I was glad the day we "lost" in the time change was January 1, not January 3, because that's my birthday! I spent my birthday out on the ice of Antarctica - how cool is that? The day started with an ice station, during which our team focused on sea ice measurements over a high ridge on the ice floe. David and Brent drilled 5 holes through the ice every 5 meters over a 50 meter long transect, while Blake surveyed the transect with the EM Profiler, and I helped record data. We had more Adelie penguins visiting us, which is always a thrill, but hard to get your work done when they are around! Blake calls this the "penguin conspiracy,' as if they are conspiring to keep us from getting our work done! They seem so interested with our equipment.
The Adelie penguins seem to be very interested in all our science equipment and gear.
Blake Weissling calls this the 'penguin conspiracy' - when the Adelie penguins come close and distract you when you are trying to work.
We finished and still had an hour before sailing, so I took up an invitation to go for a "birthday" cross country ski. On days like this, we have to take turns borrowing the ship's limited cross country ski selection. Jeremy, one of the science technicians, Stephanie, member of the "crab camera" team and myself found some skis and boots and set out on a nice ski tour around the ice floe.
Anne Marie Wotkyns goes for a birthday ski on an ice floe.
This ice floe was especially interesting because it had many beautiful "melt ponds" on it. These "melt ponds" are areas where there was little snow and some of the sea ice had melted to below the sea level, allowing the "slush" layer to melt to liquid water. There was algae growing in some of the ponds, sometimes a brownish algae, in others a bluish green algae. The "sea water" science teams collected samples from these ponds.
Melt ponds seem to be very productive environments for algae and phytoplankton.
Back on board, cook Ranjit made some lovely cakes with whipped cream and fruit, so we all had a nice dessert to celebrate my birthday. I can't think of a better way to celebrate than a day out on an ice floe in Antarctica, finishing with an evening with friends aboard a fantastic ship like the Oden.
Anne Marie Wotkyns celebrates her birthday in Antarctica.
Lesson Learned: Turning a year older is a lot less "painful" if you celebrate your birthday in a beautiful place with good friends!