RWSE Day 20: Continuing North

“Half the fascination an Antarctic expedition possesses is to be found in the sharpness of the contrasts experienced during its course, for it appears to be true that a hell one day is liable to make a heaven the next.” ~~ Raymond Priestley ~~ (from the Daily Guide)

Another weather-wise dull, cold day as we make our way north towards the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. The daily program says that we are following the ice edge, but we are so far from it that there is nothing but open water around us. Every once in a while we come across some rotten ice bands … or some bergs on the horizon. But they are few and far between, and don’t slow us down much.

The temperature when Mui went up to the bridge around 6:30a was 11F (-11.9C) … without the windchill. I’m not sure how much it warmed up through the day, Regardless, without the sun to mitigate the chill and the dullness of the skies, I did not venture out.

After breakfast, Mui and I attended Matilda’s “Volcanoes in Antarctica” lecture. She started out by saying that volcanoes are not something we think about in connection with the Great White Continent. She is right. Sure, there is Mount Erebus and Deception Island — both of which are still active — and Brown Bluff. But they are not the landmarks that first come to mind with regards to the continent. A recent study in the western half of Antarctica found 138 volcanoes … 91 of which were not previously known. Hidden beneath ice that can be miles thick, volcanoes here are not easy to spot. Who knows how many more there are that, like Brown Bluff, aren’t in the conical shape that typically identifies a volcano … and how many more are in the areas not covered by the study.

The usual workshops followed the lecture … and a new one on first aid led by Dr Amar. Chloé presented a lecture entitled “Drifting Life (Part II) … The Life and Legacy of Krill: Guardians of Antarctic Biodiversity.” Interesting, I am sure, but not my cup of tea.

We did go to Allan’s afternoon presentation about an early season icebreaker voyage to the Weddell Sea that captured our attention. This was an expedition aboard Kapitan Khlebnikov, the ice breaker that was once operated in remote Antarctica by Quark. Unfortunately, the vessel retired from these waters in 2012, so we won’t have a chance to do a KK expedition.

The expedition that was the topic of Allan’s presentation took in five emperor penguin colonies and visited two research stations. Allan’s a great storyteller and painted a fascinating picture of the whole experience. It was funny to see Bob Headland in one of the photos … the historian on our 2014 North Pole expedition aboard the nuclear-powered 50 Let Pobedy. What I found particularly interesting is that KK did not get as far south as we got this year.

At today’s recap, EL Sara disabused everyone of the rumor that we are heading to Snow Hill Island. Apparently that is what is showing as Ortelius’s destination on various apps and sites. It is simply impossible to get there, however … too much densely packed ice to negotiate. The bottom line for the moment is that if there is to be any off-ship activity in the near future, it might happen on 4 March.

EL Sara then shared a video about the 2013 Metallica concert near Carlini Station on King George Island in the South Shetlands. Ortelius apparently gave the band a ride because the owner of Oceanwide Expeditions is very much a Metallica fan.

Gary then talked about how sea ice breakouts are impacting emperor penguin colonies. Of the 54 colonies with 254,500 breeding pairs, four were devastated in November 2022 due to record low sea ice that persisted throughout the year. These four colonies, all in the Bellingshausen Sea area, experienced total breeding failure when the sea ice on which the colonies were located broke up before the chicks had fledged. (More info for anyone interested at https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-023-00927-x.)

Tennessee followed with a tidbit about research stations around Berkner Island … and how Filchner Station had to be relocated when the section of the Ronne Ice Shelf that it was situated on broke off, carrying the station with it. Another station — Druzhnaya I — floated off in 1986 when a section of the Filchner Ice Shelf broke off. The station personnel were evacuated by air in 1987. The berg that resulted from this calving is the infamous A23a, which has now run aground off South Georgia Island.

Dinner with our Dutch and Swiss friends … and then early to bed.Leer más