Through Hassan's webpage and online photo albums, the kids have come up with some great questions for Hassan about his work and life experiences (there were actually about a hundred questions, but we narrowed them down to twenty)!
We are hopeful that if Hassan comes back to this area for a vist, he will be able to stop in for a visit and share some information about his work and travels with us in person!
Thank you Hassan!
1. How did you become a scientist?
2. What college did you go to?
3. How do you "measure" a glacier?
Antarctica Questions:
4. How long does it take you to get to Antarctica from where you live?
5. Have you ever seen any penguins there?
6. What is the coldest it has ever been while you were there?
7. Do you have to sleep in your jacket and snowpants?
8. Do you drive any vehicles there?
9. Were you nervous the first time you went to Antarctica?
10. How many times have you gone?
11. How much stuff are you allowed to bring with you?
Mount Kilimanjaro Questions:
12. How long did it take for you to reach the top?
13. How many people did you go with?
14. What kinds of animals did you see?
15. Was it hard to breathe at the top?
16. How cold was it at the top?
Kite Questions:
17. How do you take pictures with the camera on the kite?
18. Is your kite hard to fly?
19. How high can the kite fly?
And finally....
20. What is your favorite place you have ever been?
Thanks for all of your good questions!
ReplyDelete1. How did you become a scientist?
I grew up being curious about nature. I spent a lot of time outside wondering how things worked. After graduating from high school at HTC I went to college to study geography. After college I spent several years working on science projects in National Parks. I went back to graduate school (yes, more school!) where I studied how glaciers were shrinking in the Sierra Nevada, California. While attending graduate school, I was offered my current job as a Research Assistant in Antarctica. I was excited to say "Yes!”
2. What College did you go to?
ReplyDeleteI attended SUNY New Paltz in New York, and then later at Portland State University in Oregon for graduate school.
3. How do you "measure" a glacier?
ReplyDeleteIn Antarctica, we measure the change in glacier mass through time. We have drilled about 12 stakes (poles) into the glacier. We visit the glacier twice a year to record the height of each stake using a ruler. We also measure the density of the snow. We use this information to determine if a glacier is increasing, decreasing, or staying the same size.
4. How long does it take you to get to Antarctica from where you live?
My journey takes about 5 days. I begin from my home in Portland. I fly to Los Angeles, to Australia, to New Zealand. I spend one day in New Zealand being outfitted with cold weather clothing. The next day I board a military plane (C-17) and fly to McMurdo Station in Antarctica.
6. What is the coldest it has ever been while you were there?
About -14 F (or -26 C).
7. Do you have to sleep in your jacket and snowpants?
No, but early in the season when it is cold I sleep in my thermal underwear and a sweater. We are provided very warm sleeping bags to use which helps on cold nights.
8. Do you drive any vehicles there?
ReplyDeleteNo ground vehicles are allowed in the Dry Valleys, except for on ice. We use All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) to get around on the permanent lake ice. I also rode a snowmobile on a glacier for one project which was very exciting. The snow mobile track was outfitted with special spikes to give the vehicle more traction.
9. Were you nervous the first time you went to Antarctica?
Yes, but I was also very excited!
10. How many times have you gone?
I have made 6 trips.
11. How much stuff are you allowed to bring with you?
We are allowed to bring 150 lbs of clothing and gear. I typically bring about 80 lbs of warm clothing, boots, tools, camera, and a toothbrush.
12. How long did it take for you to reach the top?
ReplyDelete6 days.
13. How many people did you go with?
Our group had 9 people including our guides and porters.
14. What kinds of animals did you see?
We did not see many animals on the mountain, aside from birds. The animals of Kilimanjaro typically live lower down the jungle where it is hard to see them.
15. Was it hard to breathe at the top?
Yes, I had to move slowly and felt dizzy if I moved too quickly.
16. How cold was it at the top?
Very cold! We ascended through the night in high winds and light snow. We were pretty frozen as we neared the top. Even my eye lids had ice on them. The clouds disappeared and as we reached the summit and we were able to watch the sunrise.
17. How do you take pictures with the camera on the kite?
ReplyDeleteI have a camera mount that I attach to the kite line about 50 feet below the kite. I have my camera mount programmed to slowly rotate. I program my camera to take a photo every 5 seconds.
18. Is your kite hard to fly?
No, my kite is pretty easy to fly once it is in the air. It can be difficult to launch on some days.
19. How high can the kite fly?
My kite can fly to an altitude of 500 feet.
20. What is your favorite place you have ever been?
This is the hardest question. I will cheat by listing my top 5 in no particular order:
1. North Lake & Kaaterskill Escarpment, New York
2. The Shawangunks, New York
3. Sierra Nevada, California
4. McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica
5. Joshua Tree National Parks, California
thank you for answering some of my questions
ReplyDeletefrom
kaylyn
I liked the question about your favorite place you've ever been. North Lake is one of my favorite places I've ever been to in my life.
ReplyDeleteI hope you'll write back to us as soon as possible.
Skylar Coons
Thanks for the answer i hope you can write back as soon as you can and i can't belive it was 500 feet up in the air and it was 14-F or (or 26-C) thats cold i can't belive it took 6 days to reach the top of the mountian how many layers of cloths did you have on clibing that mountian it must of been real cold and how did you get back to the bottem of the mountian with out falling down
ReplyDeleteDanny
hi, thanks for answering my qustien. wow 5 days dont you ever get tired. i hope to see you soon.
ReplyDeleteDora
thank you for ansering my qestion I one more qestion to ask you if this qestion is alreadly posted do not anser this qestion but how long did you do this?
ReplyDeletefrom rachelle
thank you for ansering my questions I really wanted to know how you do that
ReplyDeletenicholas
Thank you for ansewring are quastions.
ReplyDeletefrom, richard
thank you for the qustions will we get to see you griffin
ReplyDelete