amphipod: An order of water-dwelling crustaceans related to lobsters, shrimp, and krill. Amphipods vaguely resemble shrimp. Most types are less than one centimeter (0.4 inch) long.
Antarctica: A continent mostly covered in ice, which sits in the southernmost part of the world.
aquatic: An adjective that refers to water.
artery: Part of the body’s circulation system. There are several. Each is a major tube running between the heart and blood vessels that will move blood to all parts of the body.
biologist: A scientist involved in the study of living things.
borehole: A hole drilled deep into the ground to extract a core of soil, ice or rock. Sometimes the hole is drilled with the goal of getting to gas or pools of liquid, such as water or crude oil.
colleague: Someone who works with another; a co-worker or team member.
core: Something — usually round-shaped — in the center of an object.
cosmic: An adjective that refers to the cosmos — the universe and everything within it.
crest: The highest part of a hill, a mountain or a swell of water.
downstream: Further on in the direction in which a stream is flowing or the path at which stream water will flow in its trek to towards the oceans.
expedition: A journey (usually relatively long or over a great distance) that a group of people take for some defined purpose, such as to map a region’s plant life or to study the local microclimate.
glacier: A slow-moving river of ice hundreds or thousands of meters deep. Glaciers are found in mountain valleys and also form parts of ice sheets.
graduate student: Someone working toward an advanced degree by taking classes and performing research. This work is done after the student has already graduated from college (usually with a four-year degree).
ice age: Earth has experienced at least five major ice ages, which are prolonged periods of unusually cold weather experienced by much of the planet. During that time, which can last hundreds to thousands of years, glaciers and ice sheets expand in size and depth. The most recent ice age peaked 21,500 years ago, but continued until about 13,000 years ago.
ice sheet: A broad blanket of ice, often kilometers deep. Ice sheets currently cover most of Antarctica. An ice sheet also blankets most of Greenland. During the last glaciation, ice sheets also covered much of North America and Europe.
laser: A device that generates an intense beam of coherent light of a single color. Lasers are used in drilling and cutting, alignment and guidance, in data storage and in surgery.
limestone: A natural rock formed by the accumulation of calcium carbonate over time, then compressed under great pressure. Most of the starting calcium carbonate came from the shells of sea animals after they died. However, that chemical also can settle out of water, especially after carbon dioxide is removed (by plants, for instance).
marsh: A low-lying wetland usually covered with grasses and shrubs, not trees. It’s a prime feeding and nesting ground for waterfowl.
meander: A bend in a stream or to move slowly and with no straight path in mind.
microbe: Short for microorganism. A living thing that is too small to see with the unaided eye, including bacteria, some fungi and many other organisms such as amoebas. Most consist of a single cell.
New Zealand: An island nation in the southwest Pacific Ocean, roughly 1,500 kilometers (some 900 miles) east of Australia. Its “mainland” — consisting of a North and South Island — is quite volcanically active. In addition, the country includes many far smaller offshore islands.
oceanography: (adj. oceanographic) The branch of science that deals with the physical and biological properties and phenomena of the oceans. People who work in this field are known as oceanographers.
PhD: (also known as a doctorate) A type of advanced degree offered by universities — typically after five or six years of study — for work that creates new knowledge. People qualify to begin this type of graduate study only after having first completed a college degree (a program that typically takes four years of study).
pressure: Force applied uniformly over a surface, measured as force per unit of area.
radar: A system for calculating the position, distance or other important characteristic of a distant object. It works by sending out periodic radio waves that bounce off of the object and then measuring how long it takes that bounced signal to return. Radar can detect moving objects, like airplanes. It also can be used to map the shape of land — even land covered by ice.
range: The full extent or distribution of something. For instance, a plant or animal’s range is the area over which it naturally exists.
recall: To remember.
satellite: A moon orbiting a planet or a vehicle or other manufactured object that orbits some celestial body in space.
seawater: The salty water found in oceans.
sediment: Material (such as stones and sand) deposited by water, wind or glaciers.
sensor: A device that picks up information on physical or chemical conditions — such as temperature, barometric pressure, salinity, humidity, pH, light intensity or radiation — and stores or broadcasts that information. Scientists and engineers often rely on sensors to inform them of conditions that may change over time or that exist far from where a researcher can measure them directly. (in biology) The structure that an organism uses to sense attributes of its environment, such as heat, winds, chemicals, moisture, trauma or an attack by predators.
subglacial: Adjective meaning beneath a glacier.
tedious: (n. tedium) An adjective for something that is disturbingly slow, boring, monotonous and/or repetitive.
theory: (in science) A description of some aspect of the natural world based on extensive observations, tests and reason. A theory can also be a way of organizing a broad body of knowledge that applies in a broad range of circumstances to explain what will happen. Unlike the common definition of theory, a theory in science is not just a hunch. Ideas or conclusions that are based on a theory — and not yet on firm data or observations — are referred to as theoretical. Scientists who use mathematics and/or existing data to project what might happen in new situations are known as theorists.
upstream: The direction from which water flows, or portions of a stream from which water has flowed.
void: An empty space or cavity.
wave: A disturbance or variation that travels through space and matter in a regular, oscillating fashion.