20-Feb
The day ended late with another fiery sunset, the sunrise and sunsets have been magnificent down here - if only it was possible to try capture them as they are on canvas, will give it a try.
We had to deal with all sorts of freezing problems today. Scientific experiments fell over because of frozen pipes and hoses. We managed to save the day but with frozen fingers and icicles hanging from our noses. For some of the equipment, frozen plastic pipes had to be cut free from their fittings and thawed out in the engine room. This had to be done carefully as they were so brittle that they could just snap in half.
The Benthos girls found some interesting pink and bloated benthos creatures that crawl along the sea floor and have called them “little pigs”. Amazing creatures about the size of a hand pink with little tails or ears and a little snout that looked just like pigs
Saturday, September 6, 2008
18-Feb
More Pancake ice today, lots more – amazing stuff. The sea is calm and the ocean around us looks like a giant lily pond with while lilies. This is a certainly temperamental place with wildly contrasting weather, ferocious storm one day and a pancake lily pond the next
Sea Ice Types.
Frazil Ice – The sea begins to freeze when temperatures drop below minus 1.8 Celsius, which is the first stage in the formation of sea ice. This is where small crystals of ice form and the water takes on a soupy or porridge appearance. These crystals are called “Frazil Ice”. This frazil ice can quickly become a thicker “Sludge Ice” and in calm weather will freeze solid in only a few hours.
Grease ice is a very thin layer of frazil crystals clumped together, the second stage of development of sea ice. A soupy layer of ice in the stage of formation looking a little like a film of oil on he water, it smoothens the water surface.
Shuga: accumulation of spongy ice lumps. It is the stage up from grease ice and smoothens the water surface even more. Huge waves of a swell are sometimes easily visible in such zones and the dark patterns formed where broken up by the wind.
Pancake Ice. Freezing sea surface will form thin sheets of ice, which break up into small plates that then grow to larger plates 2m diameter. These plates gently collide with one another thus becoming rounded and forming furry uplifted edge. Water ripples add also splash over the edges to further build up the edges further until the area look like a white lily pond.
Grey ice, first year ice: large ice floes often pushed into each other by wind. It appears mostly rather dark grey on a radar image. The swell can hardly move this ice up and down.
Fast ice: fast ice or land fast ice is also first year ice found near the coasts. This ice type is very smooth and hence dark in the radar image. A penetrating ship leaves a trail behind. Often icebreakers need to cross it in order to reach research stations on shore. It might be hard for an icebreaker to pass through it.
Second and multiyear ice: this can be sea ice many meters thick, often forming huge ice floes or if nearly melted they form small icebergs.
Pack Ice is broken fast ice.
More Pancake ice today, lots more – amazing stuff. The sea is calm and the ocean around us looks like a giant lily pond with while lilies. This is a certainly temperamental place with wildly contrasting weather, ferocious storm one day and a pancake lily pond the next
Sea Ice Types.
Frazil Ice – The sea begins to freeze when temperatures drop below minus 1.8 Celsius, which is the first stage in the formation of sea ice. This is where small crystals of ice form and the water takes on a soupy or porridge appearance. These crystals are called “Frazil Ice”. This frazil ice can quickly become a thicker “Sludge Ice” and in calm weather will freeze solid in only a few hours.
Grease ice is a very thin layer of frazil crystals clumped together, the second stage of development of sea ice. A soupy layer of ice in the stage of formation looking a little like a film of oil on he water, it smoothens the water surface.
Shuga: accumulation of spongy ice lumps. It is the stage up from grease ice and smoothens the water surface even more. Huge waves of a swell are sometimes easily visible in such zones and the dark patterns formed where broken up by the wind.
Pancake Ice. Freezing sea surface will form thin sheets of ice, which break up into small plates that then grow to larger plates 2m diameter. These plates gently collide with one another thus becoming rounded and forming furry uplifted edge. Water ripples add also splash over the edges to further build up the edges further until the area look like a white lily pond.
