Oh my goodness, today has been so absolutely fantastic. Having
thought yesterday that we would be leaving the ice as we zig-zagged
north to do the three east-west transects, I was proved completely
wrong and awoke to find the ship completely surrounded by ice. After
skirting around the ice edge for the majority of the voyage thus far,
I was so excited by this and was running around like a little kid who
had eaten too many Smarties. It gets better...we haven't left the ice
ALL day! That's right, ALL DAY!
For the first time I also ventured onto the bow of the ship, leaning
over the front to watch as we crushed the ice in front of the ship,
or push bigger floes out of our way. I have to say, there is
something so satisfying about the noise the ice makes when it breaks
under the weight of the ship; I can't really describe it, but it is
totally amazing. In addition to the olfactory stimulation, the
breaking of the ice is also a visual treat. You first see a long,
thin crack spread across the ice to give a deep blue line which
contrasts so nicely with the white of the ice/snow. Then, as the ship
pushes further forward, you experience a sudden appearance of
yellow-brown which you may find surprising; this is the algae that
calls the sea ice home (and which clogs the filters in our lab!).
Lastly, you see the most beautiful cyan colour as the deeper ice from
beneath is pushed up through the surface waters. Too cool!
There is even more. The sun made a brief, but most welcome,
appearance after at least 9 days of absence. After seeing life in the
monotone of grey, it was such a nice change to see a faint line of
yellow on the horizon as the sun tried to penetrate it's way through
the clouds. This subsequently managed to break through at a few
points, casting a golden shine over the areas of water between the
ice floes. This water was the flattest body of water I have ever
seen, giving rise to beautiful reflections of the ice and the
birds...which leads me nicely on the next point.
Today I probably saw over 500 birds, the most wildlife we have seen
all trip. All the birds were gathered in swarms which must have been
tens, if not hundreds, strong. As the ship neared these birds, they
all suddenly scrambled, and literally ran on the water before taking
off to escape the looming doom that is the aurora australis. I'm not
sure what all these birds were, probably petrels of some sort, but
there were many snow petrels following us for a while. Not only was
this region an area of abundant ice, it was an area of abundant
wildlife in general. Seals (the crab-eating variety), were everywhere
you looked, snarling at us as we passed them. We even saw a few
leopard seals too. The usual penguin suspects were also
photographed...A large pod of whales also made an appearance, not too
far in front of the ship, coming up for air amongst the ice (at this
point, we were in a much more open area). I'm not sure what species
they were, I would guess at humpback or Minke. I am basically an
Antarctic wildlife expert now...
I should probably end here as I have written a lot. Before I do,
guess how many photos I have taken today...if you guess 200 you would
be wrong...if you guess 500 you would be wrong...if you guess 800,
you would be about right! It's going to take a long time to sort
through these. I LOVE MY DSLR!
The usual stats for you:
Current Latitude: -66.6665
Current Longitude: 147.4223
Current Air Temp: -0.4C (wind chill of -3.8C)
Current Ocean Temp: -0.85C
Wildlife: Emperors, Adelies, Crab-eaters, Leopard seals, snow
petrels, giant petrels, many other birds, whales
Sea sickness: None - I have been told that the forecast for the way
home isn't looking good so I may have more to write here then.
___________________________________________________________________________
Australian Antarctic Division - Commonwealth of Australia
IMPORTANT: This transmission is intended for the addressee only. If you are not the
intended recipient, you are notified that use or dissemination of this communication is
strictly prohibited by Commonwealth law. If you have received this transmission in error,
please notify the sender immediately by e-mail or by telephoning +61 3 6232 3209 and
DELETE the message.
Visit our web site at http://www.antarctica.gov.au/
___________________________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment