Day 09

Friday, February 20

Posted from SOI World HQ

Reminder to all website visitor’s to check out yesterday’s update for the new journal entries composed by students last night!

This morning, the team had an early wake up and set off on a zodiac cruise to Bailey Island. Conditions were ideal for a quick landing and they were greeted by Chinstrap Penguins. After thanking their gracious hosts, the team returned to the ship and sailed on to Whaler’s Bay to visit the abandoned whaling stations.

As SOI HQ enters this entry, the team is currently on their second zodiac cruise of the day, sighting many Humpback Whales as they approach Deception Island. This landing will consist of the following workshops:

Marianne Douglas: An overview of an SSSI (Sites of Special Scientific Interest ) and its significance. Any area designated SSSI means that the team is prohibited from entering the area, only permitted to observe from a distance. An SSSI is designated by the Antarctic Treaty members and made on any area of land which is considered to be of special interest by virtue of its fauna, flora, geological or physiographical features.

Olle Carlsson: An overview of the history of whaling in Whaler’s Bay Historic Site and the whaling station on Deception Island

Luke Copland: Measuring geothermal activity on the beach. Their first reading of the shoreline measured 50º Celsius.

Santiago Imberti & David Burgess: An overview of Neptunes Window. A collapse of Cathedral Crags on the southeastern side of Whalers Bay is known as Neptunes Window. Of particular importance are the low fluvial terraces behind the site of the whaling station and remains of the lahar (mud slide) which formed as a result of an eruption in 1969.

Following these activities, the team will return to the ship for a late lunch and then head to Pendulum Cove, another geothermic area, to test the waters and enjoy a polar dip!

Later this afternoon, they depart Deception Island, and head south down the Gerlache Straight, anticipating many more sightings of Humpback Whales. The students are learning a wealth of new information and their connection to Antarctica is growing stronger by the minute.

Tomorrow morning Neko Harbour and the chance to visit a Gentoo Penguin Colony awaits!

A Fur Seal among Chinstrap Penguins

Journal Entry by Andrew Budnick, Wayland, Massachusetts

Just leaving Deception Island

I could talk about a lot of things. I could talk about penguins. I could talk about angry fur seals. I could even talk about icebergs, though those were from yesterday. But what I’ll choose to talk about is freezing cold, icy Antarctic water.

I am going to bet that the majority of the people reading this have never been to Antarctica, let alone felt the water. And there are only a handful of people in the world who have submerged themselves totally in the Southern Ocean wearing nothing but a thin bathing suit. I am now one of those people.

It was a bit unpleasant, yes, but more unpleasant than that was afterward. The water was so cold that I kind of lost track of what was going on and I just ran back to the shore, where the water was heated by the volcanic earth. I lay down on the sandy bottom (for it was very shallow there) to try to get as much warmth as possible. That worked fine for my torso, but every time a wave came in, my feet and legs were again bathed in what felt like liquid ice.

So it’s all right for me, sitting here now, to say that it was worth it. Of course it was worth it, but I’m warm now. And it’s not every day that you get to swim in Antarctica.

(Disclaimer: the waters we swam in were a bit sheltered, in the center of the caldera on Deception Island, which is shaped like a “C”).

The name Deception Island, by the way, comes from the very rocky and dangerous exterior hiding the sheltered and very useful interior of the island, which became a major whaling station. So the outside was a “deception”.

The MV Ushuaia anchored in Whaler's Bay, Deception Island

Journal Entry by Dan Hammond, London, ON / UWO

Deception Island

We made three stops on Deception Island today – filled up the other back pocket.

The first stop was at Bailey Head; the rarely low surf gave us the opportunity to land and witness the 180,000 chinstrap penguins that inhabit these volcanic beaches overshadowed by ground ice. 

After passing through Neptune’s Bellows, into the center of the volcano, we anchored in Whaler’s Bay.  Here, we launched a CTD scan and explored the shore.  We observed the geothermal activity on the beach, warming water to 55ºC in some places.  I stood in Neptune’s Window, overlooking the cliff where the Antarctic Peninsula was first sighted – we were lucky to have the clear sky that let us experience this same glimpse.  Consistent throughout this deceptive island was the ground ice that looked like a dirty glacier coating the side of the volcano.   