Grey ice, first year ice: large ice floes often pushed into each other by wind. It appears mostly rather dark grey on a radar image. The swell can hardly move this ice up and down.
Fast ice: fast ice or land fast ice is also first year ice found near the coasts. This ice type is very smooth and hence dark in the radar image. A penetrating ship leaves a trail behind. Often icebreakers need to cross it in order to reach research stations on shore. It might be hard for an icebreaker to pass through it.
Second and multiyear ice: this can be sea ice many meters thick, often forming huge ice floes or if nearly melted they form small icebergs.
Pack Ice is broken fast ice.
17-Feb Sea Refreezing - Near Ross Ice Shelf
17-Feb Sea Refreezing - Near Ross Ice Shelf
It is bitterly cold down here, so close to the South Pole as we are and near to the edge of the Ross ice Shelf. And no wonder - any wind that blows across an ice shelf as big as France will certainly pick up a mighty chilling bite from it before it hits us. It has been a full on few days here with systems freezing over, jamming because of the bone chilling temperatures, what a busy few days we have had. Machinery that normally enjoys operating in normal sane temperatures, like us, get temperamental and don’t like to function in the cold. Over the last few days we have been slushing through the snow-covered decks trying to jury rig systems to get things going again so that the scientists can carry on with their experiments. Three pairs of socks, double gloved with hand warmers and earmuffs to keep the listening devices warm - all good fun – and of course my long johns on.
After our coffee toolbox meeting this morning we had to take to some deck equipment with sledge hammers and big crowbars in order to try and break off the heavy ice that had built up on them overnight.
The sea around us is starting to freeze and has turned to a sort of porridge. The term they call this is Frazzle and grease ice. The atmosphere is amazing, the sea is a grey colour and a swell travels under the layer in an amazing magical smooth unbroken motion. Because of the thick top layer, the wind is unable to make little wavelets or cause any waves to crest. It is like the whole sea has been covered with a white blanket. In some areas the surface becomes broken and patterns of world maps appear. The ship is actually mapping the sea floor at this stage and this involves a bit of backtracking on a grid pattern. When we turn on our own wake, we see whale patterns appear where we have broken the porridge surface.
Later the Frazzle and grease ice turned to ‘Shuga’ and I head to the bow to watch the bow silently slushing through it – the sensation is amazing.
The good news is that we are now heading away from the cold south pole and ‘north to Alaska’ once again again. We have a 200-mile steam right up to the top of the open section of the Ross Sea and closer to the expected track, where we have to get out through the big pack ice barrier again. Satellite images show that it is building up fast but hopefully we will be in time to get through before it all starts gluing together again for the winter. We do have a backstop though in the unlikely case if we might get stuck on the inside - There is an American Icebreaker at McMurdo Sound due to leave on February 22nd. We might always be able to follow her out then if need be.
16-Feb
We are probably as far south that is possible to go by ship. This point is the closest point to the South Pole that is possible to reach by ship. One to chalk up for my history book.
To mark this occasion of the voyage, the Captain stamps and signs my first day covers with the official ship’s stamp, together with the voyage leader, another trade with Bob, the ice pilot. This first day cover and a map of the Ross Dependency were exchanged for a watercolour painting of the Ross Sea. Thanks Bob, This reminds me that I should really fish out my stamp collection from the attic as I recall having several other Ross Dependency first day covers.
Ross Dependency Postage stamps - a bit of history.
In 1908, New Zealand Post Office overprinted some 23,500 New Zealand postage stamps with King Edward VII Land ( the original name of the Ross Dependency), for use by the 1908 British Antarctic Expedition. Ernest Shackleton was the first postmaster.
In later years, the New Zealand Post Office issued stamps under the name "Ross Dependency". However stamp issues ceased for a time after the Scott Base Post Office closed as part of the 1987 rationalisation, but they were reintroduced again in 1994 due to demand.
A very cold wind was blowing from the south and the whole deck is just frozen up. We have been dealing with a load of scientific equipment not working because of systems freezing, so we have been kept on our frozen toes with all that trying to keep things running. The outside air temperature was about minus 13 and with the sea temperature at minus 1.8.
