Latitude: 69° 30′ S Longitude: 92° 23′ W Air temperature: **-13.7 °C (7.3 °F) **Wind chill: -23.3 °C (-9.9 °F) Wind speed: 6 to 10 knots Barometric pressure: 982.8 mBar
Antarctic trivia (answer at the end of this journal entry): Fast-ice isn’t fast, and grease ice isn’t greasy. Why are these ice types given such confusing names?
Steve, Brent, Chris, and I participated in a live International Polar Year event Tuesday. A "Webinar” was hosted by the PolarTREC folks in Fairbanks, Alaska. We used our satellite phone to join a conference call with schools and individuals from across the U.S. The audience was able to view pictures of our expedition online during the event. We fielded many great questions from the audience, and we all enjoyed the chance to share our adventure. We hope there were some budding polar scientists in attendance!
Wednesday I got to go on a "seal sleuthing” expedition. Brent and I went to the other side of the floe where a mother crabeater seal, her recently born pup, and a male seal were residing. Brent spotted the pup last Friday from the ice tower. Since then he’s visited a couple of times, hoping to record some of their vocalizations and observe more of the interactions between the seals. When we arrived on the scene we immediately spotted the male; Brent said that the female and her pup were on the other side of an ice ridge. I stayed behind while Brent cautiously approached the group. He was able to get within 20 feet of the male to set up his camera and audio-recording gear. Approaching, harassing, or handling wildlife is strictly forbidden in Antarctica, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act provides further protection for marine mammals. Brent has secured permission from governing agencies to cautiously approach, observe, and record vocalizations of marine mammals. The male didn’t seem too bothered by Brent’s presence. During the hour or so that Brent observed the group the male sniffed around a few times and looked in his direction, but made no obvious moves toward him. I didn’t get to see the mother or her pup, but Brent said they mostly napped while he was there.