Signy Island, South Orkney Islands
60° 42’.2 South Longitude, 45° 35’.2 West Latitude
We traversed a small part of the Southern Ocean after departing Elephant Island yesterday and this morning arrived at the South Orkney Islands. Flotillas of thousands of penguins, porpoising through the ice-choked waters, accompanied our approach, along with cape petrels, Wilson’s storm petrels and several Minke whales. Icebergs, shaped as though designed by an architect with a demented slide-rule, piqued our imaginations as they observed our passing with cool indifference. The outlines of Signy Island slowly emerged out of the foggy calm enveloping the Endeavour and we dropped anchor for a morning of activities.
The British Antarctic Survey maintains a research station here, built on the site of a whaling station that operated briefly in the early 1900’s. The six scientists and one artist now working at the station represent several countries including England, Holland and Japan. The Signy station rarely receives visitors and we felt honored to be welcomed and hear first-hand about the research they were conducting, what life in a remote but biologically rich corner of the world is like and to learn whose turn it was to cook for the week. Here historic levels of ultraviolet radiation are being inferred from core samples of frozen moss beds, penguins are being sent to sea with cameras to take pictures of their travels, the longest-running study of freshwater lakes in the Antarctic region is entering its 30th year and an artist-in-residence is sketching, painting and recording the environs to bring the Antarctic experience alive for those back home.
Since the station is small we visited in groups, allowing time for us to also take turns occupying kayaks and paddling them around the glassy smooth waters of the bay. The Signy station may be an outpost of civilization but its influence pretty much stops near the top of the old wooden ramp we landed on – a ramp once used to haul whale carcasses out of the water for processing. Beyond the small group of buildings perched there Antarctic fur seals trundle across mossy slopes, petrels nest in rocky crevices, elephant seals wallow on muddy beaches and tens of thousands of chinstrap, Adelie and gentoo penguins carry on with their lives.
This particular fur seal took a moment from a busy schedule of scratching to give us a glaring once over as we passed by in a Zodiac. Perhaps it was chagrined at revealing it is not a true seal at all. Fur seals, like sea lions, are in a sub-group of pinnipeds known as the otarids, or eared seals. Unlike the true seals they have external ears, very large front flippers, the ability to walk on all four limbs and, as our friend here is demonstrating so well, they have claws on their knuckles rather than the end of their flippers. The better to scratch oneself with I suppose.
60° 42’.2 South Longitude, 45° 35’.2 West Latitude
We traversed a small part of the Southern Ocean after departing Elephant Island yesterday and this morning arrived at the South Orkney Islands. Flotillas of thousands of penguins, porpoising through the ice-choked waters, accompanied our approach, along with cape petrels, Wilson’s storm petrels and several Minke whales. Icebergs, shaped as though designed by an architect with a demented slide-rule, piqued our imaginations as they observed our passing with cool indifference. The outlines of Signy Island slowly emerged out of the foggy calm enveloping the Endeavour and we dropped anchor for a morning of activities.
The British Antarctic Survey maintains a research station here, built on the site of a whaling station that operated briefly in the early 1900’s. The six scientists and one artist now working at the station represent several countries including England, Holland and Japan. The Signy station rarely receives visitors and we felt honored to be welcomed and hear first-hand about the research they were conducting, what life in a remote but biologically rich corner of the world is like and to learn whose turn it was to cook for the week. Here historic levels of ultraviolet radiation are being inferred from core samples of frozen moss beds, penguins are being sent to sea with cameras to take pictures of their travels, the longest-running study of freshwater lakes in the Antarctic region is entering its 30th year and an artist-in-residence is sketching, painting and recording the environs to bring the Antarctic experience alive for those back home.
Since the station is small we visited in groups, allowing time for us to also take turns occupying kayaks and paddling them around the glassy smooth waters of the bay. The Signy station may be an outpost of civilization but its influence pretty much stops near the top of the old wooden ramp we landed on – a ramp once used to haul whale carcasses out of the water for processing. Beyond the small group of buildings perched there Antarctic fur seals trundle across mossy slopes, petrels nest in rocky crevices, elephant seals wallow on muddy beaches and tens of thousands of chinstrap, Adelie and gentoo penguins carry on with their lives.
This particular fur seal took a moment from a busy schedule of scratching to give us a glaring once over as we passed by in a Zodiac. Perhaps it was chagrined at revealing it is not a true seal at all. Fur seals, like sea lions, are in a sub-group of pinnipeds known as the otarids, or eared seals. Unlike the true seals they have external ears, very large front flippers, the ability to walk on all four limbs and, as our friend here is demonstrating so well, they have claws on their knuckles rather than the end of their flippers. The better to scratch oneself with I suppose.