I experienced something really amazing today. The sea began to freeze around us this morning and this continued for the rest of the day. Minus 1.8 degrees is the freezing point of seawater when ice crystals start to form. The process of sea freezing is that first a slurry mushy mixture called grease ice or frazil forms and this then starts to form little flat furry edged thingies termed “pancakes”. It is an awesome experience to be sailing through this and It is beautiful to watch the swells softly pass through this milky ice porridge. When sections of it are disturbed, map patterns appear. Once this freezing process starts, the sea can be frozen solid in a couple of days, I am informed.
I skidded my way to the bow to peer over the edge and watch the bow plough through this porridge. The sound is amazing. The effect was topped off with a huge wallowing swell trying to prise itself underneath this layer and the ship trying to work its way through it.
We now are making our way back north again, not wishing to be caught in a freezing sea. We have to try to get out of the Ross Sea because the pack ice is closing in on us again and must be out before the sea freezes over properly. This is expected in about a week or so but in the meantime we must continue with more experiments.
We are probably as far south that is possible to go by ship. This point is the closest point to the South Pole that is possible to reach by ship. One to chalk up for my history book.
To mark this occasion of the voyage, the Captain stamps and signs my first day covers with the official ship’s stamp, together with the voyage leader, another trade with Bob, the ice pilot. This first day cover and a map of the Ross Dependency were exchanged for a watercolour painting of the Ross Sea. Thanks Bob, This reminds me that I should really fish out my stamp collection from the attic as I recall having several other Ross Dependency first day covers.
Ross Dependency Postage stamps - a bit of history.
In 1908, New Zealand Post Office overprinted some 23,500 New Zealand postage stamps with King Edward VII Land ( the original name of the Ross Dependency), for use by the 1908 British Antarctic Expedition. Ernest Shackleton was the first postmaster.
In later years, the New Zealand Post Office issued stamps under the name "Ross Dependency". However stamp issues ceased for a time after the Scott Base Post Office closed as part of the 1987 rationalisation, but they were reintroduced again in 1994 due to demand.
A very cold wind was blowing from the south and the whole deck is just frozen up. We have been dealing with a load of scientific equipment not working because of systems freezing, so we have been kept on our frozen toes with all that trying to keep things running. The outside air temperature was about minus 13 and with the sea temperature at minus 1.8.
I experienced something really amazing today. The sea began to freeze around us this morning and this continued for the rest of the day. Minus 1.8 degrees is the freezing point of seawater when ice crystals start to form. The process of sea freezing is that first a slurry mushy mixture called grease ice or frazil forms and this then starts to form little flat furry edged thingies termed “pancakes”. It is an awesome experience to be sailing through this and It is beautiful to watch the swells softly pass through this milky ice porridge. When sections of it are disturbed, map patterns appear. Once this freezing process starts, the sea can be frozen solid in a couple of days, I am informed.
I skidded my way to the bow to peer over the edge and watch the bow plough through this porridge. The sound is amazing. The effect was topped off with a huge wallowing swell trying to prise itself underneath this layer and the ship trying to work its way through it.
We now are making our way back north again, not wishing to be caught in a freezing sea. We have to try to get out of the Ross Sea because the pack ice is closing in on us again and must be out before the sea freezes over properly. This is expected in about a week or so but in the meantime we must continue with more experiments.
15-Feb Ross Island & Mount Erebus
I was put on the shake at 0400 hours this morning by Bob, the ice pilot. Was informed that Ross Island lay ahead and that the morning light was spectacular on mountains. I clambered up to the bridge and sure enough the 2,460 km² island of three volcanoes lay directly ahead of us and looked just magnificent. Dawn crept up slowly over the eastern end of the island Cape Crozier, where the eastern edge of the Ross ice Shelf meets the Ross Sea. This point is a specially protected area of black volcanic cliff 61–122m high, home to a major emperor penguin rookery.