This ice has years of wisdom, it’s been preserved for decades, from a time of colder climate, by the layer of volcanic ash that lowers the Albido coefficient (determining the solar energy reflected/absorbed) of the surface and allowing the water to slowly drain out from underneath.  This flowing water creates amazing crevasses of volcanic rock and incredible ice formations with rivers flowing throughout. 

With an engineering dimension, this glaciology course is a perfect combination for me to be studying here.  Analyzing the dynamics of ice movement with data collected over the past half century, we can relate numerous changing conditions to observations and make important predictions for the future.  For example we can correlate retreating ice shelves with sea level rise and show that said ice shelves are retreating at an accelerated rate and this trend is happening further and further South.  Earth’s chain of intertwining ecosystems is profoundly affected by our actions and this science provides concrete examples of the consequences arising.

I can now declare that I have officially joined the Antarctic Swim Team!  The shock of the frigid waters on Pendulum Cove was quickly offset by the water heated by the scalding volcanic rocks near the shore.  What an amazing experience!     

We’ve now crossed the Bransfield Straight and are headed down the Gerlache Straight.  We are in for a huge day tomorrow!  Hello to all those in Geneva – we wish you all a happy SOI day!

Student Dylan Polacek in Deception Island

Journal Entry by Erin Akins, Saskatoon, University of Alberta

Antarctic Sound

Today as I watched the Antarctic sun slowly dip below the horizon, while the MV Ushuaia gently clipped past hundreds of icebergs floating on the evening’s tranquil waters, and as warm light spread across the sky illuminating the frozen landscape. It was then I realized that this was one of the most breathtaking moments I have ever experienced.

P.S. Don’t worry mom, I took a picture.

Iceberg

Journal Entry by Jodie King, Nippissing University

Deception Island

Good news – all of my outer layer of clothing is water proof! This morning we landed at Bailey Head at Deception Island, and there was a pretty big surf coming in with the zodiac. Just after the shore crew grabbed onto us, a huge wave came over the back! I was sitting at the very back and got absolutely covered; it was hilarious! However, no water at all inside! This is a volcanic island, so the beach is black and made of small little volcanic rocks instead of sand. The glaciers also have ash in each of the snow layers from the different years, which gives them a really unique look.

            There was a huge colony of Chinstrap Penguins here. There were actually half a million only a few weeks ago, but now it’s more like only 50,000. They are so cute! It’s really loud down in the rookery and not nearly as much guano as the last site. They are molting right now as well, so there are feathers everywhere! It looks like snow all over the ground, but surprise, its feathers! There are penguins here on this site at Bailey Head where it is cooler, but over in Whaler’s Bay where there is much more geothermal energy it’s actually too warm for them!

            Whaler’s Bay is a very historical site; it was great to be a part of such rich Antarctic history. We passed through Neptune’s Bellows, the sunken part of the caldera which allows us to enter in. It’s incredible to think that we were actually inside a volcano for several hours! We wandered around at Whaler’s Bay for a while. There are some old buildings here which were ruined and buried after the last volcanic eruption in 1969. They are left there as a historic site and reminder of what has happened here. We also got our first feel of the geothermal energy in this area, digging into the soil to feel the warm water on our hands. It usually gets to about 55 degrees! Way hotter than the hot tubs at home!

            Around the corner from Whaler’s Bay, I became part of the Antarctic Swim Team! That was a huge rush to run out into the freezing water! A highlight of the trip for sure! The hot geothermal heat made a nice warm bath for after running out into the ocean. It was really hot though, so we attempted to mix them together to make the perfect temperature. Looking forward to another great day in Antarctica tomorrow!

Penguin colony on Deception Island

Journal Entry by Kevin Turner, Kitchener, ON / Wilfred Laurier University

Deception Island

Bailey Head was teeming with Chinstrap Penguin activity, with many of them still hanging out on the island molting.  They can’t go into the water until their new feathers come in.  The circle of life was in full effect as we witnessed a fur seal attack a penguin within 30 feet of us.  It didn’t kill it, but messed it up pretty good.  There were many other penguins hanging out right beside rather than running/hobbling away.  Bizarre.  It was great to check them out and have them come up to us and check us out.  

