Petermann Island and South
After leaving Deception Island behind us last night we headed south, south, and…south. In the early morning, we transited the Lemaire Channel, swathed in atmospheric mist and swirling snowflakes, our destination Petermann Island. Here we landed in familiar style but unfamiliar surroundings. Gone were the volcanic ash slopes of the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula or Deception Island, replaced instead by a snowscape interspersed with smoothed granite boulders studded with xenoliths.
The cast of characters onshore was mostly familiar. We found Adélie and gentoo penguins, the latter at the southern limit of their range. But there were also surprises in the form of springtails, tiny insects clustered in drifts on the surface of freshwater pools, and verdant tufts of grass in rocky crevices. Antarctic hair-grass to be precise; one of only two species of higher plant to be found in Antarctica.
It was here that we said farewell to our group of Oceanites researchers, who will spend the next month on Petermann Island studying seabirds. Upon departure, we continued with our quest to the south, encountering a seascape choked with a full-on ice fantasy. Icebergs of all shapes and sizes, pack ice covered with lounging crabeater seals. Minke whales puffed in the open water between the ice. An adult emperor penguin was found by our diligent Captain, and we crowded the bow for a better look. We pressed on.
In the evening, our way was finally blocked by dense sea ice and we reluctantly turned our bow to the north. But we had reached latitude 66° 00.3 S, 33 nautical miles from the Antarctic Circle.
After leaving Deception Island behind us last night we headed south, south, and…south. In the early morning, we transited the Lemaire Channel, swathed in atmospheric mist and swirling snowflakes, our destination Petermann Island. Here we landed in familiar style but unfamiliar surroundings. Gone were the volcanic ash slopes of the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula or Deception Island, replaced instead by a snowscape interspersed with smoothed granite boulders studded with xenoliths.
The cast of characters onshore was mostly familiar. We found Adélie and gentoo penguins, the latter at the southern limit of their range. But there were also surprises in the form of springtails, tiny insects clustered in drifts on the surface of freshwater pools, and verdant tufts of grass in rocky crevices. Antarctic hair-grass to be precise; one of only two species of higher plant to be found in Antarctica.
It was here that we said farewell to our group of Oceanites researchers, who will spend the next month on Petermann Island studying seabirds. Upon departure, we continued with our quest to the south, encountering a seascape choked with a full-on ice fantasy. Icebergs of all shapes and sizes, pack ice covered with lounging crabeater seals. Minke whales puffed in the open water between the ice. An adult emperor penguin was found by our diligent Captain, and we crowded the bow for a better look. We pressed on.
In the evening, our way was finally blocked by dense sea ice and we reluctantly turned our bow to the north. But we had reached latitude 66° 00.3 S, 33 nautical miles from the Antarctic Circle.
