Good evening from the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer.
Following 36 hours of air travel, Geology Professor Eugene Domack, five Hamilton College geology students and I arrived in Punta Arenas, Chile, to begin four weeks of research off the Palmer Peninsula, Antarctica. Over the course of the next month these daily dispatches will let you follow along with the research.
Monday and Tuesday were spent moving equipment and ourselves onto the ship and making sure that all was secured before we put to sea. Wednesday morning was used making final runs into town and finishing installing equipment in the labs. By noon all was ready and around 4 p.m. local time lines were cast off and we were underway. With clear skies, light winds and smooth seas the ship turned northeast and headed up the Straits of Magellan toward the Atlantic Ocean. Once clear of the Straits we will turn south along the coast of Argentina, pass Cabo de Hornos (Cape Horn) and on into the Drake Passage. The Drake Passage is known for some of the roughest seas in the world. By this time tomorrow we will have an idea of how our crossing is to be.
Once across the Drake the ship will pass through the Antarctic Channel at the northern end of the Palmer Peninsula and on to Seymour Island where we will drop off a field party of paleontologists. We will then backtrack to the western side of the peninsula and begin water and seafloor sediment sampling in various places along the coast. Depending on weather and ice conditions we may return to the eastern side of the peninsula and the Larsen A research area worked in May 2000. Before heading back to Punta Arenas a stop is scheduled to pick up the field party on Seymour Island.
The next couple of days will be spent getting our "sea legs," as well as learning various computer, navigation and lab operations. Ship operations go on 24 hours a day so the night science crew will also be resetting our sleep schedule to match our midnight to noon work shift.
Feel free to e-mail me with questions. Keep in mind that we cannot see the web site on the ship.
Cheers,
Dave
David.Tewksbury@nbp.polar.org OR tewksbda@mail.nbp.polar.org
Caption for photo:
Names and affiliations from L to R starting with back row. Scott McCallum, Southern Illinois University; Kate McMullen, Hamilton College; Anna Rubin, Colgate University; Neil Basu, Hamilton College; David Amblas, Barcelona, Spain; Emily Backman, Hamilton College; Diana Duran, Hamilton College; and Andrew McCloskey, Hamilton College, on the deck of the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer as ship leaves Punta Arenas, Chile for the Palmer Peninsula, Antarctica.
