I am an author, editor, illustrator, and science communicator. I am not a scientist, but I am passionate about science—and science in polar regions in particular—and in sea ice, polynyas, and the biological pump and carbon cycle most of all.

Early in 2017, I had the extraordinary experience of being the science communicator and outreach ambassador for the SNOWBIRDS Transect research cruise from McMurdo Station, Antarctica, through the wild Southern Ocean. I constructed and continue to maintain our website and social media, raise public awareness, blog about our science, was the photographer on the cruise, mentored and edited graduate students writing guest blog posts, and got my hands wet and dirty whenever an extra hand was needed.

I’m now writing a book about our wild high-seas adventure and our fascinating science, which explored the roles of nitrogen and silicon in the success of diatoms, including growing diatoms, filtering marine snow, and retrieving deep-sea mud cores.

This blog is the next step on my journey as a science communicator, non-fiction writer, and sci-art illustrator, and I’ll be sharing my hands-on adventures at the junction of science, words, and art, including what I’m learning about scientists and their hands-on work—especially polar science and how it relates our extraordinary world.

I welcome contact with scientists working in polar regions, no matter what the discipline, and learning more about your work. I’d particularly like to connect with scientists studying sea ice, polynyas, phytoplankton, and ice shelves. I’m eager to continue my work as a science communicator for polar scientists, and I’m actively seeking opportunities to be a team member on future research cruises and expeditions, taking the considerable work required of outreach off your hands.

You can find out more about me here.

Thank you for flying by!

Marlo Garnsworthy