            Whalers Bay was the next stop (around the corner), where the remnants of a British run whaling station (1905ish – 1932) exist.  The degraded relic features marking the shoreline include massive fuel tanks, blubber rendering tanks, very weathered and broken down buildings, a run-down airplane hanger, and some half buried row boats.  Things were slightly buried because of the last eruption in 1969, which ended the British operations here.  Evidence of this eruption is also very apparent on the other side of the caldera where we stopped for a swim.  That’s right, we hung out in an active volcano caldera for the day.  A Chilean research base was completely buried over here during the eruption.  (There were no casualties). 

The swim was cold, but we took advantage of the geothermal heat along the shoreline, where we made pseudo-hot tubs.  When I say swim, I mean jump in the water and run back as fast as possible to the hot stuff.  It was another incredible day in the best classroom in the world.

Tomorrow we will be following in the footsteps of the Belgica Expedition (1897), which was led by Adrian de Gerlache and carried Roald Amundsen, Frederick Cook and Henryk Artowski.  We will be spending the International Polar Year (IPY) Students on Ice Day cruising down the Gerlache Straight on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula.  We are happy to be celebrating this special day in such a remarkable part of the world and we wish all the best to the people involved in and attending the IPY Convention in Geneva.  Students on Ice is a very important program.  The value of this experience is obvious in the faces and minds of all those that participate and we truly appreciate the involvement of IPY.  Happy Students on Ice Day!

MV Ushuaia Moored in the sheltered Whaler's Bay, Deception Island

Journal Entry by Lindsey Andersen, Northbrook, Illinois

Deception Island

Journal Entry (insert here!): Wow!!! What a day we have had so far! I woke up this morning and was a bit reluctant to get out of bed (it was warm and cozy!!) but then Rosie reminded me that we had our landing at the rookery site at Deception Island. I jumped out of bed, grabbed some breakfast, and got dressed as quickly as possible.

When we arrived, EVERYWHERE you looked there were penguins. It was estimated that there were somewhere between 50,000 to 80,000 penguins on Deception Island. I was elated! I have always been quite fond of penguins but today, watching them in their natural habitat was overwhelmingly beautiful. I don’t think there are even any words to describe the feeling I had just standing there. The particular species we were able to interact with today are called Chinstrap Penguins. So all in all, that was an amazing way to start the day. Rumor is, we have a second landing in a little while and I am so excited to see what it is we are doing there. Oh, I think I forgot to mention this in my previous journals but I am officially not wearing the sea-sickness patch and have absolutely no signs of sea-sickness what-so-ever. I guess I finally got my “sea legs”.

            On another note, I have also had an “epiphany” of sorts. I was sitting and speaking with Lee (our amazing onsite professional photographer) and I realized how motivating this trip to Antarctica has been so far, but also how much anger and shame it has brought as well. Sitting on the beach watching the penguins and the fur seals in their natural habitat is something so beautiful that it motivates you in so many ways. However, as I was sitting there I also felt the worst pang of shame and anger. Because of human activity, we are not only disrupting; but also potentially destroying the entire pristine ecosystem of Antarctica. Back home every time I thought about scenarios such as this, it would anger me and make me want to do something to make a difference….but today, I felt that on a level I didn’t even know I had the capacity for. When you actually embrace the environment, and act as a visitor in nature’s home—that’s when you can truly say that you are making a difference…I know for the rest of my life, I will do everything possible to achieve making a difference. It breaks my heart because I know that these animals can’t fight for themselves, they can only sit back and watch as their homes are destroyed to benefit humans. It is imperative that we stop doing this. It hit me today that Antarctica is in grave danger. The ecosystem is fragile because it is the ONLY one left of it’s kind. The amount of krill has been rapidly depleting over the past few years. Why are krill so important? I mean, they are only tiny little organisms. However, anyone who has taken a biology course will quickly see that by killing off the very bottom of the food chain—you eradicate the entire chain. When the Antarctic Fur Seal (Arctocephales gazella) no longer has their main food source (the krill) they will begin to die off slowly; along with the many species of penguins who also feed on krill. Thus, it just turns into an incredibly vicious cycle with a domino effect on every species living in the Antarctic Peninsula. Well, I should go prepare for the next landing! More later. –Lindsey Jens Andersen

German Students Lukas Sundermann and Florian Hofmann

Journal Entry by Marianne Mathis, Université Laval, Quebec

Vers Le Sud de la Peninsule

Vraiment, l’Antarctique ne sait pas décevoir. Cette seconde journée sur terre m’a tout autant comblé qu’hier. Nous étions sur Deception Island, une caldera endormie, mais non éteinte. La dernière éruption remonte à 1969, année où les bases de recherche ont cessé leurs activités suite au constat du danger relié à cet endroit (2 éruptions en 3 ans).

