Enroute to Station 16

Breaking ice en route to station 16. Note the person in the red parka at the bow of the ship for scale. Drygalski Glacier enters the sea in the distance between the two dark peaks above and on either side of the mast pennant.


Current location: 64 43 South 59 55 west
Current weather: overcast, light winds temp 20 F.

Last night was a long night with little to show in terms of sample collecting. The sea floor in the area we worked must be very rocky with little sediment accumulation. Bottom profiling instruments suggested a flat bottom with soft sediments but multiple attempts with the grab sampler and the kasten core yielded only rocks.

Current profiling shows strong underwater currents that may be moving sediment away from the area. Assorted filter feeding type animals attached to the rocks we did recover, need to have food moved past them to survive suggesting a current flow is present in the area.

With no luck obtaining cores in the near shore area we have moved offshore to try coring operations in a different area. Most of the work during the night was in open water near the end of the Drygalski Glacier. Our new site is deep in the pack ice and the transit from the first site to this one had everyone out on deck admiring the massive blocks of glacial ice now entrained in the pack ice.

Skillful maneuvering by Captain Joe currently has us in position deep within the pack surrounded by huge icebergs with a patch of open water to work in behind and alongside the ship. Hopefully this site will provide a successful core.

The downside of this great method of communication is that we are not immune from computer viruses. The I LOVE YOU virus made it to the ship and we have just been alerted to another one.

Cheers,

Dave

tewksbda@nbp.polar.org