The Weather Report

Blog reader, Lily from Boston, asked me: Hey Buzz, I just read your latest blog posting and noticed that you’re not wearing a hat! I thought it was frigid down there near the South Pole. It certainly is up here in New England! What’s the story?

Lily I don’t have to worry about the cold… I’m the only polar bear in Antarctica! It’s been very warm here since it’s summer in the southern half of the world. Our high temperatures in the high 20′s and low 30′s the low temps have been down around 10.

We have had a couple of strange days down here. We are still stuck in the ice. First we were dealing with pressurized ice, then it was too thick to pass through. With the warm temperatures it makes the snow sticky and hard to pass through. When it’s cold the snow on top of the sea ice is more like a lubricant. Traveling through thick ice this time of year is like swimming through oatmeal… not that I have ever done that! Now we are in thick pressurized ice and we have been surrounded by huge icebergs that are blocking our path and closing in on us. We are in a tough spot, but this crew has seen far worse. We are waiting for night to end (we only have to wait three hours this time of year) and we will once again try breaking out of the ice. We need the daylight to make sure we are clear of any low profile icebergs.

Yesterday was a very interesting day for me. I was able to work with the film and photography crew from National Geographic. We spent some time filming the bow of the “Nathaniel B. Palmer” as it broke through the heavy pack ice and once the decision was made to turn and run out of the heavy ice we filmed the track back until we ran into the berg field and had to stop. Seems we’re in a tight spot for now… I’ll write more as the the days go on… Lily, keep the questions coming!

One last thing. We had a birthday party last night for one of the kids on board. Katrein a grad student from Belgium turned 28. The theme of here party was “Crazy Hair”! We had Wolverine join in the fun… things can get weird when you get stuck in the ice. It’s good to have a sense of humor about it. Someone joked that we would see Katrein right here on her 29th birthday!

Wolverine at the Crazy Hair Party

Cheers to you all… stay warm,

Buzz

P.S. Here’s the latest weather report:

Enroute Weather Forecast (WEAX)
Reference/A/SITREP/NBP/30 Jan 2010//
Reference/B/012000Z weather observation/www.sailwx.info//

1. Meteorological Situation at 012100Z: Double barrle low pressure
system deepening over the Drake Passage will dominate the weather
pattern over the northern Antarctic Peninsula. Western low is a 978mb
low centered near 57.5S 070W the eastern low has a central pressure of
984mb and centered near 55S 055W. These lows will slowly move to the ESE
over the period.

2. 24 Hour Forecast commencing 020000Z for position 64.5S 058.0W as
indicated References A and B:
A. Sky/Weather: Cloudy, with light snow.
B. Visibility (NM): 2-4 in fog; then with isolated periods of less than
1 in snow and fog.
C. Surface Wind (KT): SE 8-12.
D. Max/Min Temperature (C): -1/-3
E. Sea Surface Temperature (C): -1.5
F. Combined Sea (FT): Nil in ice.
G. Ice Accretion: None.
H. Aviation Parameters:
(1) Ceiling/cloud tops: 005/010; then 010/040 at 021200Z.
(2) Winds aloft (KT):
1000 FT 12020;
3000 FT 14015;
5000 FT 14017;
(3) Turbulence: Nil.
(4) Freezing level: Surface
(5) Icing: Light rime 010-050.
(6) Lowest expected altimeter: 29.07INS

3. Outlook from 030000Z to 040000Z: Weak high pressure to the south and
a deep low to the north supporting moderate easterly flow. Expect
continued cloudy skies, with isolated light snow. Visibility 2-4 in
light snow and fog. Wind easterly 10-15. Seas easterly. Seas Nil in ice.

One Month In

It’s been a while since my last blog. Life on the ship has been intense during these first 4 weeks of the LARISSA cruise. Long hours of work means little time to write, but I promise to keep trying. Please send along any questions you might have to keep me going. I can be reached at Campbell.Scott.Contractor@nbp.usap.gov and I’ll answer as soon as I can.

