TEMPERATURES DROP IN ANTARCTICA

Since I have working for the Antarctic Survey, I have been telling people back home that it is NOT so cold down here in Summer.  You have 24 hours of daylight.  You have all that UV light being reflected back up off the ground from all that wonderful, white, snow.  You have sunny days (mostly) in Summer.  And you have the added rule that when you dress for the Cold (as you must do in Antarctica), it invariable turns out to be hot and sweaty inside all those layers and therefore you have to start stripping off again !

However, I am inclined to bow to popular opinion and admit that presently here in Antarctica, it’s colder than a Penguins’ bottom sitting on an Iceberg.

When we pulled in alongside the fast ice of Creek 4 last evening at Halley, we had a nice open stretch of water to cruise through to reach our destination and tied up without incident.

Arrival at Halley

However, since our arrival, our overnight stay has seen the temperatures drop to -16 degrees overnight and an equally impressive -12.8 degrees C at noon today.  Then there is a nice 12 knot wind blowing off the Ice Shelf which makes it feel a whole lot cooler, despite a pleasant amount of sunshine today.

But you do not need to watch numbers on a thermometer to see the effects of the cold.  A look out of the Bridge Windows on our Port side explains all.  I took a first picture for my friend in Indiana at about 10am this morning and shortly after midday I took the shot again to see a very telling tale.  What was once ‘open water’ is now a sheet of sea ice and the Shackleton is surrounded on all sides by Ice.

Open Water Before the Ship and Before Lunch

and

The Same View after Lunch.

And so I will have to admit that perhaps it’s a little chilly down here in Antarctica.

However, it is also very special, very beautiful and very appealing in the afternoon sunshine.

Sunshine over the Pancake Ice

I, for one, shall be reaching for the skiis and heading out for a wander in the cold temperatures ashore after work this evening.

Author and Photographer.

Stevie B

Radio Shackleton

SO WHERE ARE WE PRESENTLY ?

Presently, the RRS Ernest Shackleton is in the Weddell Sea of Antarctica. And what are we doing here ?

Science…

The Shackleton is primarily a Logistics Ship, and then we don the disguise of a ‘North Sea Rig Pig’ during the Summer months back up in the Northern Hemisphere, so it is delightful to actually be down South and doing some good science.

The Shackleton has one program of ‘bread and butter’ science that is carried out throughout the year, and that is the STCM or Shipbourn Three Component Magnetometer. The STCM measures the world’s Magnetic Field and we are constantly sensing and recording the ‘X’, ‘Y’ and ‘Z’ components of magnetism wherever we go in the world.

Three Components of Magnetism

But apart from this program, the Shackleton is largely occupied with transporting food, equipment and passengers throughout Antarctica during our Southern Season. This year is different in that we have onboard Dr.Keith Nicholls and he and his team are conducting a program of science in the Weddell. That includes CTD’s (Temperature, Depth and Salinity Probes), Moorings, and Seal Tagging.

CTD’s

(Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) measurements are samples of the water column at various depths which gives indications of what the Weddell Sea is doing under the influence of the melt from the Ice Shelf.

MOORINGS

The moorings are the underwater deployment of instruments to measure similar data, but they remain below the surface from year to year, and only upon recovery do they give up their treasured secrets. The problem here is that when the mooring is deployed one year, there is no certainty that the spot won’t be totally covered in sea ice the next year. We have just recovered one such buoy arrangement that has remained sub-surface for 4 years and was only this year accessible as we ploughed through stretches of Pack Ice in order to locate the mooring beneath. A remote signal activates a release mechanism to detach the package from it’s seabed weight. Thereupon it bobs to the surface – and hopefully into clear water and not under some inaccessible ice floe !

SEAL TAGGING

In a further effort to uncover the secrets of the Sub-surface Weddell Sea, we have taken to tagging Weddell Seals. It is a process whereby a small data logger/transmitter is mounted on a host seal and this will record where and when the Seal dives beneath the surface throughout the Weddell Sea. The results are amazing. Not only does it give more CTD data but is a window into the life of a Weddell Seal and how far afield it will swim in search of a good meal !.

The funny thing about our Seal Hunting adventures, is that in the Weddell Sea, it is hard to find Weddell Seals ! There are plenty of the crabeater variety, and even Leopard Seals, but in our search for 10 individuals, we have only managed to find 9 to date. The search continues as does the science.

A Weddell Sea Seal

We anticipate being out here in the Pack Ice and Floes until we return to Halley on the 19th of February, and then after a short 3 day stay, the Science program will continue onwards to Signy. Thereafter it is Stanley, Falkland Islands and the JRH Crewchange.