[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 8 - 12:06:44 ]
Today's "Virtual Take Our Daughters to Work Day" chat with Susan Digby will begin in about 55 minutes. Be sure to read Sue's bio prior to the chat-- http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/women/bios/sdigby.html

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 9 - 12:08:44 ]
Wise words from Sue's bio-- "...I wanted to explain that one can have a variety of careers and that skills that are built in one career can transfer to another."

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 10 - 12:09:35 ]
More wise words from Sue-- "...being a woman does not exclude you from interesting jobs. If you have something in mind just 'go for it'. There may be a few extra hurdles, but with persistence and some small amount luck, you will make it."

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 13 - 12:56:04 ]
Hello and welcome to NASA Quest's "Take Your Daughters to Work Day" chats! We're very pleased to have Susan Digby chatting with us today.

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 20 - 13:09:28 ]
RE: [Lupe] Are the forest fires in Florida related to the "La Nina" phenomena?
Lupe, It is very likely that the forest fires are related to La Nina, in that they have had dry conditions in Florida. Do you remember the fires in Indonesia that covered thousands of miles with smoke .. they were a result of the El Nino related drought but also a result of people. People in that region use fire to clear the land and normally rain keeps the fires under control, but without the rain and high humidity the fires got out of control. Often events such as fires are a combination of conditions and human behavior patterns. Cheers, Sue

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 24 - 13:12:46 ]
RE: [Hanbit-HanbitYeon/NotreDameHigh4Girls] Hello? Is Ms. Digby present in this room now?
Hi Hanbit! Yes, Sue Digby is now here in the chat room. She should be typing an answer to your 1st question very shortly...

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 31 - 13:17:23 ]
RE: [Hanbit] I read your biography. According to it, you've constantly changed your career and working environment. Whenever you do that, didn't you feel uncertain and afraid of your new job and working environment?
Hanbit, Changes are stressful but also very stimulating. I did not mention much of my personal life but it has been turbulent and some moves are related to those events. I find that in spite of the stress, it is *really* exciting being in a new place .... exploring the country, finding new ethnic food stores, seeing different animals and vegetation and different people. And all my good friends always come and visit! Sue

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 33 - 13:19:43 ]
RE: [Nicky/ARC] Do you have children? If so what did they think about you moving about every five years?
No, I don't have children .. I 'borrow' my sister's and brother's!

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 36 - 13:23:54 ]
RE: [Nora-Nora/NotreDameHighSchoolForGirls] What can you say about science to inspire us all?
All I can say is that science is for me a reason for living ... it's about understanding the lives of the bugs in my compost heap, the beetles that eat the fruit on my fig trees, the frogs that live here that are coloured so you can hardly see them against the rocks .. its about the joy of discovery and somehow it all explains how I fit into the world! Sounds sort of weird but for me its the everyday magic in the world.

[ Nora-Nora/NotreDameHighSchoolForGirls - 38 - 13:26:13 ]
No I don't think it's weird at all. You are very discriptive and I think that that is wonderful.

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 42 - 13:28:12 ]
RE: [Nicky-Nicky/ARC] What is the most exciting thing you have done w/your career? When you went to look at the ice did you have a safety line hooked onto you? Did you ever get to work hands on with the seals?
Nicky-Nicky Working on sea-ice was the most interesting career for me. When I started out people did not worry too much about saety so I went out on moving ice just in jeans and a sweater and billy boots. That was about 15 years ago, but shortly after people got much more safety concious and we all wore floater suits which are warm and buoyant. Its not really that dangerous ... especially not compared to driving in LA traffic! The only time I go close to a seal in the wild was when I was 6!

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 45 - 13:30:17 ]
RE: [Hanbit-HanbitYeon/NotreDameHigh4Girls] What's the major difference between El Nino and La Nina?
El Nino causes warm water to come our way and La Nina causes cold water to come our way. Both alter the weather and climate globally. Check out http://kids.mtpe.hq.nasa.gov/nino/intro.html for a good overview!

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 46 - 13:32:46 ]
RE: [Jessica] What else do you see in your future work? Are there things you still want to do?
I am currently trying to make a slight shift so I work more with science. This coming year I hope to be working to identify, promote and help with uses of altimeter data. Just before this session I was writin a note to my mangager to suggest the change. I think he he will go for it!

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 49 - 13:35:06 ]
RE: [Jessica] Has the Cassini mission begun yet? What is the mission scheduled to do and show us?
Hi, The Cassini mission has launched but it has not got to Saturn yet. Check out http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/ for details and some great images!

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 51 - 13:37:24 ]
RE: [Elisa-Elisa/NotreDame] What is your "ideal job"? If you could hold any job you wanted, what would it be?
My ideal job ... I really need a day or so to think about that. I think there are two possibilities - it would be to work on a sceince project that involved field work in the arctic or some other remote spot or - to teach at a community college for the winter and to painting the Arctic or sub-arctic in the summer

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 53 - 13:41:49 ]
RE: [Jessica] Do you think the seals figured out how to make the breathig holes into snow caves or it just happened and then they began using them that way? Are seal considered intelligent like whales?
I'm not sure of the answer .. but they need to haul out to give birth to their young and to moult (which they do every summer). Hauling out onto the ice and under the snow makes a lot of sense because it is relatively warm .. temperatures inside the den will be around 0 C rather than -40 C which is a common winter temperature. I don't know how smart they are compared to whales .. I always think of them as being sea-going dogs!