Je découvre ici les splendeurs de la vie à l’état pur, sans modification humaine. Des colonies de manchots, des centaines de ces petits soldats fiers et droits, qui se postent sur leur île, qui attendent simplement que la vie se déroule, chaque chose en son temps. Ainsi, ils reviennent sur l’île où ils sont nés pour faire leur nid, se trouver un partenaire et avoir un bébé. Les dépressions créées par ces nids étaient encore visibles. Les bébés étaient présentement en train de muer, c’est-à-dire de perdre leur plumage premier pour se faire un plumage imperméable avant de partir à l’aventure sur les grandes eaux.

Un immense glacier surplombait cette colonie, et les quelques phoques se prélassant paresseusement sur la plage venaient compléter un décor qui aurait pu facilement être créé de toutes pièces tellement il était beau, intact et pur. Au travers la glace se trouvaient des couches de cendres volcaniques, crachées par le volcan lors de ses éruptions. Ce sont de précieux indicateurs qui permettent aux scientifiques de dater les éruptions et la glace.

Nous avons ensuite exploré un décor lunaire, où les bases de recherche et un ancien poste de baleiniers étaient installés. Les roches volcaniques recouvraient le sol dont la température se chiffrait à près de 50 degrés celcius. Nous avons terminé notre journée sur la rive en passant l’épreuve de «l’Antarctique swimming team» en plongeant dans ces eaux glaciales (2 degrés celcius) et en se lovant dans le trou creusé en abord de la plage qui conservait l’eau chaude. Aussi étonnant que cela puisse paraître, c’en était même brûlant, que d’avoir des roches volcaniques sur notre peau…

Nous terminerons notre journée avec un cours de glaciologie et un exposé sur les mammifères marins. Le temps passe si vite, ici. Comme si, du bout du monde, sans technologie et sans repère familier, nous arrivions tout de même à vivre intensément le rythme du soleil, sur notre maison flottante qui nous fera découvrir la péninsule antarctique dans les prochains jours, avec des inconnus (il y a une semaine de cela) qui sont de moins en moins des inconnus et de plus en plus des gens avec qui nous développons des liens d’amitié…

Le Québec est maintenant en Antarctique. Des mémoires de petits drapeaux flottent sur plusieurs îles de ce continent. Elles le seront à jamais sur photos.

En terminant, quelques messages particuliers:

Fred: Ton nom est maintenant inscrit dans le sable de Deception Island. Les vagues l’ont sans doute lessivé depuis ce matin ou les otaries sont allées s’amuser en criant drôlement, comme elles ont le tour de le faire. Ça vaut la peine de voir les photos.

Émilie, Élisabeth et Gabrielle: Je les ai en photo, les petits manchots. Des centaines de photos, qui ont pris sur le vif leurs clin d’œil et leurs mimiques (et j’ai même des petits manchots obèses).

Building in disrepair on Deception Island

Journal Entry by Mike Denton, Calgary, University of Alberta

Deception Island

Wow, this place is simply unreal! I still can’t believe that I am actually here. It is an incredible feeling to be able to wake up to Antarctica. The trip has been great for me so far, and I am enjoying life at sea. I was lucky and didn’t feel queasy at all while crossing the Drake Passage; I actually found it quite fun. Asides from all the other amazing things that we have seen, I think it is really interesting to learn about all the explorers, expeditions, and stories of survival in this area.

Ironically I have always found history somewhat boring – but seeing where they lived, and walking in the same place as the explorers creates a profound sense of realism. It is much more interesting then sitting in a lecture hall – and it makes me even more motivated to learn as much as I can. Last night we made our way from Paulet Island to Deception Island, and were treated to an amazing sea of icebergs, and an incredible sunset.

Today was a very busy day, filled with landings, penguins and even swimming! Among other things, Whalers Bay on Deception Island is home to the first ever flight in Antarctica. This was done in 1928 by Australians Hubert Wilkins in his Lockheed Vega. The only remaining sign of any aviation in Whalers Bay is the derelict hangar. In another location on the island we were able to do a quick Antarctic swim, with the geothermal pools allowing us to warm up afterwards. The waters heated from below were so hot that as I lay on the beach, my feet were freezing, and my hands were burning.  

