings, he has evidence that the staff are not following policy and going far enough away from the station.
Scott takes a picture of Nancy and me with the director, then we bundle up and head for the zodiacs. It is snowing harder, and the ship is barely visible out in the bay. As we pull away, the station fades into the snow-laden air. It strikes me that this most unusual day of our trip is likely how most people think of Antarctica."
- Roy Beckemeyer, 29 January, 1998