January 9, 2000

Loudwater Cove.

The Gould left today and the new folks spent the afternoon getting oriented and touring the area in zodiacs--the weather was gorgeous, sunny and still. Steve and I travelled over to Loudwater Cove in the afternoon to do some listening and recording of glacier calving at the terminus of the Marr Ice Piedmont. We motored into the cul-de-sac that is the cove and set up on a rocky promontory directly across from the face of the glacier.

Recording near the glacier terminus at Loudwater Cove. (Photo by Steve Dunbar).

Twisted forms of white and blue ice loomed like gargoyles against the intense azure of the sky. The cove had a parabolic aspect to it, and sounds bounced and echoed off water and ice alike. As the sun eased around and illuminated the walls in front of us, rivulets and streams of water could be heard. The ice heaved, groaned and slammed. The sound events had a singularity, and a clarity: tension being released along a fissure resounded like a gunshot, ricocheting about the cove; an expanding crevasse rolled like thunder around the rim above us; sections weighing several tons calved sending up volleys of artillery sounds, scattering and echoing off the ice; dropping blocks splashed and slapped, while larger pieces of ice created huge waves that spread and reflected in the cove with a woosh, before settling back down to a slow, rhythmic lapping. The brash crackled and popped as it moved out of the cove.

Steve Dunbar at Loudwater Cove

We spent five hours listening. Different regions of the terminus became active as the sun passed over. An Adelie showed up at one point, all alone. The penguin called and, upon hearing an echo, looked around to see who was answering. Steve watched this while I recorded it. Apparently, the bird was confused and after a few rounds, she waddled off into the water. Blue-eyed shags flew into the cove, circling about before splashing into the water. They dove for fish, bathed and spiraled back out. Several Antarctic terns jealously guarded their territory, their protests reverberating overhead as they gave chase to intruders: mostly brown skuas and kelp gulls.

The sounds at Loudwater Cove are molded into a unique acoustic experience by the ice, water and the rocks, the distinct resonant signature of the place and its geography...

Click here to listen to an MP3 sample of ice calving from the face of the Marr Ice Piedmont. The knocking is tension building, followed by the crash of calving. The subsequent wave and ice are heard pushing out into the cove, followed by another crack from a smaller calving.