This whole trip has been such an amazing experience – it helps put everything in my life into perspective. I will defiantly be back here one day! One last note – Tomorrow (Feb 21, 09) is ‘Students On Ice Day’ at the International Polar Year in Geneva Switzerland!

Old Whaling Boats on Deception Island

Journal Entry by Munira Shaipudin Shah, Malaya University, Malaysia

Ushuaia

Sergio’s 15-minute bus ride story:

As told by Sergio, our Ushuaia tour guide on a bus ride downtown to the city of Ushuaia. The story revolved around the original natives of the city of Ushuaia, the Yamanas and how the city, island and land came to be named that way.

The Yamanas: started out as a tribe of 90 people about 8000years ago. They then bloomed to thousands of them around during the era of Charles Darwin’s expedition. The population dwindled to a hundred due to diseases brought in by the Europeans in the dawn of the 19th century and currently there are only one of them left alive. Christina Del Calderon, age 80 a true-Yamana-blood is currently living in the naval base on an island called Isla de Navarinos (*this I have to make certain of). Married to a Chilean man, Christina gave birth to 7 children. She and her sister Ursula, who recently passed away, were the only hopes for the continuity of their tribe. Nowadays, Christina lives with her son, who enjoys exploiting her…. “Christina good..son, no good” as quoted by Laura (Ushuaia city tour guide). He charges those who wish to interview Christina USD80 for every 2minute of her interviewing time. Christina, who is very shy in nature, has also been making appearances in several key towns giving talks on the history of her tribe. In her spare time, she enjoys making handicraft as a symbol of her beliefs in the continuity of her tribe.    

The Yamanas, were nomadic people who lived on mussels, sea-lions and sea-birds which they had gained access to it by wooden canoes. They lived in huts made of twigs, woods, leaves, and etc…and surrounding their huts are circles of garbage; remains of mussels, bones, etc, expanding outwards in layers. Remains of a hut and other relics can still be found on the outskirts of the countryside.             

Patagonia: the word ‘pata’ means big foot and ‘gonia’ means land and this name came about during the time of Magellan, whereby he was pressured by the Queen of Spain to come up with a valid reason why the now named Patagonia is of any need of special attention. So the desperate Magellan traveled up north where on his quest to please his queen at that time, he came about a large footprint which he then concluded belonged to a big foot. Hence, the name Patagonia came about. Truth is the footprint Magellan discovered belonged to a member of a northern human community with large physical attributes.

Tierra Del Fuego: While the island is called Patagonia, Tierra Del Fuego specifically directed for the province in which the city of Ushuaia lies. Tierra specifically means land and Fuego means fire, so when both combined, the direct translation will be land of fire. Why it is named so? I can’t be sure of that, the story behind it got lost in translation somehow… I will have to get back to you on this one…Anyhow, the origin of the name Ushuaia, which is the southern-most city in the world came from the Spanish language which means bay penetrating to the west. As we break the word into 2 sections, Ushu will capture the meaning of bay and aia on the other hand means back. It was told that, the now status southernmost city of the world, Ushuaia, had been subjected to quite a number of controversies as many surrounding small towns also proclaimed the rights for the very same status. As the story goes, the community and government worked it out and solved the whole status issue. Ushuaia which is within the boundaries of the Argentinean territory was honored the status as the southernmost city in the world, whereas the port on Navarinos Island was honored the status as the southernmost town in the world.                                                      

*Story is more or less 90 percent true. Any factual mistakes that were made in the above article were due to poor language translating ability by author. Some gaps in the factual details also occurred due the inability of the author to focus himself or herself during the whole turn out of events.  

 Munira Shaipudin Shah

Tern with krill

Journal Entry by Sandra Borton, Thompson Rivers University

Bailey Head, Deception Island

What a great day!  We did 3, yes, 3 zodiac landings today.  The first was at a very special Chinstrap penguin rookery, which is not often visited due to its challenging beach landing.  Today the swell was low and we landed smoothly without too much splashing.  For a few hours we wandered amongst the penguins, as they squeaked, quacked, danced and molted – there were feathers everywhere!  It was really special for me because Chinstrap penguins were the type of penguin I was most excited to see on this trip.  On our way back to the ship, I did get to experience the “surf” as I got soaked from the waist down while jumping into the zodiac – I guess it pays to be over 5’3’’ some days!  Ah well. 