Sunrise over the mountains

Over the past few weeks we have had several 36 hour shifts due to unscheduled port calls at stations up and down the Palmer peninsula. I am not complaining for sure. From my point of view it has been an incredible adventure and I have seen far more of this beautiful area than I ever expected. The reason I have been so fortunate to see all that I have is because our schedule completely dictated by mother nature. And up to now she has felt it would be a good idea to keep us from our destination, the Larsen Ice Shelf!

Whales off the bow

Caroline enjoying the mud

Thick ice and low clouds have created far less than favorable conditions for the science party and journalists who have been hoping for clear skies and ice free waters. Helicopter operations have been limited to three days out of the last 21 and breaking into the Larsen Ice Shelf has been all but impossible due to thick annual sea ice on the east side. The scientists have been adapting very well though. Once we realized we were not going to make the trip around James Ross Island no matter which route we took or how hard we rammed the ice the decision was made to travel west. This meant traveling north to the top of the peninsula then around the tip to the west side and finally into open water (ice free). During our travels we made port at the English research station “Rothera” where we dropped off several of our researchers who will wait there for clear weather before flying fly to their field camps on top of the glaciers. The will fly to the camps in the English Twin Otter airplanes. It was pretty amazing to see an airport all the way down here. Our British hosts were very kind and hospitable. While we were there they had a party to welcome us and gave many of us tours around their station. We even had an opportunity to stretch our legs when a friendly challenge to a game of soccer was made (We didn’t win!). By midnight we were all back on the “Nathaniel B Palmer” once again putting to sea.

NB Palmer at Rothera dock

Belgian ROV SUZEE and Ross

The next unexpected port call was at the US research station “Palmer Station“. This stop was much shorter. We had run out of pure nitrogen and went in to resupply. Using the ships midship crane we launched our inflatable boats over the side. The area where Palmer Station is located is spectacular. Glaciers to the sea on one side, a penguin rookery on another and Palmer Station on the third. The glacier there calf often so the bay is constantly clogged with brash ice and in among the ice the occasional leopard seal pokes its head through to spy on unsuspecting penguins and anything else they feel might be worth eating. They look quite menacing with their snake like head, red eyes and mouth full of sharp teeth. They always seems to be grinning in a sinister sort of way. If killer whales are the wolves of the sea, the leopard seal should definitely be the cougar of the sea.

Seals on the ice

Palmer station Zodiac ride

Have a look at our cruise track to see all the places we’ve been – http://www.nbp.usap.gov/Imagery/CruiseTrackMap/CruiseTrackMap.gif

Between all the side trips and port calls we have continued to support daily science. We have successfully recovered several core samples of the ocean floor. One core brought back 6 meters of mud that will give the sedimentologists on board a great history of the area. We have used the Yoyo camera to capture photographs of the ocean floor. In the last few weeks we have traveled several kilometers photographing the creatures who live on the ocean bottom.

Still, my favorite is working with the ROV team from Ghent (spelled Gent in Flemish) University in Gent, Belgium. So far we have made three dives with their SubAtlantic Cherokee ROV. Her name is SUZEE. She is a nice mid sized ROV that is very capable. She has a small manipulator arm able to reach out and collect fragile creatures from the sea floor and rocks that have been dropped by glacial icebergs drifting over head. On board she carries several very nice cameras. For recording purposes there is one still shot and one video camera and others that are used to assist when flying the vehicle. Suzee is also equipped with sonar and tracking systems that help the pilots stay close to the ship for easy transit over the bottom… getting too far ahead or behind can cause great problems, we refer to it as running out of leash. In reality when we get too far away we have to deal with the weight of the ship and no matter how hard we pull the ship always seems to pull back harder. I hope we get to Larsen soon. I am looking forward to seeing the cold seeps and surrounding communities that we suspect are there. Flying the ROV is fun and very different from those I have flown with MBARI (research class) and OceansWide (inspection/training class).

