At Sea
MS Endeavour now makes her way North, heading back to Ushuaia, Argentina, which some might say is the bottom of the world. However we have truly been as close to the bottom of the world as this vessel can get. We have spent an amazing 12 days in Antarctica, experiencing much of what the white continent has to offer: we walked on the fast ice; we kayaked amongst the ice bergs; we watched countless penguins and blue eyed shags. We have been surrounded by whales, and have crossed the Antarctic Circle. Antarctica is a wondrous place full of new adventures and experiences none will soon forget.
Below the water, Antarctica is a place where the weird and the wonderful collide. The creatures found here, especially at deep depths (below 200 feet/60 meters), have been the least studied creatures of the undersea world. Onboard MS Endeavour, we have a wide array of tools to look down into the depths. This often allows us to find creatures that have never been documented before. We also have been able to help out some of the researchers in Antarctica. Just the other day, at Palmer Station (a United States research station), we used our ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) to fly down below diver depth, and show the researches what was there. They will then use this information for their future reference.
Pictured here is a sea spider (Pentanymphon antarcticum). This sea spider is found commonly in Antarctica, from 9 meters – 3200 meters. They eat soft bodied creatures, sucking the juices, and browse on hydroids and bryozoans. Sea spiders are all “guts and gonads”, and almost all of it is stuck down the legs. They use these legs for traveling in a variety of manners, not only walking along the bottom, but also swimming, alternating the legs up and down. Sea Spiders have a smaller set of legs, the ovigerous legs, which are used for grooming and carrying the egg masses (you can see these eggs masses in this picture). Interestingly, it is the male that carries the eggs, and broods them until they hatch.
One of the most exciting parts of Antarctica is that it is constantly changing. Every experience in every site is different, no matter how many times you visit. We are all lucky to have experienced a little of the multitude of diversity the continent holds.
MS Endeavour now makes her way North, heading back to Ushuaia, Argentina, which some might say is the bottom of the world. However we have truly been as close to the bottom of the world as this vessel can get. We have spent an amazing 12 days in Antarctica, experiencing much of what the white continent has to offer: we walked on the fast ice; we kayaked amongst the ice bergs; we watched countless penguins and blue eyed shags. We have been surrounded by whales, and have crossed the Antarctic Circle. Antarctica is a wondrous place full of new adventures and experiences none will soon forget.
Below the water, Antarctica is a place where the weird and the wonderful collide. The creatures found here, especially at deep depths (below 200 feet/60 meters), have been the least studied creatures of the undersea world. Onboard MS Endeavour, we have a wide array of tools to look down into the depths. This often allows us to find creatures that have never been documented before. We also have been able to help out some of the researchers in Antarctica. Just the other day, at Palmer Station (a United States research station), we used our ROV (Remote Operated Vehicle) to fly down below diver depth, and show the researches what was there. They will then use this information for their future reference.
Pictured here is a sea spider (Pentanymphon antarcticum). This sea spider is found commonly in Antarctica, from 9 meters – 3200 meters. They eat soft bodied creatures, sucking the juices, and browse on hydroids and bryozoans. Sea spiders are all “guts and gonads”, and almost all of it is stuck down the legs. They use these legs for traveling in a variety of manners, not only walking along the bottom, but also swimming, alternating the legs up and down. Sea Spiders have a smaller set of legs, the ovigerous legs, which are used for grooming and carrying the egg masses (you can see these eggs masses in this picture). Interestingly, it is the male that carries the eggs, and broods them until they hatch.
One of the most exciting parts of Antarctica is that it is constantly changing. Every experience in every site is different, no matter how many times you visit. We are all lucky to have experienced a little of the multitude of diversity the continent holds.
