Since I won't be winning this contest, please log in and transfer your vote to Devorah Bennu, currently #3 in the votes. She will do every bit as good a job as I promised I would. Thanks for your support.

Don't vote to send me to Antarctica—vote to send yourself there with me.

A visit to Antarctica is not for everyone, but everyone has a stake in this continent.

My specialty is geology, the widest-ranging science. Antarctica holds a key place in many geological topics: its rocks are fragments of Gondwanaland with ties to all its neighboring continents, its atmosphere is Earth's central cooling engine, and its life forms and fossils testify to evolution and plate tectonics. But you'll find that these topics aren't remote matters. I've been bringing geology to life, in photographs and words, for more than 12 years on About.com as its Guide to Geology. Read more about my qualifications on my bio page; also see me on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.

A cruise to the polar regions is like traveling to a different planet. In February the light never ebbs and the air is clearer than glass. Storms can strike at any time too—but their high showers of ice crystals make Antarctica the world's best place to view and study haloes. You can bet I'll be watching the skies for you every day.

I've served on research cruises in the glacial coastal waters of Alaska, and I know that a voyage is more than a series of vistas. It's a successful team effort of officers, crew and a ship. I can take you below decks to show them all when there are no penguins and icebergs to be seen. You'll be in good hands.