I think I’ve said the word WOW about 2,000 times in the past 24 hours…
After the geology team returned to the Gould, a smaller group of them needed to continue exploring for campsites and several of us got to tag along. This was all somewhat spur of the moment, so I had to dress and prepare quickly. Today was my first chance to use my ECW gear and I was happy to have it. I wore several non-cotton layers (polypropylene long underwear, wind pants and rain pants), a polar fleece jacket, rubber gloves with liners, a heavy coat called a “float coat” and a fleece hat. Riding on the open water in a zodiac was chilly, even though the air temperature was about 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Krista, the Marine Tech who drove the zodiac, christened her the “Ocean Bowl” after my students who recently won the Chesapeake Bay Bowl competition. Hats off to you guys!
Ready to explore Cierva Point
A view of the LMG from the zodiac
The Ocean Bowl zodiac (Courtesy of Bruce Felix)
In addition to seeing a colony of gentoo penguins, some stunning icebergs, and 4 humpback whales feeding on krill, I got a geology lesson from Nick Haus, one of the members of Dr. Bockheim’s team. The geology of the western Antarctic peninsula is very interesting. Most of the rock in the area is igneous (formed from magma or lava) and is about 10 million years old. The western Antarctic peninsula was formed when a spreading center at a mid-ocean ridge slowly migrated into a subduction zone. A spreading center is an area on oceanic crust where two tectonic plates are traveling apart and generating new rock. A subduction zone is an area at which one tectonic plate is forced beneath another. Another interesting tidbit about the geology of this region is that xenoliths are prevalent in certain parts of the peninsula. Xenoliths are pieces of rock within an igneous rock that are not derived from the original magma, but have been introduced from elsewhere. I can expect to see these on Anvers Island, where Palmer Station is located. I will definitely try to get some photos.
The lone gentoo penguin
Watching a humpback whale (Courtesy of Bruce Felix)
Humpback Whale (Courtesy of Bruce Felix)
We just pulled into Palmer Station. Things may get busy for a while, but I’ll stay in touch!
My first view of Palmer Station