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