The second landing was very interesting.  After driving the ship into an ocean flooded caldera, we went ashore to an old whaling station.  As Olle explained the history of the station and detailed the volumes and types of whales killed at the site, I grew quite disappointed that we humans had acted in such a way.  The site remains littered full of rusty tin, fallen buildings and general human junk.  Although it is now a historic site for tourists to visit, I feel that it should be cleaned up, perhaps by those who profited from the whaling.  The tourists can still learn about the history and the human impact through interpretation from guides.  Cathrine and I walked the entire site together, even making it up to “the window” (a low spot in the rocky ridgeline which affords views of the Antarctic Peninsula) before our time was up.  One of the best elements of this landing was watching Lindsey as she was approached by a lone penguin, who sat with her for over 30 minutes.  Lindsey referred to it as a “back pocket memory” – one that she will keep with her for a long time. 

Finally, our third landing of the day was so that we could join the ANTARCTIC SWIM TEAM!  I was one of the first 10 people in the water, and holy guacamole batman… it was COLD!  I am so glad I did it – I knew I could and I knew I would, despite ‘gentle ribbings’ from those who know me (and who also know that I had to wear a warm top while taking swimming lessons at our local indoor pool!). 

AND THEN…. As if my day wasn’t stellar enough, the ‘Chocolate Fairy’ visited my room while I was upstairs getting tea!  Mmmmmm…. Oh Henry!

Chinstrap Penguins on Deception Island

Journal Entry by Sierra Pope, University of Ottawa

Antarctica

One of the signs of an amazing day on a trip like this is having no time at all to sit and record what you’ve seen…yesterday and today were definitely days like this.  I’m stealing time right now to write; before the daily recap, when I should be working on the Daily Ice Cap summary.  In classic fashion, I took on more responsibility than I actually need to, offering to organize the daily two-page “newspaper” for our journey, which outlines a summary of the previous day’s activities, the schedule for the next day, and random other things…relevant quotes, facts about the ice or landforms we’re floating past, interviews with the education staff on board, tips from our resident photographer, etc.  Mirielle and Andrew are helping as well, and Maeva is working on staff interviews.  Still, it’s an extra half-hour to hour of work at the end of the day, when I’m already reeling from what I’ve seen, and when I really need to be writing about everything.

Yesterday started with an early wake-up from Geoff, informing us that we were passing icebergs left and right…I looked out the porthole next to my bunk and there, on starboard side, was a bright white tabular berg.  Everyone grabbed cameras and stood on deck as we passed one after another huge icebergs, sometimes only meters from the side of the ship.  The huge tabular bergs, likely broken from the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf to our south, floating through the Weddell Sea, were breathtaking, with blue stripes marking ice layers and totally flat surfaces.  We were finally able to make our first zodiac trip and landing in the afternoon on Paulet Island, where the weather was sunny and the water was calm.  We were greeted by hundreds of fur seals, all along the beach.  Olle explained to us that, during the major sealing expedition period early in the last century, the fur seal population had been largely decimated, with only about a dozen seals surviving on a remote island.  From this small population, the species has rebounded to such an extent that we had to change course several times along our walk to avoid kilometers of lying, sleeping, slowly waddling seals.  They didn’t mind us too much; they stared at us as we passed, and sometimes made yelping noises, throwing their heads up.  Later along the walk, as Olle continued to share facts about the cormorants, Chinstrap penguins, Skuas and Terns around us, we rounded the beach and found both Weddell and Elephant seals, then finally several Leopard seals on a nearby iceberg.  What an amazing day, to see so many species up close!  We came around the beach to our meeting point with the other group, at the hut left from Otto Nordensköld’s 1901-1904 expedition.  Olle had shared the story of this heroic journey, involving three groups who had to overwinter separately with varying supply levels and success, earlier in the morning.  The one man who died on the expedition, a Norwegian sailor, is buried on Paulet Island, and Chinstrap penguins stood on and around his burial mound, creating a scene unique enough even for our veteran guides to marvel at and photograph. 

