Port Lockroy and Palmer Station
We spent our night securely berthed in the secure dock forged out of the land-fast ice of Port Lockroy. This small British base was originally erected in the 1940s and faithfully restored in 1997. It is part of a number of British observation posts belonging to Operation Tabarin and motivated by the potential threat from Germany to worldwide shipping during the 2nd world war. Today it is manned by a few people each year and is visited throughout the season by ships such as ours.
The fast ice, still about 3 feet thick, provided us with a safe platform on which to venture out for a close look at the nearby glacier and a distant view of a few Weddell seals, lying out and basking in the relatively warm, early summer sun.
In the afternoon we arrived at the American Palmer Station on Anvers Island. There we were treated to their famous Antarctic Brownies and were given a grand tour of their base, where long- term studies of seabirds, penguins and near shore biological oceanography occupy their scientists and support staff. We were also able to talk to the biologists who were conducting studies on the Adelie penguins on Torgersen Island a short distance offshore from the main station.
The main reason for our early season visit to Palmer was to pick up three of their over-wintering personnel, who were to have been taken north last week onboard their ice breaker the Lawrence M. Gould. Apparently the ice at Palmer was too much for this state of the art vessel, but our trusty ship, the National Geographic Endeavour, was able to easily glide into the bay today, to the great relief of the people that were slated to go home.
We spent our night securely berthed in the secure dock forged out of the land-fast ice of Port Lockroy. This small British base was originally erected in the 1940s and faithfully restored in 1997. It is part of a number of British observation posts belonging to Operation Tabarin and motivated by the potential threat from Germany to worldwide shipping during the 2nd world war. Today it is manned by a few people each year and is visited throughout the season by ships such as ours.
The fast ice, still about 3 feet thick, provided us with a safe platform on which to venture out for a close look at the nearby glacier and a distant view of a few Weddell seals, lying out and basking in the relatively warm, early summer sun.
In the afternoon we arrived at the American Palmer Station on Anvers Island. There we were treated to their famous Antarctic Brownies and were given a grand tour of their base, where long- term studies of seabirds, penguins and near shore biological oceanography occupy their scientists and support staff. We were also able to talk to the biologists who were conducting studies on the Adelie penguins on Torgersen Island a short distance offshore from the main station.
The main reason for our early season visit to Palmer was to pick up three of their over-wintering personnel, who were to have been taken north last week onboard their ice breaker the Lawrence M. Gould. Apparently the ice at Palmer was too much for this state of the art vessel, but our trusty ship, the National Geographic Endeavour, was able to easily glide into the bay today, to the great relief of the people that were slated to go home.
