A reminder - if you've never seen this before, please go HERE to read the Introduction and Day 1 - otherwise, read on...
Wednesday 19th December 2001
At sea (57 deg S, 130 deg E)
The weather deteriorated slightly, although we are still getting a relatively smooth passage as we continue our south-westerly course. At noon today, we were about halfway to our destination, nearly 1,000 nautical miles (1,875 km) from Hobart and another 1,000 to go.
We are now at 57 degrees South
latitude and the sea temperature is down to about 3 degrees C, about
a degree below the outside air temperature. The wind has swung to
the northeast as we skirt around the eastern edge of a huge weather depression to the west
of us. The barometer has dropped to 975 HPa and visibility is down to about 250
metres, but we are still making good time at 16 to 17 knots. Here ends the
meteorological report.
Today’s training session was on survival. Voyage
Leader Greg, a mountaineer and training consultant in his other life, gave us
an excellent demonstration on the use of the Bivi Bag which is like a
huge sack made from weather-proof material (not waterproof since it never rains
in Antarctica). The word "bivi", of course, comes from bivouac, for which we
should always be prepared even if only a few tens of metres from camp.
I have previously mentioned the number of scientists on
board, and over the last couple of days Yann and I have had the chance to understand
what it is that they do and their passion for their specialist fields. For
example, John, a zooplankton biologist, has been streaming a Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) from the
stern of the ship ever since we left Hobart. The CPR catches plankton in a type
of Swiss roll material which sits about ten metres below the surface and which slowly but continuously winds itself on as we move
south. When it gets to the end of the roll, as it did this morning he collects and counts the plankton and records where it was collected, thus
providing a record of plankton abundance between Tasmania and the Antarctic
shelf.
Another of the scientists on board this trip is Steve
from the University of New England who has been counting the large kelp rafts that drift past the ship. This helps in providing data to determine the potential for
the dispersal of kelp-associated organisms. For a long time, scientists have
questioned why islands such as Macquarie Island and other sub-Antarctic land
masses like Heard Island, although many millions of years different in their
ages, and over 5,000 km apart, have similar fauna. Steve’s work, plays a valuable role in providing a better understanding
of the importance of that circumpolar currents play in the distribution of organisms
across the Southern Ocean. This in turn, of course plays a significant part in contributing to a better
understanding our planet’s health.
Tonight we were provided with our rosters for Casey, where, if present conditions prevail, we will arrive mid-afternoon on the December 22, (our Christmas Day). We also learned that King Neptune is due to pay us a visit on Friday afternoon to seek retribution from all those first-timers who have dared to cross the 60th Parallel without his permission.
It remains to be seen what this holds in store for us.
Until tomorrow...