As well as being a major backstop to the Ross Ice Shelf, Ross Island is entirely a volcanic island. The four volcanos between Cape Crozier on the left to Cape Bird on the right are Mt Terror (3230 m), still hiding under a thick blanket of morning cloud, then Mount Erebus (3794 m), the world’s southern most active volcano, peeking occasionaly from behind less cloud and giving off what looked like the odd puff of steam, the smaller Mount Terra Nova followed by Mount Bird (1,765 m), and then back down to the sea at Cape Bird. This is also apparently the only New Zealand Island with out sheep (as the joke goes).
The island itself was discovered by Sir James Clark Ross in 1841, and it was later named in honour of him by Robert F. Scott. The two major mountains on the island were named by Ross after his ships HMS Erebus and HMS Terror.
Upon seeing Mt Erebus, my thoughts went back to the evening of 28th November,1979 when news came through of the tradgedy that occurred on this mountain, Air New Zealand Flight 901 had ploughed into the mountain with the loss of all 257 people on board. This thought cast a shadow on the peacefullness of this setting and upon seeing this notorious mountain for the first time and as a small puff came from the summit.
Along the shoreline below Mount Erebus was what looked like a long line of beached, shipping containers. It turns out that they were in fact a line of huge beached tabular icebergs. Mount Erebus (3794m) is the worlds most southern active volcano. Another interesting geological aspect of this volcano is that it puffs out about 80grams of metallic gold crystals each day.
Ross Island is mostly ice and snow and is the southern most island reachable by sea. Lying on the edge of the huge Ross sea ice shelf. It thus proved to be a handy base and jumping off point for many of the early expeditions to Antarctica. The historic huts built by Scott’s and Shackleton’s expeditions are still standing on the island, preserved as Historical Places.
Around the corner of Cape Bird, situated on a finger (Pram Point) that juts out from the back of Ross Island and the islands eastern most point. Out of our sight but I imagine this is where there are the collection of kiwifruit-coloured of wooden buildings called Scott Base. This is New Zealand’s only base in Antarctica and is today operated by Antarctica New Zealand And not far away from Scott base, at walking distance on a clear day - or otherwise a bus service ride on ‘Ivan The terrible’, or was it Ivan the Terra Bus? Well, anyway, a big red all terrain people mover, is the American base “McMurdo Station”. This area is probably one of the most well known regions of Antarctica, having been the base for many major expeditions and the principal base of USA and operated by the US Antarctic Program. McMurdo Base even has a church and Hotel California.
Scott Base was originally set up in 1957 to support the private Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (TAE) and also for the International Geophysical Year (IGY) project of 1957. The New Zealand government took it over in 1958 and decided to turn it into a scientific research station. It was named after Captain Robert Falcon Scott, leader of two British expeditions to the Ross Sea area of Antarctica. The kiwifruit buildings of Scott Base are all linked together with coridors. It accommodates up to 85 people over the summer, with a skeleton staff of about 12 people for the winter stay-over.
I found it interesting to hear that supply ships that arrive in the summer in order to re-supply the bases, tie up to an Ice Pier at the southern tip of Ross Island. Essentially these ice piers are large pieces of pack ice held in a fixed position by steel cables and then get covered with sand. An ice pier typically has a life span of three to five years. When it starts to crack up, it is then towed out to sea and cast adrift and a new one is prepared.
Looking further past Cape Bird, I can see into McMurdo Sound and the magnificent Royal Society Mountain Range – part of the great Sub-Antarctic mountain range, lit up beautifully by the low morning light. The distant edge of the McMurdo Ice Shelf can just be made out. The airfield for the bases is actually on the ice shelf called Williams Field which allows accessibility by wheeled and ski equipped aircraft all year round. McMurdo Sound suuposedly has one of the largest populations of Orcas, probably good penguin feeding.The ice begins to freeze over in March and this mainly breaks up again in December when warm currents start to melt from underneath. I take a bundle of photos with a mind to doing paintings of them this evening.
