Written Saturday 22nd December
By Margot Foster
Finally, notes on the ice have made it into the Sitrep. “ICE CONDITIONS: 4/10 loose pack, few icebergs.”
In my cabin the lowered blind has been lit at the edges all night by the sun. I woke disoriented at 0400 by the clunking sound as the metal ship moved through bits of ice and was on the bridge early to watch us glide into the pack at around 0700.
It’s down to minus 2 and I can feel the chill through the floor. Big socks and ugg boots now with gloves and hat in the pockets of the snow jacket.
We saw another ship on the horizon – the ‘Orion’ leaving Commonwealth Bay. At 6nm distant it may have been an iceberg but the whale and bird watchers confirmed the tourist vessel as radio contact was made.
We sit in the loose pack ice for most of the day to take advantage of the stability while a winch is set up for deploying the polynya moorings. The decks are being prepared for CEAMARC (Collaborative East Antarctic Marine Census) and CASO (Climate of Antarctica and Southern Ocean) sampling
Snow and Antarctic petrels wheel around the ship in tireless circles and groups of penguins can be sighted staring at us in horror as we crash on past. The decision to dive into the water always seems to be a dilemma for them. The dive is preceded by some frantic pacing up and down the floes when a ship approaches.
I watch the deployment of the first polynya mooring in the late afternoon. The ADCP uses sound waves to measure currents. Bundles of bright yellow buoys are attached to frames anchored by a sturdy structure that could be a farm sculpture. Three great railway wheels lie flat on a triangular frame supported by three sprung metal legs. In the cradle lies millions of dollars worth of delicate equipment.
One huge pin connects stage two to the sculpture and around ten people are involved in the delicate operation tweaking winches and pulleys as giant hooks gently align the components into place for assembly and deployment. Ropes are flicked and swung, checked, tested and adjusted as each section of the mooring goes out and finally this precious cargo is sent to the sea floor with just a little splash.
I saw my first Emperor penguin this afternoon – alone and quite dignified on a large floe and I still laugh at the Adelies every time I see them. I have learnt that the comic penguin waddle is because of their shortened and stiff jointed little legs, which tuck under when they swim, but which make for awkward walking. That’s why they toboggan over distance on their bellies. This is the beauty of traveling with scientists. They can solve every question – from biology to refraction of light. It’s a great comfort.
The light is deceptive. I was catching the ‘afternoon’ light play on the pack ice and watching the endless circuit of snow petrels around the ship when someone mentioned it was ten at night. I saw an incredible light formation – the circular rainbow halo over the sky which held me captive till near midnight. Sensibly I’ve packed an eye-mask to counter the midnight sun, which intrudes on sleep.
There are hopes to deploy something like 67 moorings at sites across this sweep of the Southern Ocean between Dumont d’Urville and the Mertz Glacier, so the ship is now a round the clock factory running 12 hour shifts, servicing dozens of projects. Excitement is building for the trawling of the benthic beds tomorrow.
Margot Foster is a journalist currently on board the Australian Aurora Australis, an Australian research vessel currently participating in the Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML, IPY project 53). She works with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