Currently we are in a very strange spot. Yesterday we traveled deep into the sea ice on our third attempt to reach Larsen B. At first the ice was thin enough to push through, but as the day went on we found the wind and ocean currents was beginning to push the ice up into pressure ridges. Ice without pressure is fairly easy to push through, but once it gets squeezed we might as well be pushing through granite. Breaking it is nearly impossible. Around noon yesterday the ice began to put the squeeze on us and for the last 18 hours we have been stuck floating with the flow – waiting for the wind and current to lessen so we can continue on our way. It is a spooky feeling being stuck here, especially here. It was just about 100 years ago that Ernest Shackleton and his ship the “Endurance” and crew were locked in the ice just miles away from where we are right now. Their encounter with pressure stranded them for nearly two years… I sure hope to see you all much sooner than that!

Helecopter liftoff

For now I need to get some work done. Enjoy and stay in touch.

Buzz

Some photos from the past few days.

Flandres Bay was full of whales. Well over 50! All humpbacks. It’s a
beautiful sight!

Whale tail and friend

Bow off the Rock

Here is our little ROV. Her name is Suzee – named for a flight attendant from New Zealand who made sure the pilots had a great flight.

Suzee the ROV from Gent

It has been a gray trip so far, but the sun has decided to pay us a visit today!

Sunrise over the mountains

Captain Joe on the right Val on the left.

Captain Joe and Vladimer

The science work begins.

Long time between stories for sure. My apologies. The days have been very full and 18 hours seems to go in the blink of an eye. Come days end it is usually time for a snack then off to the bunk for a bit of sleep.

The days have been busy with science – We have been working on everything from camera surveys and multi-beam mapping of the ocean floor, to attempting to fly the helicopters over the mountains of the Palmer Peninsula. We’re still trying to get the scientists to their stations on the other side of those hills.

The photo surveys with the Yo Yo camera have been producing incredible pictures of what lives beneath the ice. We have also been studying the summer bloom. Tiny microscopic creatures that hatch out in the ocean like mosquitoes do in the arctic tundra. They are food for larger creatures from the giant swarms of tiny krill all the way up to the mighty whales.

We have traveled to many beautiful areas this trip. Bays and coves in the around the Gerlache Strait. Today we are working in a place called Andvord Bay, yesterday we were in Flandres Bay and the day before we were at Palmer Station on Anvers Island. The scenery is spectacular. The bays are more like a fjords. The mountains shoot straight out of the water and reach through the low lying clouds Unfortunately those clouds are what have been keeping our helicopters grounded, but they are part of what makes this place so amazing. On the other side of the peninsula the ice is still too thick to reach our destination by ship. With any luck the wind will continue blowing in the right direction and we will reach the Larsen Ice shelf in the next week or so.

Sea, snow, and mountain.

In the mean time we are not wasting any time. The zodiacs were launched last night to take the National Geographic photographers (Sarah and Maria) out to document some of the most spectacular scenes we have ever seen. We are surrounded by mountains that tower over us. More mountains covered in clouds above and ice and snow below. The ice glows an aqua-blue and the glaciers that look like they are about to calf at any moment make you want stay up, waiting and watching until they do.

Right now it’s 6:00am and the sun has been up for four hours. At 1:00am we launched the ROV for it’s first real mission of the cruise. We are running a 2.2 kilometer transect along the bottom. The current is strong, but we’re making our way at about half the speed we had originally hoped. That would be about 2 tenths of a knot (knot = nautical mile) per hour. We’re seeing some great stuff. There are strange long thin silver fish about 20 centimeters long. They look like a cross between a snipe eel and a dragon fish. They’re very curious and fearless swimming along with the ROV as if we were part of their school. There are other fish that look like ratfish, the name doesn’t do them justice. They really are quite nice looking fish. We have seen starfish, brittle stars, sea cucumbers, krill, squid, and so far about 20 tiny octopus that hunker down on the bottom as we fly over them. The glaciologists have been pointing out the rocks on the bottom have been dropped there by the icebergs that carry them offshore as they break away from the glaciers. Many of the rocks deposited on the seafloor now have sponges, tunicates and even a bit of soft coral growing on them. The bottom of the ocean in Antarctica is surprisingly as full of life as any other in the world… maybe even more!?

