So far, we have sampled at 3 of our 14 stations. Rough seas and large swells have proven to be a challenge, though. Marine technicians (MTs) cannot safely deploy the large instruments which collect our samples over the side of the ship in these conditions. Fortunately, our Chief Scientist and the Captain have budgeted about 5 "weather days" into our schedule since the conditions in the Southern Ocean can be unpredictable and require us to be flexible with our schedule.

I plan to make a separate, more detailed post about my role in the research happening aboard the NBP. However, here are a few pictures of myself and others captured in our first few days of sampling and data collection.

On one of our early days in the transect, we had to stop data collection due to weather. We were disappointed but most of us decided to take the opportunity to turn in early and catch up on sleep. The seas were pretty rough, but someone looked out their window and saw a HUGE iceberg that was way closer to the ship than we had seen all cruise. A message was sent out to everyone on board about the rare sight, and many of us stumbled out onto the deck in our PJs. The sight I saw before me as I stepped through the watertight door was unimaginable: a GIANT iceberg was maybe 100 yards from the ship. The turquoise waves were crashing up against the side of the berg, creating a glorious display of these two states of water.  

The wind was biting and most people wandered back inside. Even though I was not adequately dressed to stay outside for long, I couldn't allow myself to look away. I ventured out to the front of the ship and was met with another enormous iceberg, this time on the port side. The sun, which we have seen so very little of due to cloud cover, was lighting up one side of the iceberg and casting dramatic shadows into all of the places where the water had beautifully carved this magnificent natural sculpture. I pulled my frozen hands out of my gloves and sent a message to everyone to come see what I was looking at. Soon, more of my shipmates were out on the bow with me, admiring these large floating chunks of ice. We braced ourselves at the bow as it bobbed up and down with the swell, and were mindful to keep an iron grip on our phones hanging over the side. This was not an easy task with fingers that are frozen and numb -- but it was totally worth it.