February 2

We have returned to the southwestern Ross Sea where we studied several eddies. We also looked at the difference between two regions with different biological activity.  We need to be in McMurdo Sound in a few days to meet the the Italian ship, Italica, that is going to refuel the Palmer. We are staying nearby so we don't have to spend too much time traveling to meet the Italica.

The heavy red line is the ship track.

Yesterday morning a storm blew up quickly.  At midnight it was clear and sunny and the winds were light.  By about 3 a.m. the winds were over 40 kt and the seas developed to 10 feet or larger.  It snowed an inch or so.  By noon the winds were back down below 10 kt and the seas were becoming calmer. Basically, we went from calm to a strong storm to calm in less than 24 hours.  Such is the weather in the far south.

We moved close to Franklin Island which was thought to be a area where hydrothermal vents occur.  These are the places were hot fluids and other materials from deep inside the Earth escape into the ocean - sort of like what happens at volcanoes.  These vents might be a source of iron to the ocean, which is why we are interested in measuring them.  We had to get close to Franklin Island where the vents are located, which required us to navigate in waters about 100 m (330 ft) deep.   Most of this area is not well surveyed, so the captain took his time moving around.  Luckily, we did not find any shallow places. We also had to deal with sea ice that still covered most of the area.  It did give us an opportunity to see the island up close.

The picture below shows Franklin Island from a distance. It is clearly a big rock with a glacier (and snow) on top.  We were not sure which "Franklin" the island was named for, so we looked it up. It was not "Ben" but rather "John" who was the captain of the ill-fated expedition in the Arctic Ocean in the late 1800s.  All members of this expedition died of exposure (I think).

Franklin Island

The picture below shows a thick layer of ice (compressed snow, a glacier) draped over Franklin Island that is sliding into the ocean.

Franklin Island - close up. 

 

 

 

The thickness of the glacier is clear in this area where part of the glacier has fallen off a cliff (picture below).

Glacier on Franklin Island.

After sampling near Franklin Island, we headed back to the vicinity of Ross Island. The dominant feature on the island is Mt Erebus, the active volcano.  The picture below is a view of the volcano with an iceberg in the foreground.

Mount Erebus

The low sun this morning (it is about 8am) shows the rugged features of the iceberg.  These beautiful morning vistas are a benefit of working the midnight to noon watch.