Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 09/24/2009 - 12:26
Forums
Antarctic Undersea ROV 09

Can you tell me what you hope to gain by finding out if Bratina Island is actually an island or not?

Thu, 09/24/2009 - 18:39

Michele Cross

This year SCINI will be diving deeper and in more remote locations in order to describe Antarctic seafloor communities that have never before been seen by people, so the numerous research sites will allow us to determine the range of conditions that she can operate under. Getting the answer to the Bratina "question" would be an added bonus! 
Michele

Mon, 09/28/2009 - 19:30

Stacy Kim

We hope to figure out whether it is geological processes, hydrographicprocesses, or meteorological processes that have created Bratina.
Bratina is possibly part of a moraine pushed up by a glacier, in which
case it would be a true island. Or, it could be that this location,
close to the Ross Ice Shelf and the supercooled water that comes out
from underneath it, is a place where anchor ice forms frequently and
quickly, and carries a lot of seafloor sediment to the surface, where
it builds up and is exposed by ablation. Or, wind blowing off the
continent could carry enough dirt to build up an apparent island.
Both of the these last two would mean that Bratina is not attached to
the seafloor. We are curious to know which is the correct answer!
Best, Stacy
On Sep 24, 2009, at 1:26 PM, webmaster@polartrec.com wrote: