December 4, 1999

Into the pack ice...

For most of the science crew on ship, the evening was a relatively peaceful one, as we made the 5 hour transit to FB#1, in a somewhat sheltered basin in a westerly lee of various groups of islands: the Myriad Islands, Roca Islands and Gruls Islands. Several hours of seismic surveying with the ship's sonar revealed a hummocky seafloor and, finally, a stretch of level sediment.

Sonar image showing soft, level sediment at the seabed.

I awoke suddenly, as the engines had stopped at about 9:00am. We had come to a standstill and the lights were out in the passageways. I tumbled out of my bunk and glanced at the ice which surrounded us: brash ice which gently rose and fell with the swell. The ice was white, grey and a distinctive yellowish green. In the distance the weather seemed to be closing in and with a menacing front of dark grey skies rolling in from the east. I checked my e-mail and got this update from Steve at Palmer Station:

I just got back in after trying to check out the Northern Islands. The ice is blowing in shutting down operations here. The scientists are bummed since they are basically shut down too. We'll have to see how long the wind blows this direction. Apparently the resupply ship has been trying to reach Rothera for over two weeks.

The captain checked in to tell us that the filters were clogged with ice and krill and that we would be underway shortly. Krill! These small shrimp-like animals are one of the primary food sources for migrating baleen whales. After some ship-scale flossing of the filters, we revved up and headed back to the area that looked most level. The agenda is posted daily outside the e-lab. Once we were back on station, sampling would begin at noon: a mega core, a box core, Conductivity, Temperature and Depth (CTD) cast and finally, a SCUD launch set for late in the afternoon. The latter is an underwater 8mm video camera, whose housing looks like a missle.

Phil Sacks gathers ice algae.

Much of the ice is rich with algae, producing a darkened, yellowish slush. The algae grows beneath the ice and is a major source of food for krill. From the deck, we can see many mobile little flecks near the surface. Springtime is here. Phil Sacks was lowered over the side of the ship using a crane. Donning his Mustang survival suit and a bucket he gathered algae samples for analysis.

In the meantime, for some members of the midnight watch--we finally got a chance to catch up on our sleep.