Part I: Seals teeth and whales ears - Scott Polar Research Institute ...

completely broke up the ice in the bay, but it wasn't possible to see out to sea because
of the bad visibility. Then in the evening the sky cleared and we saw a very clear
lunar halo. Over the next two days the temperature rose to -0.5°C at nightfall, slightly
warmer overnight, then falling to -6°C the next night. The wind from the north had
blown the pack south and it wasn't visible from the top of the Bluff. There was very
little ice in any of the bays, although in Stygian Cove, as might be expected, there was
plenty of brash.
Midwinter. On Midwinter Day, 22 June, the morning temperature was about freezing
point, but fell during the day to -14.3°C; no pack was in sight, but visibility was fairly
low. Temperatures continued dropping to -20.6°C in the morning, rising to -16.5°C at
the Ob that evening. Young ice was again forming on the sea and there were streams
of brash, very scattered, in the sound. The sea to the east was obscured but I got
glimpses of the main body of the pack, just beyond Gourlay Point. The morning
temperature was -10°C, rising to +1.5°C during the following day. After lunch we
found ourselves in the grip of another gale, with high temperatures - around +2°C.
The gale continued and a thaw began. The ice in the bay was nearly all broken up
again.
The sun doesn’t completely leave the South Orkney Islands during the winter as
it does further south; we were well north of the Antarctic Circle. But the days were
very short in winter and coupled with the fact that the South Orkneys weather was,
according to Derek, the worst in the world, with the sky completely covered with
cloud for about 9 10ths of the year, it makes even a short day like a twilight. Also,
when the sun was low in the north the high curtain wall of Coronation Island
mountains cast us into shadow, so on base we did lose the direct light of the sun,
even in the absence of cloud, for a number of days around midwinter.
The gale and thaw continued during most of the following day. Some brash
remained in the bay and although the visibility was poor I could see the edge of the
pack extending in a line south of the Robertson Islands. The new moon came up on
its side that night. It appeared to have a green rim, due to the very deep blue of the
sky and there were golden clouds behind it and silver-edged cloud maps above and
below. It made a hazy track on the water. Temperatures continued high, around
+1.5°C for several days; the rain changed to hail and then wet snow; the wind
increased in force and blew me over the icy slopes, lifting me off the ground during
one exceptionally fierce gust. I took my snowshoes off, as the rawhide had become
quite waterlogged and it was very tiring going through the deep snowdrifts on foot.
The sea was whipped up to a turmoil of white tops and clouds of spray when the
waves hit the ice-foot and the grounded bergy bits - a day which reminded me of a
visit to Talisker cliffs on the west coast of Skye.
The mean June air temperature was -5.0°C and at the end of the month it looked
as though the ‘muggy spell’ was nearly over. But, on 1 July the temperature rose to -
2.5°C during the day, while the gale continued. Derek and I went up to the col to see
the ice; the slopes were in a treacherous state, with pond-ice and verglas on the rocks,
and we took rather longer than usual over the climb. We saw that the pack was just
off Gourlay Point and the Oliphant Islets - about 5 10 ths cover to the horizon and
large areas of clear water to the southeast. The edge of the pack was an unbroken line
along the horizon. Off Gourlay Point was a large area of close pack, about 4 miles
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