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“It was the experience of a lifetime,” says Kathleen Dykes '99, who is working on her marine sciencemaster's at the University of San Diego and spent a month in Antarctica early this year. She conducted research both for her master's thesis, “Investigation of Hydrothermal Activity at Deception Island, Antarctica,” and for a larger project involving scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
Deception Island is a horseshoe-shaped volcanic island in the South Shetland Island Chain. Taking advantage of the long Antarctic summer days, Dykes worked around the clock, collecting and testing water samples.
“I was looking for hydrothermal vent signals,” says Dykes. “Hydrothermal vents are openings in the ocean crust where heat is released. At these areas, the seawater reacts with rock, triggering a number of chemical reactions that change the chemistry of the water column and affect the biology of the area.”
Dykes found temperatures as high as 90 degrees Celsius.
Dykes' interest in research and marine science began at Lafayette, where she majored in biology. “My experience of studying abroad in Australia was what originally influenced me to begin looking into marinescience. I also took the marine biology course at Lafayette and loved the material,” she says. “During my senior year I worked with Lorraine Mineo [general biology laboratory coordinator] on a research project dealing with forest ecology in Pennsylvania, and I realized how much I loved doing research. Nancy Waters [associate professor of biology] also helped me make that big decision about “where will I be when I graduate.”
Kathleen Dykes '99