At Sea
National Geographic Endeavour's bow has turned north towards the Southern Tip of South America, leaving in its wake 7 incredible days on the Antarctic Peninsula, full of penguins, whales, snow, and ice. Much of today was spent reflecting on our adventures, and catching up on the sleep we have lost, mainly due to our new addiction to the guys in tuxedos (a.k.a. penguins), and the incredible pink light that tends to show at 2am. However, as the saying goes, “you can sleep when you get home.”
We have had many adventures this week in the terrestrial world, but Antarctica holds a unique and diverse community below the ocean's surface as well. One of the common misconceptions about Antarctica is that because the water is so cold (between -1.8 and 2°C/ 28.8 and 35°F), nothing lives below the surface. In truth, due to the amount of gases and nutrients, which dissolve and thrive in this water, it is one of the most rich and highly diverse benthic communities on the planet. The colors here rival any tropical reef, and are a stark contrast to the black and white world above.
Onboard National Geographic Endeavour we use a variety of tools to explore beneath the surface. One of the most essential, used while SCUBA diving, is an HD camera in an underwater housing. This week, the “monster” of the trip was the Giant Isopod. Growing to more than 6 inches long, this detritus feeder lives in a variety of habitats around the continent of Antarctica, and fills the niche of the crab who has not yet ventured up on the continental shelf. Delicate nudibranches roam the bottom, looking for their meal of choice – in the case of this Dorid Nudibranch, they are after one of the many sponge species found here in Antarctica. However, along with invertebrate life on the bottom, there are also remnants from the human history in the Antarctic. Here, nestled at the base of a blue whale skull, is the remains of a harpoon head, most likely from the early 1910’s.
Tonight we will sail through the Antarctic convergence, an area of water where the colder, northern-flowing waters of the Antarctic meet with the warmer waters of the sub-Antarctic. This creates a great deal of mixing and upwelling of nutrients, hence a high area of productivity. It is not hard to spot the sea birds here soaring around the ship, weaving complex patterns as they dip towards the ocean surface looking for their next meal. Having already passed the political boundary of Antarctica at 60° South, this environmental boundary will be our last and reluctant step out of the Antarctic.
National Geographic Endeavour's bow has turned north towards the Southern Tip of South America, leaving in its wake 7 incredible days on the Antarctic Peninsula, full of penguins, whales, snow, and ice. Much of today was spent reflecting on our adventures, and catching up on the sleep we have lost, mainly due to our new addiction to the guys in tuxedos (a.k.a. penguins), and the incredible pink light that tends to show at 2am. However, as the saying goes, “you can sleep when you get home.”
We have had many adventures this week in the terrestrial world, but Antarctica holds a unique and diverse community below the ocean's surface as well. One of the common misconceptions about Antarctica is that because the water is so cold (between -1.8 and 2°C/ 28.8 and 35°F), nothing lives below the surface. In truth, due to the amount of gases and nutrients, which dissolve and thrive in this water, it is one of the most rich and highly diverse benthic communities on the planet. The colors here rival any tropical reef, and are a stark contrast to the black and white world above.
Onboard National Geographic Endeavour we use a variety of tools to explore beneath the surface. One of the most essential, used while SCUBA diving, is an HD camera in an underwater housing. This week, the “monster” of the trip was the Giant Isopod. Growing to more than 6 inches long, this detritus feeder lives in a variety of habitats around the continent of Antarctica, and fills the niche of the crab who has not yet ventured up on the continental shelf. Delicate nudibranches roam the bottom, looking for their meal of choice – in the case of this Dorid Nudibranch, they are after one of the many sponge species found here in Antarctica. However, along with invertebrate life on the bottom, there are also remnants from the human history in the Antarctic. Here, nestled at the base of a blue whale skull, is the remains of a harpoon head, most likely from the early 1910’s.
Tonight we will sail through the Antarctic convergence, an area of water where the colder, northern-flowing waters of the Antarctic meet with the warmer waters of the sub-Antarctic. This creates a great deal of mixing and upwelling of nutrients, hence a high area of productivity. It is not hard to spot the sea birds here soaring around the ship, weaving complex patterns as they dip towards the ocean surface looking for their next meal. Having already passed the political boundary of Antarctica at 60° South, this environmental boundary will be our last and reluctant step out of the Antarctic.
