To the End of the Earth

St. Olaf Magazine | Spring/Summer 2024

May 31, 2024

To the End of the Earth

"A lot of people have the notion that the primary thing you’re going to be amazed by is the wildlife, but what we really hear most 'ooohs' and 'aahhs' about is the spectacular ice formations that make up Antarctica," says St. Olaf Professor Emeritus of Physics and Environmental Science Bob Jacobel, who has now led five tours of the continent. — “A lot of people have the notion that the primary thing you’re going to be amazed by is the wildlife, but what we really hear most ‘ooohs’ and ‘aahhs’ about is the spectacular ice formations that make up Antarctica,” says St. Olaf Professor Emeritus of Physics and Environmental Science Bob Jacobel, who has now led five tours of the continent.

Traveling to Antarctica is an unforgettable experience.

But traveling to Antarctica with a researcher so acclaimed that he has a glacier on the continent named for him? That’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

And that’s exactly what a group of Oles did in January as part of a 13-day trip hosted by St. Olaf Alumni and Family Travel. The journey to Antarctica was led by St. Olaf Professor Emeritus of Physics and Environmental Science Bob Jacobel and his daughter, Middlebury College Assistant Professor of Earth and Climate Sciences Allison Jacobel.

The tail fin of a humpback whale.
A gentoo penguin and two chicks.
The travelers kayaked in protected waters.
Allison (left) and Bob (center) Jacobel led the Antarctica trip.
An orca surfacing.
One of the many stunning ice formations the group saw.

Bob Jacobel was a member of a research team in western Antarctica that made history — and international headlines — for successfully drilling through 800 meters of ice to reach a subglacial lake. The 30-mile-long Jacobel Glacier is named in honor of the more than four decades he has spent on ground-based radar and ice core studies in Antarctica.

Now Jacobel is using his deep expertise about the white continent to give others a first-hand look at its majesty and fragility. This past January he led 26 St. Olaf travelers aboard the National Geographic Explorer expedition ship for a tour of the world’s last great wilderness. The program included sightings of humpback whales, orcas, seals, and several species of penguins. The travelers kayaked in protected waters, hiked on magnificent mountains, and even did a polar plunge into the frigid ocean waters.

The most magical part, though, was the ice. As the ship crossed the Drake Passage and ventured into channels and coves framed by towering peaks, they saw icebergs the size of several city blocks in stunning shades of white, blue, and green.

“A lot of people have the notion that the primary thing you’re going to be amazed by is the wildlife, but what we really hear most ‘ooohs’ and ‘aahhs’ about is the spectacular ice formations that make up Antarctica,” says Jacobel, who has now led five tours of the continent.

Program participants included (L–R) Sandra Joubert, Brenda Kragseth, Allison Jacobel, Nancy Raymond, James O’Conor, Laura Byrd, Susanne Olson ’86, Don Johnson, Sever Peterson, Johannes Von Trapp, Lynne Peterson Von Trapp ’68, Donna Walker, Bob Jacobel, Carrie Warder Bartlett ’79, Bob Bartlett, Carol Johnson, Lisabet Summa, John Olson '79, Susan Gunderson ’79, Bill Vernon '79, Dan Raether ’79, Glenn Byrd, Phil Peterson ’70, Doug Skrien ’84, Donna Zimmerman ’79, and Philip Ditmanson. — Program participants included (L–R) Sandra Joubert, Brenda Kragseth, Allison Jacobel, Nancy Raymond, James O’Conor, Laura Byrd, Susanne Olson ’86, Don Johnson, Sever Peterson, Johannes Von Trapp, Lynne Peterson Von Trapp ’68, Donna Walker, Bob Jacobel, Carrie Warder Bartlett ’79, Bob Bartlett, Carol Johnson, Lisabet Summa, John Olson ’79, Susan Gunderson ’79, Bill Vernon ’79, Dan Raether ’79, Glenn Byrd, Phil Peterson ’70, Doug Skrien ’84, Donna Zimmerman ’79, and Philip Ditmanson.

Carrie Bartlett ’79 signed up for the St. Olaf Alumni and Family Travel excursion because she knew from experience that traveling with Jacobel would be a deeply educational adventure. Bartlett and another Antarctica traveler, Bill Vernon ’79, both went on the Global Semester program that Jacobel led as a young St. Olaf faculty member in 1978 with his wife, Pam.

“It was full circle for both of us,” says Bartlett. Her list of highlights from Antarctica is long: spectacular vistas, varied landscapes, raw nature, a wake-up call for a penguin siting, and a zodiac boat ride with the “whale whisperer.” Those experiences, combined with the readings and lectures the Jacobels shared, impressed upon Barlett how important it is to protect the continent from its biggest threat. “Global warming and the fragility of our Earth is real, and we need to heed the environmental warnings,” she says.

"During [the 1978] Global Semester there were two activities I did not participate in, and I always regretted it," says Carrie Warder Bartlett '79. "The first was jumping off a bridge in Alexandria, Egypt. I swam out but was too chicken to jump off. The second one was not sliding down a marble slide at Taroko Gorge in Taiwan. Bob later wrote an article about our semester, and a picture of folks going down the slide was on the cover of the journal! So on our Antarctica trip, I did the Polar Plunge and felt that my previous regrets had been redeemed." — “During [the 1978] Global Semester there were two activities I did not participate in, and I always regretted it,” says Carrie Warder Bartlett ’79. “The first was jumping off a bridge in Alexandria, Egypt. I swam out but was too chicken to jump off. The second one was not sliding down a marble slide at Taroko Gorge in Taiwan. Bob later wrote an article about our semester, and a picture of folks going down the slide was on the cover of the journal! So on our Antarctica trip, I did the Polar Plunge and felt that my previous regrets had been redeemed.”

Jacobel notes that the Antarctic Peninsula the group visited is experiencing the greatest climate change on the planet right now. And while first-time visitors to the continent might not have the comparison point to see the dramatic change the area has undergone over the past few decades, he does — and sharing that knowledge is an important part of why he leads these tours.

“It is incumbent on those of us who have been fortunate enough to share in this experience to do everything possible to support policies that preserve Antarctic species and the environment,” Jacobel says.

The research that Bob Jacobel’s team has done in Antarctica is being used to help scientists understand what is happening at the Thwaites Glacier, which is retreating and contributing to sea level rise.