An oceanographic tradition is "celebrating" what is known as "Hump Day."
Celebrating really means noting or acknowledging, as the work continues
unabated. We departed from
Lyttleton, New Zealand on December 17, and today is January 11. So we
have been gone for nearly four weeks.
As we are due at McMurdo Station on January
26, we have passed the half-way point of the cruise, or Hump Day (as in
over the hump). This actually occurred
during our last transect along 76°S, along which we encountered
relatively low concentrations of
phytoplankton and extremely dense fog, cloud cover, and snow squalls. We
did not see the sun for five days,
in fact. Because a few important supplies did not make it to the ship
prior to departure, we chose this time to
make a relatively short trip towards McMurdo into the ice, where a US
Antarctic Program helicopter met us, and
dropped essential goods to us. Our trip into the ice found us excellent,
clear weather, no wind, and warm
(for Antarctica) air temperatures—2°C or 35°F. We were treated to views
of numerous grounded
icebergs during the transit, as well as myriads of penguins and seals on
the ice. Upon the delivery of the
materials (including coffee beans from our VIMS colleagues in McMurdo
Station; thanks, guys!), we exited the
ice and are en route to a new transect along 77°S. We hope the great
weather follows us! Only 13 more
science days are left, and we are in the midst of some exciting
experiments and observations, some of which
will be described in reports of the following days.
This actually occurred
during our last transect along 76°S, along which we encountered
relatively low concentrations of
phytoplankton and extremely dense fog, cloud cover, and snow squalls. We
did not see the sun for five days,
in fact. Because a few important supplies did not make it to the ship
prior to departure, we chose this time to
make a relatively short trip towards McMurdo into the ice, where a US
Antarctic Program helicopter met us, and
dropped essential goods to us. Our trip into the ice found us excellent,
clear weather, no wind, and warm
(for Antarctica) air temperatures—2°C or 35°F. We were treated to views
of numerous grounded
icebergs during the transit, as well as myriads of penguins and seals on
the ice. Upon the delivery of the
materials (including coffee beans from our VIMS colleagues in McMurdo
Station; thanks, guys!), we exited the
ice and are en route to a new transect along 77°S. We hope the great
weather follows us! Only 13 more
science days are left, and we are in the midst of some exciting
experiments and observations, some of which
will be described in reports of the following days.