The weather is overcast and winds are typical (15-20kt from NW). Seas are mild (a few feet). The air is a few degrees below freezing. We are passing a few icebergs. This evening we expect to pass through a patch of sea ice (frozen sea water). In a few days, we will go through a larger patch of sea ice (about 200 miles wide).
Sea ice and icebergs are very different. Sea ice is frozen sea water. Although some persists over the summer, most sea ice melts over the summer, or drifts northward into warmer conditions where it melts. Sea ice tends to be a few feet thick, rarely getting more than 10 feet thick. Icebergs, on the other hand, are pieces of floating ice shelves that break off and float away. Ice shelves come from snowfall that accumulates over many years and compacts to form ice. Ice shelves, like the Ross Ice Shelf which we will soon see, is 100 to 300 m (300 to 1000 ft) thick. The RVIB Palmer can not "break" an iceberg, or even push it very much. The ship will stay far away from icebergs (think of the sinking of the Titanic about a hundred years ago).
Sean and Anna (two scientists with the phytoplankton physiology group) have been taking advantage of nice weather to work on incubators which will be used to analyze growth rate of phytoplankton (small floating plants). The blue wrap is used to reduce the light intensity in the incubators to the light intensity that the plants experience underwater.
Safety on the ship is a constant focus. Each week we have a practice fire drill. Our muster station is the conference room on the 03 deck. When the alarm sounds (a ringing bell), we have a minute or so to get our floation and survival suits from our cabins and get to the muster station. Attendance is checked. If we have to leave the ship, there are two covered life boats just outside on this deck. With modern communication, we could let someone know our problem. However, given how far away we are, it would be a number of days before anyone could get to us to help. We hope not to test the response to an emergency summons.
(Science crew at muster station for fire drill.)
Should any of us feel short of calories between meals, there are always snacks in the Mess for the taking: cookies, flan, cake, etc.
We have started collectively working on New York Times crossword puzzles. We get the New York Times news digest each day; it includes the crossword puzzle. The puzzle is extracted and printed in a large format and is posted in the computer lab room. Everyone then works on the crossword puzzle. Some folks on the boat are very good at crossword puzzles. I feel happy if I can contribute just one word.
We are crossing a patch of sea ice. It is clearly melting and in small fragments (no problem for the ship). But, it is starting to look more like what is expected for Antarctica. Everyone is excited about the sea ice.
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