Icy Inverts Antarctica Cruise Nov-Dec 2013 - Glossary

Below are listed some other terms that will be used during the cruise:

Aft: towards the stern or back of the boatBenthic: term for organisms living on the sea floor

Bow: the front, pointed end of the boat

Bransfield Strait: the body of water between the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Shetland Islands to the north

Captain: the individual who oversees all ship operations and is responsible for the ship and crew safety

Chief Scientist: lead scientist or Principal Investigator, the individual responsible for relaying science needs to MPC and captain

Co-PI: Co-Principal Investigator, scientist who shares in the responsibility of leading a research effort

Drake Passage: seaway between the southern tip of South America and northern tip of Antarctica, some of the roughest seas in the world occur here

Endemic: an organism found only in a certain region and nowhere else in the world

ET: Electronics Tech, a Raytheon employee who oversees e-mail, ship's computers, and electronic portions of science operations

Fore: towards the bow of the boat

Global warming: increase in the average temperature of the planet, global warming is currently occurring due to human activities like burning fossil fuels

Holopelagic: organisms that spend their entire life in the water column

Invertebrates: all animals that do not possess a backbone, invertebrates make up 95% of all known animal species

Larvae: the juvenile forms of animals, there may be several larval stages before reaching the adult form, some larvae look completely different from the adult form that they will eventually become

Mates: ship's crew responsible for "driving" the boat, typically there are 2-3 mates on a ship

MPC: Marine Projects Coordinator, Raytheon employee, responsible for oversight of all science operations and a liaison between scientists and ships crew

MST: Marine Science Tech, Raytheon employee, oversees laboratory equipment and helps with science laboratory needs

MT: Marine Tech, Raytheon employee, helps primarily with operations on the science deck

NSF: National Science Foundation, the primary U.S. government agency that sponsors non-medical research including all types of Antarctic research

Palmer Station: a U.S. Antarctic station located just north of the Antarctic Circle, located on the southwestern coast of Anvers Island off the Antarctic Peninsula, the temperature at Palmer Station averages about minus 10°C in the winter and 2°C in the summer

Pelagic: term for organisms inhabiting the water column

PI: Principal Investigator, a scientist who leads a research effort

Plankton: animals that live in the water column and usually are moved around by tides, wind and currents, animal plankton includes jellyfish, worms, crustaceans, molluscs as well as eggs and larvae of many species

Polar front: region separating water masses of polar origin from those of tropical or subtropical origin

Port: the left side of the boat when facing forward

Punta Arenas: the Chilean port where the R/V Laurence M. Gould voyage will start and end

Raytheon: the company that organizes and runs logistics for scientific operations in Antarctica

South Shetland Islands: the chain of islands running along the Antarctic Peninsula

Starboard: the right side of the boat when facing forward

Stern: the back end of the boat

USAP: U.S. Antarctic Program

Last updated: 12/04/2013