Life on the boat has begun to reach the most normal level as can be expected on board. It is fun for me to be back on board working with old friends from 12 years ago. Captain Joe and his crew are once again like family. It’s great to visit with them and reminisce about the old days while we experience new present day adventures. The meals on the boat are outstanding and very filling. We need to eat more than usual in the cold weather and working long hours which for a guy like me who likes to eat this is a great thing… bring on the hard work.

For now the hard work of the day is over. I’ve eaten plenty and I’m off for another Antarctic nap. I’ll write again as soon as I can. Please comment on the blog and I’ll do my best to answer quickly.

Monica thank you for your comments. Hello to Principal Knight.

Buzz

Arriving at the ice shelf.

By January 11th we were stopped in the ice short of Larsen B Ice Shelf by about 70 miles and 15 to 24 hours. Dr. Domack decided to use this opportunity to fly some of the glaciologists ashore with the crew from the National Geographic Magazine (one writer – Doug, one photographer – Maria and one videographer – Sarah). The helicopters were rolled out of the hanger and the excitement began. Everyone wanted to watch pilots Chris and Barry do their initial take offs and landings before loading up and flying to the glacier. The helo-deck is a small target for the pilots to aim for, but they took off and landed with ease… it was amazing to watch. After their test flights Ross and Adam (our helicopter pit crew) loaded up the aircraft with cargo and two scientists and sent them on their way. It was something to watch the little yellow helicopter fly into the very blue sky, out over the blue and white ice/landscape towards the volcanic hills in the distance. It was quite surreal to send these folks out to a place that has probably never had seen a human footprint!

While the National Geographic crew and scientists were off studying the flow of the glacier other scientists and support crew were planning a trip out onto the sea ice. Mike Lewis (my watch partner) and I were the first to step off the gang way. One of our responsibilities is to test the safety of the ice before allowing scientists to leave the ship. This time of year the ice can be unpredictable and it’s important to to read the ice. It’s also very cool to jump off the ship and be the only ones on the ice (sort of like stepping out of the space shuttle into space!). Once we were sure the ice was safe we were joined by eight more and the fun began. Kim had to make a snow angle before she got serious and began drilling ice and snow cores and taking measurements. On this bright sunny day everyone wanted to walk on the ice around the ship to take pictures. It’s something to see this big orange ship parked in the fast ice. She looks like she’s sitting in a snowy field in the middle Wyoming!

January 11th was a great day for us all. The scientists were ecstatic to finally get out into the field. Our helicopter team was able to stretch their wings and the National Geographic crew got some great footage. Soon they will be well on their way to telling the story of why and how the break up of the Larsen Ice Shelf is occurring and what it will mean for the glaciers that have been supported by this fast ice for millions of years.

The cruise continues today. Captain Joe and Dr. Domack have decided it would be best for us to travel three days around the northern end of the Palmer Peninsula and head over to the west side to see if the ice is any thinner over there. If so we will begin helicopter operations again and fly the scientists overland to their research locations before beginning other scientific operations on the ship.

I’m particularly interested in flying the Belgian’s remotely operated unmanned submersible once we have crossed the Antarctic circle.

I hope to have the time to continue sending you updates on our trip. If you have any questions please send them along and I’ll do my best to answer them… the great thing about being on a cruise like this is we have so many brilliant people on-board to help answer just about any question we might have about Antarctica, science, helicopters, remotely operated submarines and our ship. Captain Joe says to tell you all hello and looks forward to sharing his stories with you too.