Beaufort Island lies between us and Cape Bird of Ross Island - is approximately 18.4 km² and created by volcanic activity is comprised of basalt. It was named by James Clark Ross in 1841 after Sir Francis Beaufort, hydrographer to the British Royal Navy. The island is one of the most important breeding grounds for birds; there are several penguin colonies on the island, a small colony of breeding Emperor penguins on some sea ice, and a larger Adeleye penguin colony on a raised beach.
Later this day we sailed past another big tabular iceberg. This one was in the shape of a maimed and badly listing battleship. I have named this one the “Aircraft carrier” – perhaps a new category for icebergs but officially I think it really falls under the wedge category.
14-Feb A Giant Iceberg – B15J
14-Feb A Giant Iceberg – B15J
Climbed out on deck from the engine room after a phonecall from the bridge advised me to take a peek across our starboard side. What I saw made me think we were sailing in the English Channel beneath the white cliffs of Dover. Towering over and for as far the eye could see behind us and in front of us were the chilly white cliffs of a massive iceberg. I head up the bridge to see if they have seen it. I am informed that this one actually has a name - B15J - and it turns out that this iceberg is already eight years old. It is 24Nm long, 14 Nm wide, (350square Nm) and is actually grounded.
We trawl right in front of this iceberg. Man it is huge. It looks even bigger than the cliffs of Dover, bigger than Ben-Hur. The stark white cliffs rise 30 to 35 meters above the sea level and they reckon that there would be another 70 to 100 meters below. It is bitterly cold outside, minus 10.5 degrees plus the wind chill factor. Accommodation heating is struggling to keep the interior warm. The patterns on the sides of this iceberg are amazing where pieces have sheared off and where at different times of the day in different light shows all the different forms of them are shown.
Naming of Icebergs in Antarctica. This is done by the US National Ice Center (NIC) for any iceberg larger than 10 nautical miles 18km along at least one side. The name starts with a letter A, B, C or D according to which segment of Antarctica it was originally sighted, as follows:
A = Longitude 0-90West (Bellingshausen/Weddell Sea)B = 90W-180 (Amundsen/Eastern Ross Sea)C = 180-90E (Western Ross Sea/Wilkesland)D = 90E-0 (Amery/Eastern Weddell Sea).
Upon first sighting of an iceberg, NIC documents its point of origin, allocates the letter of the quadrant it was found in together with a sequential number assigned to the iceberg. For example B-15 is sequentially the 15th iceberg tracked by the NIC in Antarctica in Quadrant B.
THE HISTORY OF B15 and B15J
It turns out that B15J is the sole surviving remnant of the Iceberg B-15, All the other bits calved off from B15 since have excited the Ros Sea but B15J had stayed stranded most of the time.
Born March 17 2000: B-15, the 15th iceberg tracked in the B quadrant of Antarctica and the world's largest ever recorded iceberg 10,915 square km (about 5 times the area of Lake Taupo) broke off (calved) the Ross Sea Ice Shelf. At the same time the much smaller B16 broke off.
October 9, 2003: B-15A broke into two pieces east northeast of Ross Island in the Ross Sea. The larger iceberg retains B-15A as its name and the smaller iceberg is named B-15J. The east to west circular Ross Sea current took B15A away fom Ross Island Northwards. GPS planted onto iceberg to enable tracking
2004 – 2005: B15A stranded and blocked off the McMurdo Sound. The blockage prevented the Ross Sea currents and winds from assisting in the 2004–2005 summer break-up of the sea ice in McMurdo Sound. The sound thus remained iced over and so proved a major obstacle for the annual resupply ships to three research stations and deprived the colonies of Adelie penguins easy access to the sea for food. The coloneis were subsequently decimated.
April 2005: B-15A moves on and collides with the Dryglaski Ice Toung; the outlet from David Glacier that flows through Antarcticas mountainous Victoria Land coastal region. An 8-km² section is broken off. B15J stays behind.
