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

its fore-flippers. I took a series of photos and then just sat for some time in the crisp,
clear air watching the sea smoke rising and young ice forming, almost as I watched.
But the weather changed rapidly and in the afternoon, wind and blizzards began.
The next day was really foul, with the temperature around -18°C most of the time
and a strong wind blowing. New drifts were forming and the eastern side of the lab
was drifted up. In the hut the floor temperature was -10.5°C and the water in the
tank froze.
After the bad weather 25 April was a fine day at last and the temperature had
risen to -1.5°C. The sun set behind Robin Peak and the colours were as beautiful as
any I had seen. The dark grey-green of the young ice set off the colours in the leads
reflected from the sky as the sunset advanced. First it was blue, then green,
turquoise, lemon-yellow, copper, pink. The light blue-green of the ice-foot improved
as the light decreased. On the Coronation peaks the colours were no less fine. But
soon a muggy day with intermittent snowfall supervened, the temperature up to
3.1°C but falling to -6°C later. The wind had loosened the bay ice at the edge, but the
majority of it remained intact.
Temperatures were fairly high next morning but fell to -10°C and below before
dusk. Pack fog drifted in but cleared intermittently in the morning revealing
beautiful colours and some very clear reflections in the still water. In the afternoon
the fog clamped down, but cleared just before sunset, when bright crimson clouds
over Jane Peak were thrown up against a yellow green sky and contrasted with the
delicate shades of purple and mauve on the snow. I did a quick sketch.
Gales and temperatures around freezing point continued, but on 2 May it
became colder again, -3°C that morning, up to +1°C during the day and down again
to -16.5°C at night. A gale was blowing all the time with occasional gusts to 63 mph.
It was quite impossible out. To bed at 11 0’clock - as the gale continued at reduced
force. Another poor day followed, with strong winds and temperature falling from -
9°C to -13.2°C and below. After the Ob Derek and I on foot and Charlie on ski went
up to the icecap screen. It was uneventful and the wind had dropped. We could see
that the pack ice was pretty solid to the south and east with small leads.
The pattern now went into a cold spell. On 4 May the temperature was between
-21°C and -22°C all day; it fell to -25.5°C next day but there was little sun, and rime
was forming everywhere. Next day was another cold one, but fine with temperature
about -21.5°C. A few days later the temperature was about -20°C in the morning and
the sky clear and deep blue. The new sea ice was covered with a dense carpet of frost
flowers some of which were 2 to 3 inches long and formed like minute shrubs. They
made the going very sticky.
The temperature began to rise again and a week later a thaw had begun,
producing foul weather - fog, drizzle and wind at times. Next day the temperature
was at +1°C and everything was dripping in the thaw. On 13 May high temperatures
continued all day together with a strong wind, but the sea ice was still quite firm and
no cracks were evident yet. The gale continued with temperatures up to +2°C and
another followed overnight and most of the next morning. Again the ice stood up to
the wind well, and there were no cracks as yet. The gale was still blowing 3 days later
and the temperature falling; the ice remained firm. The sky was overcast and low
clouds blotted out most of the island. Then it rained and the rain froze as it fell so
that my jacket was soon iced up.
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