Preparing for Palmer 2004

It hardly seems like a year has past since our last trip to Antarctica. Preparations are well underway for our return this year and I have been spending much of the last few months finishing assays and writing up results from the three months I spent at Palmer in the summer of 2003. Life in Birmingham has been a blur of phlorotanin assays, extracts and bacterial cultures with the odd practice dive thrown in as well. The work for our three months in Antarctica keeps us well and truly busy for the rest of the year.