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 55 - 13:44:51 ]
RE: [Vicky-Vicky/UniversityofGuelph] Dear Sue,in your biography, you said that you were "not a brilliant student." Am I correct in assuming that in your point of view, brilliance and aptitude have little to do with success, if so, what would you say it is that got you where you are today?
'Not brilliant' .. I guess by that I mean I have always struggled at math and had never been top of any class (until later in my life). I think if one keeps working and gets lucky just a reasonable degree of smartness is necessary!

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 57 - 13:46:50 ]
RE: [Hanbit-HanbitYeon/NotreDameHigh4Girls] You mentioned in your biography that you want to go back to Arctic. What's the beauty of Arctic?
Its very big and makes you realise your place in the universe. The colors are fabulous, the air is clean .. its hard to describe .... its something that has to be seen to be appreciated. (And the lichens and small arctic plants are very interesting)

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 58 - 13:47:21 ]
RE: [em-mrgandem/uofclabschool] do you ever want to really go into space?
No .. but there are a lot of places I want to explore here!

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 60 - 13:48:12 ]
RE: [Meghan-Ms.Miller/GSTroop1035] This is my way of earning the Sign of the Satellite badge for Girl Scouts. Can you tell me what subjects in school a girl should pursue if she wants to be an oceangrapher?
Math, science, and later meterology, climatology, oceanography. Enjoy!

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 64 - 13:51:09 ]
RE: [Elisa-Elisa/NotreDame] I read that your parents were marine biologists. Did they have an influence on your interests in science? What is your greatest inspiration as you pursue a career in science?
My parents were, and are, very important in establishing my interest in science. Also I feel it just runs in the family!... something in the blood! (My grandfather explored Siberia in 1912 .. a sister lives in a remote cabin in the Yukon). My greatest inspiration is the workd around me .. I hike mt weekends and we always see neat and new things!

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 66 - 13:53:50 ]
EVERYONE: There are just about 8 minutes left in our chat with Susan Digby today. Please take a few moments after the chat to let the Quest Team know how we did today. There is a short survey you can fill out at-- http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats/qchat-surveys. Thanks :-)

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 68 - 13:54:13 ]
RE: [Nicky-Nicky/ARC] Do you think that women get as equal a role as males do, in your science field? How many women do you work with? How many males do you work with? Does your job require a certain age?
I think science is a field where women can do as well as men. When I worked on sea ice there were very few women .. there are more now. I rarely had a problem. In outreach most of the people are women. I think the job goes best when there is a mix of different types of people .. ages, sex, races . then you get different thoughts and ideas coming out!

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 69 - 13:55:18 ]
RE: [em-mrgandem/uofclabschool] what other places besides the arctic and antarctic would you like to explore?
I would like to explore remote areas in Greece, Chile, Argentina, Mexico and I would love to visit a remote tropical island with a reef!

[ Nicky-Nicky/ARC - 70 - 13:56:02 ]
Thank you for answering my questions. Have a happy Take your daughter to work day.

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 71 - 13:56:13 ]
RE: [Jessica] Was your mother working while you were young and they were marine biologists?
My mother was a nurse and then when they worked in Greenland for a year she worked with my dad, collecting plankton and working up the results

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 72 - 13:57:19 ]
RE: [Hanbit-HanbitYeon/NotreDameHigh4Girls] Ms. Digby, it's very great to talk to you. Thank you very much for your kind and informative answers to my questions. I hope we can have this opportunity again in the future and that your life and everything you want to do to be successful. Bye~ :)
It's been a pleasure .. have fun with your life .. there are lots of neat things to do!

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 74 - 13:58:41 ]
RE: [Nicky-Nicky/ARC] What is the thing you enjoy most about your job?
I enjoy it when I can find out something useful or interesting and present it so that people understand. And being on this chat group has been really fun. This job hhas a lot of variety which is great for me!

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 75 - 13:59:34 ]
RE: [Nicky-Nicky/ARC] Thank you for answering my questions. Have a happy Take your daughter to work day.
It's been great talking to you!

[ SusanDigby/JPL - 76 - 14:00:14 ]
RE: [Meghan-Ms.Miller/GSTroop1035] Thank you for taking time to chat with us today. It has made it easier for me to participate in "Take Your Daughter to Work" day.
You are more than welcome!

[ Sandy/NASAChatHost - 77 - 14:02:51 ]
EVERYONE: Well, that's it! It's time to let Susan get back to work! Thank you very much for asking such great questions! You all did a nice job! I certainly feel inspired after reading Susan's answers to your questions; I hope you do too! All the best and please join us on another Quest chat. Check the schedule at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/common/events