By John Mitchell, Voyage Leader
Having left the inner Ross Sea, we passed through the ever-thickening ice barrier between the open water in the polynya to the south and the open ocean to the northeast. In the ice barrier, we had to push through ribbons of thick pack ice with relatively open ‘leads’ that were filled with grease ice and newly formed soft pancake ice. Although our progress was slow at times, it was only about 24 hours before we arrived at our first seamount site, dubbed South Scott Seamount.
Photo: Tangaroa proceeding through close pack ice towards an open lead in the distance. by J. Mitchell
As Scott South seamount had never been surveyed or mapped before, we began by mapping enough of the area with the multibeam system to be able to plan our sampling programme of benthic sled and DTIS camera transects. Although the ice cover was quite thick, we had enough open water to proceed with sampling. Overnight and the next morning was very calm, providing all on board beautiful views of the ever-changing sea ice. Unfortunately, it also meant that the seawater, which was sitting at -1.8°C, started to form new ice rapidly. We quickly finished sampling and moved off to more open waters and our next station, to sample at a depth of 3350 m on the abyssal plain.
Photo: Working on South Scott Seamount. DTIS wire cutting through thin new ice. by J. Mitchell
Now that we’re in more open waters on the edge of the ice pack, we hope to see more in the way of Antarctic wildlife. Adelie penguins have been seen in isolated groups on ice floes, but not in great numbers. Whale sightings have been uncommon, but at the abyssal station in more open ocean waters we were treated to a very rare sighting: a pair of blue whales.
Photo: Adelie penguins on a newly formed ice floe. by J. Mitchell
Photo: Pair of blue whales passing close by the Tangaroa – half a mile away. by J. Mitchell
See the Science Report on CAML-Cousteau Expedition tracking page
From February until mid-March 2008, New Zealand scientists are embarking on an eight-week voyage to the Ross Sea to survey the marine environment and explore the variety of life forms (biodiversity) in the region. This is part of the Census of Antarctic Marine Life and scientists on board will also contribute to the NZ Science Learning Hub for teachers and students. Follow all CAML expeditions routes on the CAML-Cousteau Expedition tracking page.