Cody on the Sulzberger
Ice Shelf near Cape Colbeck, kneeling in front of a group of emperor penguins. Photo
credit: S. Bercovici.
Seven weeks since leaving home and
what a wild ride it has been so far! This is my first time in Antarctica and my
first time ever at sea. The only past experiences I have had on a boat have
been day trips, never overnight. The scenery throughout the trip has just been
truly incredible and far surpassed what I even imagined. Cathedrals of
icebergs, penguins, seals, whales, aurora australis, and unreal sunsets, to
name a few just off the top of my head.
Sunset behind the Palmer. Photo credit: A. Westman.
Life on the boat is surprisingly warm
and comfortable compared to the harsh conditions outside. Whenever we are working
outside on the deck for an extended period of time we are always fully suited
in work gear that keeps us plenty warm. For a few weeks we worked outside for
2-3 hours a day deploying plankton nets either towed behind the boat or towed
vertically off the side depending on the ice cover. The nets have a mesh pore
size large enough for single cell phytoplankton to pass through, but small
enough to capture zooplankton and anything larger that happens to be in its
path. Net tows are just one of the many things that the Old Dominion crew
(Alexander, Melissa, and I) is working on, but they are fun for everybody
because the results are instantaneous and visible, as opposed to intangible
results from a machine measuring a water sample. Some of the organisms we have
caught in the net tows include copepods, amphipods, krill, ctenophores,
chaetognaths, fish larvae, pteropods, and even a few larger fish.
(From left to right) Me,
Tommy and Alexander deploying the large plankton net. Photo credit: B. Huber.
Fresh net tow sample with
lots of fish larvae. Photo credit: B. Huber.
A closer look at a net
tow sample. Photo credit: C. Garrison.
We caught a monster! This
is an ice fish, caught near the coast of Cape Colbeck. Photo credit: A.
Bochdansky.
We end up working long hours every
day, but with pleasant breaks in between. The meals are definitely better than
I expected and are always something to look forward to. There’s also not much
of a concept of time. I rarely know what day of the week it is much less the
day of the month. The only thing I’m aware of is that lunch is at 11:30, dinner
is at 17:30, and mid rats (midnight rations) is at 23:30! Lots of music and a
few good books have also been very enjoyable during any down time that I have.
There is also an insanely big collection of movies and tv shows, new and old on
board along with several big screens, surround sound, couches and recliners.
Not too shabby at all!
The 02 Lounge, where there
are frequent viewings of Breaking Bad, Modern
Family, Community and a variety of movies. Photo credit: A.
Lee.
The 03 Conference Room,
where our scientific meetings and Marine Biogeochemistry class are held, along
with occasional showings of Gilmore Girls
and Downton Abbey. Photo credit: A.
Lee.
About a week ago we arrived at an
unfamiliar place called Cape Colbeck in hopes that it would be a hotspot for
emperor penguins. One of the teams of scientists on board that work mainly with
penguins had 21 tags to place on emperors in order to track their activity.
Once we wedged our vessel into ice thick enough to walk safely on, the entire
crew was able to get off and enjoy the feeling of land (actually sea ice,
although, it felt like standing on land) for a few days. It turned out to be an
extremely memorable part of the trip. We all enjoyed passing around a soccer
ball and a football, building an ice fort, and exploring the area on
snowmobiles with sleds dragging behind! Pretty awesome stuff. Day 2 at Colbeck
we awoke to the sight of emperor penguins everywhere around the boat and our
ice fort! At one point during the day we counted over one hundred penguins
visible. The weirdest part is that the penguins had no fight or flight instinct
whatsoever, simply curious and clumsy creatures. Some even came within arms
distance for a moment. Needless to say, deploying 21 penguin tags was very
easy.
Hans and I playing some
futbol our first night on the Sulzberger Iceshelf, with people tagging penguins
in the background. Photo credit: A. Bochdansky.
Exploring the Sulzberger
Ice Shelf. Two snowmobiles were used for Jerry’s group to tag penguins, but
only a handful of us were able to assist in the tagging of the birds. Since we
weren’t all allowed to go out on the snow mobiles for bird tagging purposes,
snow mobile “tours” were arrange so everyone was able to take a couple hours
away from the ship, to enjoy the beautiful Antarctic scenery. Photo credit:
R. Dunbar.
Penguin invasion! Many of
us no more than fifty feet from the Palmer, enjoying the numbers of emperor penguins that would
stop by to explore their curiosity. Photo credit: C. Garrison.
Every day at sea the weather and
scenery are different. We’ve experienced super thick ice covering the ocean as
far as the eye can see, water freezing before our eyes forming a slushy surface
layer and fresh pancakes, and the water has ranged from crystal clear blue to
cloudy water rich with phytoplankton. Standing upon the bow gazing across the
horizon I often can’t stop thinking about the fact that I am standing virtually
upside down on the bottom of the earth. Such a drastically different
orientation than that of friends back home at that very moment. And then on
other days you can’t distinguish any sort of horizon at all. Surrounded by
thick sea ice the sky is often so white that you can’t tell where the snowy
landscape ends and where the sky begins. The extremely harsh conditions of this
environment make it clear that humans are really not supposed to be in this
place ever. Modern technology has made it possible to study the rich ocean life
present here all while enjoying the comfort and warmth of the NB Palmer vessel. It is truly an experience I will never
forget!
Making our way north, out
of the Ross Sea on March 3rd, by breaking our way through some thick
sea ice to reach the lead ahead. Photo credit: A. Margolin.
Frozen boat. An iceberg
and the sides of the Palmer covered in
ice formed by the freezing of seawater. Photo credit: A. Westman.
A big shout out to all my family and
friends back in Virginia! Miss you guys and hope all is well.
–Cody