Reminder - To see this Journal and related info on the web (feel free to
share): www.auburn.edu/antarctica
Also check other Cruise journals:
WHOI Journal
IWU Journal
To Write Questions to the Ship/Outreach (through June 14
only): outreach@lmg.usap.gov
We are steaming southwesterly in the Palmer Archipelago, toward Brabant
Island, and we will do stations along the way. We can see the Brugmann
Mountains on Liège Island to our port side. As the sun shines down on them
from somewhere above the low clouds that obscure the enormous white peaks
of those tall mountains, the day dawns and plankton nets are out. The
mountains are about 22 miles away, probably partially obscured by the
horizon at that distance, but the air is so clear here. I doubt I can
capture it on film, but it is surely burned into my memory, I watched for
so long.
The stature of these mountains should come as no surprise to us did you
know Antarctica is the tallest continent? It has a majority of the highest
peaks and plateaus in the world, making it average higher than any other
continent. In the winter, the continent about doubles its size due to the
freezing of the waters surrounding it (and this is considered to add to its
land mass). Conversely, the continent shrinks to half it’s winter size due
to the ‘melt down’ in the summer months. We’re hoping the winter freeze
will hold off long enough for us to get south of the Antarctic Circle, to
Marguerite Bay, over the next couple of days.
I woke up this morning to a whale sighting (thank you, Pam P.)!! The
waters were very calm except for some swell, and four humpbacks were
feeding right off the starboard aft quarter while we were slowed for a
plankton trawl. There was a huge male with 3 smaller companions who didn’t
identify themselves. Oh my, ohhhh my! They lingered and blew and dove,
and made a couple of ‘bubble nets’ for herding krill (we think) as they
went along. Wikipedia describes this as: “Its most inventive feeding
technique is called bubble net fishing. A group of whales swims rapidly in
wide circles around and under a school of fish, blowing air through their
blowholes. The bubbles form a visual barrier that serves to confine the
school within an ever-tighter area. The whales then suddenly swim upwards
and through the bubble net, mouths agape, swallowing thousands of fish in
one gulp.” I definitely saw bubble nets twice, but one at a time. (We’re
thinking it was krill the whales were chasing, as krill was evident in the
plankton tows, and we’ve not seen fish.) The humpbacks were unmistakable
in their display of very long pectoral fins with white undersides. At one
point from the Bridge, a fin on a dallying whale looked like a plankton net
a few meters down in the clear water, and the Mate thought the whale had
snagged the plankton net. He had to call the aft deck to be sure the net
was accounted for, which it was. What a way to start your day, with a nice
cup o’ frolicking leviathans.
Brabant Island is a beauty. Our waypoint for that station kept us just off
of the Pasteur Peninsula for a few hours, with a lovely view of Astrolabe
Needle. This is a freestanding column of rock over 300 feet high. I’m
told it is a regular destination for cruise ships. For us, it was a very
compelling backdrop on a smooth-oceaned day.
Getting to Know You
[These are the first few respondents to a general request to submit a brief
summary of ‘who you are, how you got here, and what will you do with this
experience when you get home’.]
Jennifer Putland
My purpose on this cruise is to assist Dr. Rudi Scheltema sort through
plankton samples in search of larvae of benthic invertebrates. I am also
collecting my own samples to assess the qualitative composition of
mesozooplankton in different waters. I am a post-doctoral fellow from
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute.
Andrew Mahon
I met Ken a few years ago at a conference, and late last winter and early
this spring, I emailed him about potential Post-doc opportunities. We
talked about ideas and about my prior interests in the Antarctic. One thing
came to another and I was asked along on this trip as a start to
collections for some post-doctoral research that I will begin at Auburn in
the next few months following the completion of my dissertation.
Nicole Cox
I am an undergraduate at Auburn University in the marine biology program. I
work in Ken Halanych's lab studying Sterechinus neumayeri (sea urchin
common in the Antarctic). This is my first research cruise and I hope to
use this experience to further my education in research. I will graduate in
December and continue on to grad school, although definitive plans have not
been made as to where I will attend.
Maxim Nikurashin
I am a fourth year Physical Oceanography student in MIT/WHOI Joint Program.
Working on my thesis I study generation, propagation and breaking of
quasi-steady internal waves in abyssal Drake Passage. I volunteered to
help with collecting and interpretation of XBT, CTD and ADCP data on this
cruise. This cruise gives me an opportunity not only to get data collecting
experience but also to learn about the properties and dynamics of the ocean
in this region. I believe this is a great experience for my future career
as a physical oceanographer.
Don't hesitate to email
questions to us at outreach@lmg.usap.gov
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Longitude/Latitude:
S63° 45.619’ W62° 30.856’
Temperature:
Wind: 12-14kn
Air Temp: -3.3°C
Wind Chill: -14.8°C
Surface Water Temp: -0.066°C
Menu:
Fried chicken, baked fish, Spanish rice, carrots, green beans,
cheesecake, bread pudding, banana bread and cookies; Spaghetti and
meatballs, spaghetti and clam sauce, carrots, spinach, chicken noodle soup,
and dessert from lunch.
Photos:
Humpback whales checking us out.
[Photo by Andy Mahon]
Brabant Island and ‘Astrolabe Needle’]
[Photo by Janis Umschlag]
Hail! Hail! The Gang’s All Here!!! Deception Island, May 27, 2006]
[Photo by Dan Elsberg]
“Three Musketeers” Ken Halanych pours the bubbly for
Rudi’s toast yesterday.]
[Photo by Ellen Bailey]
A couple of happy hikers Rebecca Hunter and Alexis Janosik]
[Photo by Andy Mahon]
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