At Sea--53°56’s, 035°47’w
We are sailing ever deeper into the Southern Ocean and are now in the “furious fifties.” The wind continues at force eight on our starboard beam coming straight east from the Drake Passage, but we are making for South Georgia and the shelter of the island. The temperature has dropped to freezing and the wind chill is added to that. On Endeavour, sailing in comfort and in the safety provided by modern communication and navigational electronics, we think of the explorers, sealers and whalers who faced this ocean alone in small ships entirely cut off from the rest of the world. We cannot help but admire those pioneers.
We are nearing the southernmost latitude of our voyage. Since we departed Cadiz on October 12, Naturalist Steve MacLean with the help of the Engineering Officers has been monitoring the temperature of the ocean waters through which we have passed. The range of ocean temperatures on the entire planet is only about 30 °C and we have experienced that entire range of temperature. The fact that the range of land temperature on the planet is only about 150 °C is caused by the fact that water can absorb five times the amount of heat as can land for every degree increase in its temperature. This is because water has a heat capacity of one; the highest of any naturally occuring substance on the Earth, and land has a heat capacity of about 0.2. The consequence of this high value for water, together with the fact that it covers 71% of the Earth’s surface is the very equable climate our special water planet.
On this voyage we have directly experienced the full range of ocean temperature as we have sailed through 90° of latitude, one-quarter of the planet. The dramatic decrease in water temperature as we crossed the Antarctic Convergence at about 45° S latitude and its continued fall in the past few days convinces us that we are indeed approaching the great southern continent whose coastal ocean water reaches -2°C.
We are sailing ever deeper into the Southern Ocean and are now in the “furious fifties.” The wind continues at force eight on our starboard beam coming straight east from the Drake Passage, but we are making for South Georgia and the shelter of the island. The temperature has dropped to freezing and the wind chill is added to that. On Endeavour, sailing in comfort and in the safety provided by modern communication and navigational electronics, we think of the explorers, sealers and whalers who faced this ocean alone in small ships entirely cut off from the rest of the world. We cannot help but admire those pioneers.
We are nearing the southernmost latitude of our voyage. Since we departed Cadiz on October 12, Naturalist Steve MacLean with the help of the Engineering Officers has been monitoring the temperature of the ocean waters through which we have passed. The range of ocean temperatures on the entire planet is only about 30 °C and we have experienced that entire range of temperature. The fact that the range of land temperature on the planet is only about 150 °C is caused by the fact that water can absorb five times the amount of heat as can land for every degree increase in its temperature. This is because water has a heat capacity of one; the highest of any naturally occuring substance on the Earth, and land has a heat capacity of about 0.2. The consequence of this high value for water, together with the fact that it covers 71% of the Earth’s surface is the very equable climate our special water planet.
On this voyage we have directly experienced the full range of ocean temperature as we have sailed through 90° of latitude, one-quarter of the planet. The dramatic decrease in water temperature as we crossed the Antarctic Convergence at about 45° S latitude and its continued fall in the past few days convinces us that we are indeed approaching the great southern continent whose coastal ocean water reaches -2°C.
