We have arrived at our destination: the longitude line of 170 degrees west. Our science team, with the help of marine technicians and ship personnel, will conduct research at 14 stations along this transect from 67 degrees south to 73 degrees south.
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.
Collecting water samples from the CTD
Collecting even more water samples from the CTD
Filtering water samples to collect chlorophyll
Reading ammonium levels in some water samples
Katie and MT Hadley (Kiley's ship twin) collecting slush in an ice bucket
Pat and MT Jenny retrieve a pump
This picture was mainly for the albatross
Gotta wear steel-toed boots, a float coat and a hard hat when out on the back deck
Many of us gather here every morning at 06:00 to watch the data come in as the CTD moves through the water column
Pat and Kristin filter some seawater collected from pumps
Amanda inspects some diatoms and other phytoplankton in the microscope room
An assortment of diatoms, dinoflagellates, silica flagellates and other phytoplankton from a seawater sample
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.