So far the Oden has traveled 422 nautical miles in a SW direction down the coast of South America. Although today felt cooler than yesterday, we all knew it might be our last day to wear t-shirts outside. All of the science teams were very busy unpacking the equipment and setting up the temporary laboratories that they will use on the ship when we get to the sea ice. The laboratories are called "lab vans" because they are made of metal shipping containers like the ones that are carried on the back of tractor-trailer trucks on the highway. Inside the lab vans, workbenches and shelving has been bolted to the walls and floor and every piece of scientific equipment must be screwed down to the benches or tied down with rope. Yesterday afternoon and most of last night the waves were over 10 feet tall and the giant ship pitched and rolled so much that waves and heavy spray made the outside decks unsafe so the captain ordered everyone to stay inside. Any equipment in the labs that was not tied down would have been thrown to the floor and everyone was very careful. This morning the skies were clear and the waves were much smaller so everyone hustled back to work. My first stop after breakfast was to climb up to the bridge to check the instruments that record our position and forecast the weather ahead.
On the bridge the men examine and discuss the latest satellite map of the sea ice around Antarctica.
I then checked in on the science teams in their lab vans to see the progress they were making. Everyone is excited about the work the seal team is preparing for. Dr. Tero Härkönen from the Swedish Museum of Natural History plans to capture seals using a net technique he has perfected over the years. The net is tied to 2 wooden poles that form a "V". The team puts the net over the seal and then holds the seal firmly but harmlessly for a few minutes so that they can collect a small amount of blood and mucus. The seals are never harmed and the data will help the scientists understand how the seal populations are reacting to diseases.
Dr. Härkönen cut these two spruce poles from his yard back in Sweden. He said they would be very strong and lightweight and that is just what the team needs to create a net strong enough to hold a 900-pound leopard seal!
Dr. Walker Smith has been on so many oceanographic scientific expeditions that he was named a Co-Chief Scientist to lead over 20 other scientists on board. When he asked me to help him mount a light meter on the highest part of the ship I was eager and honored. After lunch we went up to the deck above the bridge and then climbed on top of the highest lab van on the ship. We used rope and nylon zip ties to attach a light meter to the steel grate on top of the van. Since it is springtime in the Southern Hemisphere, the sub tropical noon sun was almost directly overhead. Even in the strong winds we were comfortable in our t-shirts but we knew this might be the last day we could say that.
Dr. Smith and I climbed 7 stories up to the deck above the bridge. Then we climbed on top of a portable lab container on that deck and used rope to lash a light meter to the highest part of the ship. If you add 2 more stories that the main deck is above the sea, we were almost 100 feet above the water. The view was the best but the wind almost blew my eyebrows off!
I want to continue to post a list of wildlife and today was magical because of one bird. On my first trip on deck, I opened the door and looked straight at the largest flying bird in the world with a 10-foot wingspan.
A Wandering Albatross
We watched it most of the day as it flew on long, narrow, pointed black wings with a brilliant white head and body. At times it surprised me by setting down on the ocean surface well in front of the ship and then it would labor back into the sky as the ship got too close. The bird is unbelievably big, but even more impressive to me is the grace and skill with which it flies. In almost never flaps its wings and expertly glides only a few feet above the waves. For the average person, if you extend your arms straight out on both sides as if they were wings then from finger tip to finger tip you would be a large soaring bird in most parts of the world. But your arm span would measure only one of the wings of the Wandering Albatross.
I will try to get a photo to add in an upcoming journal but still photos will never describe this magical bird.
Today I will also begin a new feature of this journal, Flags of the Day! I carried 7 flags up to the uppermost deck with me and with the help of the ship's doctor; I let them fly from the top of the Oden. Your challenge is to see if you can recognize your flag. The wind was wild but I think you can see enough of each flag to identify it. Each of these flags appears with a title in my photo gallery so you can use it as an ID key. If you think you see your flag, let me know by posting your guess in the Ask The Team forum. Have fun and good luck.
Dr. Per Loftas stands next to the first 7 expedition flags to fly during this trip. This is the exposed deck above the ship’s bridge. The wind was so fierce that I could only risk flying the flags for a few moments.
A few final notes about posting to the Ask The Team forum:
The scientist and I have no TV, cell phones or Internet so we really like to get questions from you. Don't be shy. Go and ask!
Since I have gone to sea, communication is slow and limited so expect at least a 24-hour delay.
Please include at least your first name and perhaps a comment about whom you are or where you are from when posting a question. It makes it more fun and meaningful for us to know whom we are "talking" to.
Take care, have fun & make memories,
Jeff Peneston