From somewhere off Antarctica I wish you all the best,

Buzz

The Journey Out

Our trip to Antarctica started December 26th. I flew out of Portland Maine on my way to Punta Arenas Chile. I met up with the rest of our team at the Dallas-Fort Worth Texas airport and we all flew from there to Santiago, Chile and eventually on to Punta Arenas. It was a long flight, about 36 hours, but we were all there to enjoy the time together. It was a great time to catch up.

Once we arrived in Punta Arenas it was clear I wouldn’t need my heavy winter jacket. Summer in South America is very pleasant. It was about 70F when I landed at 1:20 in the morning of December 28.

That night we were taken directly to the ship and it was off to the cabin that will be home for the next several months… I don’t think I have ever been so happy to get in the bunk!

After a half night of sleep it was time to get to work. The port call, which runs from the time the ship arrives at the dock to the time it leaves was very hectic. This cruise (the LARISSA cruise) is the largest that has ever been staged on-board the “Nathaniel B. Palmer”. The dock was a blur with activity. Not only were we getting ready for our cruise, but three other large Antarctic research vessels were also loading hundreds of tons of cargo in preparation for their voyages south. One of the ships was from London, England – Her name is the “James Cook”, another from Spain – the “Hesperides” and the last was another US research ship the “Lawrence M. Gould”. The “James Cook” especially caught my eye when they loaded their 6500 meter remotely operated unmanned submersible “Isis”. Both the ship and submersible were impressive for sure.

Nathaniel B Palmer vs. James Cook

Port call lasted over a week. We were scheduled to depart on New Year’s day – January 1, 2010, but the wind in Punta Arenas decided otherwise. Being so close to Cape Horn the wind here is very unpredictable and strong. For three days it blew over 50 knots. When it blows like that the port authority shuts down the port and all operations come to a halt… especially crane operations which are vital to our onloading of cargo. Because of the wind our departure was delayed until January 4th.

Being stuck in port wasn’t such a bad thing. During the down time we were able to explore the little town of Punta Arenas which is nearly at the bottom of South America. It is in the middle of a region called Patagonia which is well known for its rugged hills, forests, glaciers and WIND! It is a beautiful corner of the world.

We were able to relax for New Years Eve and take part in the celebration. I’ve never seen such fireworks. They went on for about 45 minutes with the band playing the entire time. Somehow I was fortunate enough to be seated right next to where the fireworks were being launched. There must have been 10,000 people in the little square with me. One thing Chileans like to do and do well is celebrate! It was a great way to start the new year.

Once the ship finally left the dock we headed east towards the Atlantic instead of going southwest through the Straits of Magellan like I thought
we would go. The scenery wasn’t quite as dramatic as it would have been had we gone through the Strait, but this route would take us across the Drake passage ahead of the storm that was heading our way. The Drake can be one of the roughest bodies of water in the world and we were hoping to make the crossing as smooth as possible. The first day we were underway
was beautiful. The seas were calm and the sky was clear. I went to bed at noon to reset my body clock. I am standing the 12 hour shift of midnight to noon. When I woke up the sky had turned gray and the wind was blowing about 35 knots. This was the best part of the day. By breakfast the wind was sustained at 55-65 with gusts over 100. It was something to visit the bridge and watch/feel the bow plunge into the 35 foot waves as the spray blew across the main deck. The wind continued to blow most of that second day, but subsided to 25-35 the next day and by the time we reached the sea ice in Antarctica the wind was calm.

Storm crossing the Drake Passage

January 7th we arrived at the tip of the King George Island in the South Shetland Islands. We continued around the east side of the peninsula and down toward James Ross Island. As we rounded the island we began breaking into the annual sea ice. At first it was fairly easy going, but over the next few hours the ice continued to grow much thicker. Our ship is rated for breaking one meter of ice at three knots indefinitely. But soon the ice was so thick and under great pressure due to wind and currents that we found ourselves backing and ramming at a very slow speed. Eventually Captain Joe Borkowski and Chief Scientist Dr. Eugene Domack decided to try another route. We turned and ran for the inside passage of James Ross island and the Palmer Peninsula. This took us another day to travel around James Ross Island. Much to our dismay the ice conditions turned out to be exactly the same there as they were on the outside. The good news was the scenery was outstanding! The sunrises turned the snow and icebergs pink and orange, the blue ice and water shown like a mirror and the mountains made you feel like you were on another planet… stunning!