27–28 October, 2005: B15A ran aground off Cape Adare in Victoria Land breaks a small knife-shaped iceberg, B-15K + B-15P, B-15M and B-15N. a storm in Alaska caused an ocean swell that broke B15A into nine pieces. The waves travelled 13,500 km from Alaska to Antarctica over a six-day period.
21 Nov 2006: B-15P, B-15M and B-15N all remnants of B-15A are spotted off the Otago Coastline.
Climbed out on deck from the engine room after a phonecall from the bridge advised me to take a peek across our starboard side. What I saw made me think we were sailing in the English Channel beneath the white cliffs of Dover. Towering over and for as far the eye could see behind us and in front of us were the chilly white cliffs of a massive iceberg. I head up the bridge to see if they have seen it. I am informed that this one actually has a name - B15J - and it turns out that this iceberg is already eight years old. It is 24Nm long, 14 Nm wide, (350square Nm) and is actually grounded.
We trawl right in front of this iceberg. Man it is huge. It looks even bigger than the cliffs of Dover, bigger than Ben-Hur. The stark white cliffs rise 30 to 35 meters above the sea level and they reckon that there would be another 70 to 100 meters below. It is bitterly cold outside, minus 10.5 degrees plus the wind chill factor. Accommodation heating is struggling to keep the interior warm. The patterns on the sides of this iceberg are amazing where pieces have sheared off and where at different times of the day in different light shows all the different forms of them are shown.
Naming of Icebergs in Antarctica. This is done by the US National Ice Center (NIC) for any iceberg larger than 10 nautical miles 18km along at least one side. The name starts with a letter A, B, C or D according to which segment of Antarctica it was originally sighted, as follows:
A = Longitude 0-90West (Bellingshausen/Weddell Sea)B = 90W-180 (Amundsen/Eastern Ross Sea)C = 180-90E (Western Ross Sea/Wilkesland)D = 90E-0 (Amery/Eastern Weddell Sea).
Upon first sighting of an iceberg, NIC documents its point of origin, allocates the letter of the quadrant it was found in together with a sequential number assigned to the iceberg. For example B-15 is sequentially the 15th iceberg tracked by the NIC in Antarctica in Quadrant B.
THE HISTORY OF B15 and B15J
It turns out that B15J is the sole surviving remnant of the Iceberg B-15, All the other bits calved off from B15 since have excited the Ros Sea but B15J had stayed stranded most of the time.
Born March 17 2000: B-15, the 15th iceberg tracked in the B quadrant of Antarctica and the world's largest ever recorded iceberg 10,915 square km (about 5 times the area of Lake Taupo) broke off (calved) the Ross Sea Ice Shelf. At the same time the much smaller B16 broke off.
October 9, 2003: B-15A broke into two pieces east northeast of Ross Island in the Ross Sea. The larger iceberg retains B-15A as its name and the smaller iceberg is named B-15J. The east to west circular Ross Sea current took B15A away fom Ross Island Northwards. GPS planted onto iceberg to enable tracking
2004 – 2005: B15A stranded and blocked off the McMurdo Sound. The blockage prevented the Ross Sea currents and winds from assisting in the 2004–2005 summer break-up of the sea ice in McMurdo Sound. The sound thus remained iced over and so proved a major obstacle for the annual resupply ships to three research stations and deprived the colonies of Adelie penguins easy access to the sea for food. The coloneis were subsequently decimated.
April 2005: B-15A moves on and collides with the Dryglaski Ice Toung; the outlet from David Glacier that flows through Antarcticas mountainous Victoria Land coastal region. An 8-km² section is broken off. B15J stays behind.
27–28 October, 2005: B15A ran aground off Cape Adare in Victoria Land breaks a small knife-shaped iceberg, B-15K + B-15P, B-15M and B-15N. a storm in Alaska caused an ocean swell that broke B15A into nine pieces. The waves travelled 13,500 km from Alaska to Antarctica over a six-day period.
21 Nov 2006: B-15P, B-15M and B-15N all remnants of B-15A are spotted off the Otago Coastline.
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