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

then shot up to -4°C overnight, falling during the day to -15.3°F. On 18 July the
temperature was -18.5°C, down to -24.2°C by nightfall and still falling. There were
narrow leads running northeast from Gourlay Point and a very large lead about one
mile east of that point extending at least five miles in a southeasterly direction until
visibility was curtailed. It was a bright moonlit night and a double corona formed.
Next morning the temperature was -21°C, rising to -7.8°C by nightfall. The
clouds were closing in as we climbed up to make an ice observation from Roberts
Bluff and there was little view left when we reached the summit, save for the pack to
the east. We sat down in a spot that was relatively sheltered from the cold wind and
drank coffee. I did a hurried sketch of the pack and Gourlay Point to Oliphant Islets;
there was a most beautiful fog-bow over there with very brilliant colouring. Many
large leads in the pack isolated large areas of ice and cut it up into hummocked floes
of a mile or so in diameter. Unfortunately it wasn't possible to see the horizon clearly,
but the cover was probably 7/ 10ths pack to the horizon.
During the rest of July we had generally low temperatures, -19°C to -4°C,
varying according to the time of day and the weather patterns. Some days the packfog
moved in very rapidly and the day was to be dull and cloudy; sometimes the
weather changed rapidly during the day, with clouds down to 300 ft. There were
numerous large new bergs around, and similar leads but more open water than
previously. The sea was rough and the brash was noisy. On a few days blizzards
developed with strong squalls, and we had from 1 to 2 inches of snow.
On l August Ralph and I went up to Snow Hill to view the ice. There was one
large lead running from Gourlay Point, curving round until parallel with the
Coronation Island coast. A large area of open water showed where the previous lead
was off Clowes Bay, and numerous leads to the South and Southeast. One very large
berg, as seen from our icecap, appeared higher than the peaks south of the Divide -
but couldn't have been. The ice cover was about 6 10ths; to the west it was solid and
there were many bergs; to the south were several open leads. Two days later the
weather was colder. A wind was blowing and the air temperature was -25°C so it felt
very cold, and inside when I woke the temperature at the level of my bed was -3.5°C
- no wonder my nose was cold! At floor level it had fallen to -10.5°C during the night
and was still only -8.2°C at breakfast-time. The cold weather continued: 5 August
was a good day, but felt very cold and when I went down to take the sea temperature
- 1.8°C - the air temperature was -30°C. Derek and I went up to the top of the Bluff
and found the sea was all ice-covered, with parts where there had previously been
leads showing up well as flat gleaming plains. There was pack fog to the south but
very good views and a solar halo shone at sunset over Stygian Col.
Next day was fine, with the temperature at -31.8°C and we decided to go up onto
the ice cap. The record for that day shows a continuous trace burnt into the sunshine
card; the air temperature rose up to -20.5°C and the sea temperature was -1.8°C. As a
result sea smoke was ‘boiling’ off the tide cracks. Later I worked up a painting which
was successful in catching the light effects and the brilliance.
On 10 August a large lead showed apparently stretching from Signy to the
Robertson Islands. I took a sea temperature reading and found it higher than usual, -
1°C, possibly related to a rising tide and the large area of open water to the
southeast? In mid-August there were many small leads in the pack ice around Signy
to the South, West and East - some as far as the Inaccessible Islands - running
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