#AntarcticLog is a series of comics by Karen Romano Young. You can find the originals here.

Absolutely crucial: research ships. Here’s the number one U.S. research platform in Antarctica, R/V Nathaniel B. Palmer (a Connecticut-er like me). 

And a postcard from the R/V Laurence M. Gould, which transports scientists and support teams to and from Palmer Station, as well as research trips like the one I once took fishing for ice fish with scientist Thomas Desvignes. 

I learn so much from drawing ships.  Here is E/V Nautilus, from an artist-in-residence and science communications tour I did in 2015. Nautilus is the mother ship to Hercules, a deep-diving ROV. 

And up north, here’s an #AntarcticLog comic that features U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy — with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution scientist Sam Laney aboard. 

I love every one of them, and the experience of doing art and science aboard! 

–Karen Romano Young is a writer, artist, deep-sea diver, and polar explorer. Follow her on Twitter & Instagram.