Landscape of Deception Island

Journal Entry by Terina Hancock, University of Edmonton

Deception Island

Yesterday we spent the day with icebergs, fur seals, and Penguins at Paulet Island.  I had an amazing time investigating the lakes there and visiting the wildlife.  On the Island there are also the remains of a stone hut from Captain Larsen and his crew from wintering when their ship got caught in the ice.  Zodiac tours, looking at seals and glacier formations followed before boarding back onto the ship.  We then spent the evening cruising through Antarctica Straight dodging icebergs.  The sunset on the icebergs and ocean was an amazing experience.  Last night we traveled to Deception Island which is an active volcano.  At Bailey’s Head is one of the largest Chinstrap Penguin Rookeries, which we got to visit.  What an amazing experience being amongst so many penguins waddling along.  A couple even came to visit a friend and me up close.  After spending time bonding with the Chinstraps we entered the caldera through Neptune’s Bellow and visited Whalers Bay.  It is very interesting imagining that there used to be 5000 whales processed there every year.  How that must have affected ecosystems.  Today there are just the ghosts of buildings left and whale bones fading into the shoreline. 

Students Marianne Mathis and Emilie Hebert-Houle

Journal Entry by Mireille Deschamps, University of Ottawa

Antarctica

Another back pocket day!

As Geoff would say: “Good karma has come our way today!” and it was great. We saw a little piece of paradise. I say it was paradise because I have never seen one land with so much beauty. Today we surrounded Deception Island and I was awestruck. I was lucky enough to walk around Chinstraps penguins and a few Fur seal. It was funny to see so many penguins sleeping like footballs on the ground. I was pretty impressed by the penguins hiking power as well. The Chinstraps rookery was on Bailey’s Head, a part of Deception Island. It is rocky and surrounded by mountains. I was awed by the little guys walking up and down the mountain sides with their tiny little legs without a care in the world. It really made me realize how I take things for granted. Very often coming home from work I dread the walk up the 3 flights of stairs to my apartment while these little Chinstrap penguins with smaller legs then me (yes it is possible, I’m not that small) run up mountains. I guess I should really stop whining. It’s pretty amazing what this Students On Ice trip enables us to do. The whole team is super fantastic and I was really happy to hear that tomorrow, February 21, 2009, is IPY Students On Ice Day.  It is great to see that the organization is being recognized for the amazing work they do. After all, what is more amazing than getting me to Antarctica? So I encourage you to check out the site. Who knows, this could be you next year. Trust me, you won’t regret it.

Chinstrap Penguins on Deception Island

Journal Entry by Dylan Polacek, Boca Raton, Fl

Deception Island, now sailing south on the west side of the peninsula

Another long and crazy day in Antarctica. With three great zodiac landings, Humpback whale sightings, and an Antarctic swim, I am pretty worn out. We started early in the morning and I raced to eat and jump on a zodiac. The beach at Bailey Head was a great site. As I came up to the charcoal-black sandy beach, I could see hundreds of Chinstrap penguins dotting the coast as well as several Skuas feasting on fresh penguin meat. It was when I went further inland that I saw the thousands and thousands of little penguins wobbling along the mountains. It was one of the largest Chinstrap penguin populations. Not only was this part of Deception Island a great landing, but it was also a very different landing from what we have seen so far.

            It wasn’t long back on the M/V Ushuaia that we were called again for another landing, this time in Whaler’s Bay. The bay itself is a currently active volcano. It was really interesting to see the historic whaling station that was hit when the volcano last erupted in 1969. After walking the black beach and finding a brittle star and a couple krill, I climbed up to an opening in the bay where I found myself at the top of a huge ledge, visibly burnt from an eruption. When we headed back and had lunch, I ate whatever I could get, because I was starving.

            Right after lunch we made our third and final landing of the day. This time we went for a nice dip in the icy water. I put my swimsuit on under my other layers of clothes and headed towards the beach. Fortunately, there were hot springs along the beach to get warm after diving into the cold water. However, they didn’t help for long. Just before getting hypothermia, we all put our clothes back on and took the zodiacs back to the ship. After warming up, we went to the different classes onboard, did a CTD cast and a plankton tow, had dinner, and passed out. Another great day had ended and I was now a member of the Antarctic swim team.

