12/19 1530 hrs.
64 52 S
64 43 W
Near Palmer Station
The morning was spent with shore leave at Palmer Station on Anvers Island. Palmer is one of the U.S. research stations in Antarctica and focuses mainly on biological research including penguin population studies. Palmer sits on a rocky outcrop on the edge of Arthur Harbor on the southwest side of the island. Palmer has a population of about 40 during the summer research season and about 12 during the winter. This past winter's snows were unusually heavy here and large snowbanks still surround most of the buildings. The heavy snowfall is causing problems for the breeding penguin population as well. Penguins normally build their nests out of rocks in snow free areas, which are in short supply this season. According to one of the biologist at the station this years number of chicks will be greatly diminished due to the poor nesting conditions.
We did not get to the penguin nesting areas because they are restricted at this time of year. We did climb up the glacier behind the station for a great view over the station and the harbor. A flagged route leads up a crevasse free area of glacier. Earlier this season a person wandering just 30 feet past the flags fell 30 feet into a crevasse. Luckily no injuries occurred.
The station storekeeper was happy to see all of us come ashore and we left the station with a nice collection of T-shirts, hats and patches.
Currently we are headed for an area called the Palmer Deep where we will spend the next 3 or 4 days. This is an area of some of the deepest water we will work in and is loaded with thick layers of sediment. Using a device called the jumbo piston core we will attempt to collect some long cores, up to 30 meters in length. The Palmer Deep also sits in wide open water with no sheltering land. Already the ship is developing a pronounced rocking motion that we may be living with for the next few days. The weather map does not show any significant storms in the area but it covers the whole continent, not just the peninsula region.
Enjoy the images and keep those cards and letters coming.
Cheers,
Dave
Caption for photo: Palmer Station is the small collection of blue buildings in the lower right of the image.
L to R, Andrew McMullen, Neil Basu and David Amblas climb the glacier above Palmer Station in a sudden snowstorm. Palmer Station is visible on the rocky point on the left side of the photo and the Nathaniel B. Palmer is visible in the harbor. (Click image for larger version.)