Welcome to the Antarctic ROV Blog.

Hello!

My name is Buzz Scott and this blog is about the adventures I am about to embark on a cruise to Antarctica as a Senior Marine Technician and Remotely Operated Unmanned Submersible (ROUS) pilot.

I’ll be sailing on board this big orange boat. Her name is the “Nathaniel B. Palmer” affectionately referred to as the Natty B and she is 308 feet long, 60 wide with the Ice Observation tower standing 80 feet above the main deck.

The "Nathaniel B. Palmer"

I have sailed on the Natty B before, but it has been several years (from 1994 -1997).  I will be working with many of the same people I will deploy with this time.  I look forward to seeing them again and making new friends with those I have not yet met.

I will be sailing off the Palmer Peninsula just across the Drake Passage from South America (Chile).  We will be working in the Weddell Sea and more specifically off the Larsen Ice Shelf.

Map of Antarctica

I will be there to assist with remotely operated unmanned submersible operations and other scientific equipment being deployed or recovered from the back deck. I will also work with the National Geographic team who are there to write a story on various aspects of the cruise. Their primary focus of their story will be to travel ashore in helicopters to study the glaciers coming off the peninsula.

The majority of time we will be stationed off the Larsen Ice Shelf located on the northern side of the peninsula. This will be my first trip back to Antarctica in 12 years!   I’ve been in all four seasons. I have seen temperatures range from 40 above to 112 below zero Fahrenheit.  This time of year is usually the best time to visit Antarctica.  January and February is the height of the Antarctic summer which means warmer temperatures (warmer than Maine winters at least!J).

The sun will be up most of the day setting only slightly for a couple of hours around midnight. The closest we will get to night will be twilight.

This trip down will be for two months. That is about the average cruise length on the ship. Other cruise may be as short as 1-1/2 months and others as long as 3 months. I like the two month trips… they give you time to settle in, but not so much time that you start to wish you were on a beach in Hawaii!

One of the things I like most about Antarctica is the visual beauty of this remote continent. This is a continent larger than the United States and has seen fewer people than most of our smaller states. The colors in Antarctic are amazing with blue and white ice and skies, purple clouds and red sunsets over white icebergs and sea-ice. The seas range from flat calm to raging storms and all points in-between.

The animal life is another spectacular part of Antarctica that blows me away. The penguins have no land predators so they will walk along with humans like we are one of the flock. Seals and whales will swim in openings in the ice even with humans standing right on the ice edge beside them. They are all curious about what we’re doing so it’s almost like we are being studied too.  Many times on the crossings between New Zealand, Chile, South Africa and Australia we see Wondering and Royal Albatross.  They are beautiful – with up to 12 foot wingspans they can stay in the air for months at a time soaring over the waves searching for food.  Flying for them seems effortless.  Check out the pictures of these animals on the US Antarctic Program’s website www.usap.gov.  It’s an amazing site!

I hope you will follow our cruise and ask questions on the blog.  Due to the fact that I will be hundreds of miles from internet access answering questions will not be instant, but if you can send your first name, grade and school name along I will answer your questions as quickly as possible.  David Grogan from Tufts University will be helping us communicate.  He will take your questions and send them directly to me on the ship then post the answers on the blog the next day.  Please use the blogs commenting feature to post any questions you have.  I look forward to talking with you from one of the most beautiful and remote places on earth.

Best wishes,

Campbell “Buzz” Scott
OceansWide/Scott Ocean Exploration
Newcastle, Maine
http://www.oceanswide.org