-Dylan Polacek

Students observe Chinstrap Penguins

Journal Entry by Thary Gazi, Shah Alam / University of Malaya

Deception Island

I'll admit that my journal entries are a little late. It's a strange coincidence that every time I sit down to write something, the sea becomes choppy and I'm forced to lie down or empty my stomach. In fact, the boat is starting to move in uncomfortable ways as I write this. Seasickness, it's not very pleasant and apparently I'm quite susceptible to it. Gaining enough momentum to write something seems to be quite hard when you keep being interrupted by nausea.

            Today we made 2 landings on Deception Island. I'm not sure why they named it that, but it is deceptively... warm. At least, warm for Antarctica. Being a caldera of an active volcano, some patches of beach on this island are warmed by the geothermal activity. This Island used to be the home of a major whaling operation, but after several eruptions from a still very active volcano, it is now mostly deserted except for a few field bases. Being inside an active volcano was a little unsettling, but at least it provided protection against the winds.

            The first landing involved so much to see that I think we wouldn't have had much time to do anything else. Picture large, rusting, two storey silos standing as sentinels over a deserted research station half buried in volcanic ash. Abandoned in the 60's following two volcanic eruptions, the British base that we visited was pretty much just a hollow shell of what it used to be. It was a very post-apocalyptic sight.

            After a short break aboard our ship, we made another landing with the goal of swimming in the Antarctic. It's not as bad as some imagine, normally a person is unable to survive more than 5 minutes in the freezing waters of Antarctica, but in the hot waters of Deception Island the temperatures are kept at a warm 45oC by the geothermal activity. Still, undressing in the freezing winds of Antarctica seemed to be quite a feat. For me, sense prevailed and I just went down to shore because I wanted to stand on land. But my fellow Malaysian Munira, was much less sensible.

            She jumped in.

            Since this is not an obituary, obviously she survived the experience. We even have some photos to prove it. And I'm sure she'll record her experience sooner or later.  Me, I was just happy that I was standing on something that wasn't rocking back and forth.  

3 Students watch a young Weddell Seal sleep

Journal Entry by Florian Hofmann and Lukas Sundermann

Deception Island

Gleich nach dem Frühstück geht es zu Deception Island, einer der wenigen aktiven Vulkane der Antarktis. Geformt wie ein Hufeisen war dies bis 1965 die Basis von Walfängern und der Ausgangspunkt der ersten Überquerung der Antarktis mit einem Flugzeug.

Wir haben Glück und können am Bailey’s Head landen, die Heimat einer der größten Pinguin-Kolonien der Antarktis. Chinstrap-Pinguine soweit das Auge reicht, etwa ein halbe Million von ihnen.

Vor dem Mittagessen starten wir eine zweite Landung in der Whaler’s Bay. Nach Schwefel stinkende Dampfwolken am Strand zeugen von der Aktivität von Deception Island. Die alte Basis der Walfänger steht noch immer zerfallen wie eine Geisterstadt. In der Bucht ankern deutsche Segler und wir erleben einen krassen Kontrast zu der sonst so unberührten Natur.

Nach dem lang ersehnten Mittagessen starten wir zum dritten Mal an diesem Tag mit den Zodiacs. Diesmal ist das Ziel Pendulum Cove, wo die Ruinen der bei einem Ausbruch des Vulkans zerstörten argentinischen Station aus dem Tephra ragen. Endlich gibt es eine Gelegenheit zu schwimmen! Wir rennen den Strand entlang und tauchen in das kühle Nass ein. Zum Aufwärmen legen wir uns ins flache Wasser und graben im Sand. Schon nach ein paar Zentimetern ist der Boden siedend heiß.

Die letzten Tage haben wir schon unglaubliche Eindrücke gesammelt und wir sind dankbar für die vielen Erfahrungen, die wir hier gewinnen durften. Wir hatten ausgesprochenes Glück mit dem Wetter, was uns einige sonst fast unmögliche Landungen erlaubt hat. Auf die Erlebnisse der bevorstehenden Tage sind wir sehr gespannt. Wir wünschen allen einen schönen „Students on Ice Day“!

Expedition Leader Geoff Green and Education Director Tim Straka dig a pool in geothermic sand

Videographers in warm clothes film student swimmers in hot pool

Successful Antarctic swimmers

Students Vanessa and Hannah

Students run out of the cold water of the Deception Island caldera to the hot geothermic sand

Grise Fiord, Nunavut student Jason Qaapik Pijamini takes a Penguin dip

Go to top >>

Go to tomorrow's post