V9 Antarctic Peninsula_Voyage_Log

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Antarctica: A Continent for Science David Macdonald, Lecturer (Geology) & Expedition Guide Until the advent of mass tourism, Antarctica’s tagline was: “A continent for science”. 23 Antarctica affects the rest of the world in a variety of ways, so “Antarctic Science” should really be “Global science that happens in Antarctica”. Although many early expeditions were purely geographical in scope, there were some important scientific expeditions in the late 19 th to early 20 th centuries. In this “Golden Age” of exploration, there were many scientific contributions from Antarctica which changed our view of the earth’s evolution and environment. Indeed, three expeditions brought back proof that Antarctica once had a warm climate. Scott’s first expedition (1901-1904) found coal from 250 million years ago in the Transantarctic Mountains; Nordenskjӧld’s Swedish Antarctic Expedition found warm-water fossils on James Ross Island; and the Scotia Expedition under Bruce (1902-1904) dredged fossiliferous 500 million-year-old limestone from the Weddell Sea. Scott’s second expedition (1910-1913) found fossil leaves(Glossopteris) in the Transantarctic Mountains. These fossils belong to an extinct order of seed ferns from 299-252 million years ago, only found in the southern hemisphere continents and India. They were used by Wegener in 1924 in his work on continental drift to reconstruct the former supercontinent of Gondwana. In the years after the First World War, the focus changed from individual expeditions to national pursuits, such as the British Discovery Investigations – the first permanent oceanographic body in the world. During 33 years (1918–51) of pioneering work, the research ships collected an enormous amount of oceanographic, biological, and geographical data. Among the results of the investigations was the discovery of both the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and the Antarctic Convergence - the natural boundary of Antarctica. By the end of the Second World War, the move to create national organisations was complete, with the formation of the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (now British Antarctic Survey), the Australian National Research Expeditions) and other civilian operations (France, New Zealand, South Africa, etc). As a result of these organisations and better logistics, the rate of scientific discovery soared, and new polarspecific studies proliferated. Some highlights include: • 1957-58: The International Geophysical Year (IGY) was an 18-month collaboration between 67 countries. Antarctica was the focus, with 12 nations participating. Many new scientific stations were created and the IGY was a resounding success as it led directly to the Antarctic Treaty • 1959-1996: The discovery and delineation of subglacial Lake Vostok is a great example of scientific cooperation. Lab studies showed that ice under very high pressure reverts to water and in 1964, seismic soundings from Vostok Station were used to measure the thickness of the ice sheet. This suggested the existence of a subglacial lake. British airborne ice-penetrating radar in the 1970s detected unusual radar readings, suggesting a freshwater lake below the ice. In 1991, a radar satellite revealed that this subglacial water body is one of the world’s largest lakes. We now know that there are at least 140 subglacial lakes in Antarctica. • 1980-present: The US-funded collection and curation of Antarctic meteorites has recovered about 22,000 meteorites from Antarctica (about 75% of all known meteorites worldwide). There are samples from the Moon, Mars, and asteroids. • 1985: In hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica was discovered from ground-based instruments at Halley Bay and Faraday (British Antarctic Survey). • 1986: Research at McMurdo Station, the main U.S. scientific station in Antarctica, established that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) as the probable cause of the Antarctic ozone hole (US NSF). These two bits of work lead to signing of the Madrid Protocol on 1987, banning CFCs. 5 JAN 2020 – 14 JAN 2020 Volume 2, Issue 9
Northward Bound 12 January 2020– Drake Passage Written by Martin Schuster The Ocean Atlantic pushed gently through what Jamie referred to as ‘One of the calmest Drake crossings in my memory’. Our 8:45 AM wake-up found most of already up and about enjoying the sea breeze and preparing for our morning brunch. While we waited, we shared highlights from the previous days of adventure with each other. 24 After lunch we were able to travel underneath the Antarctic ice with expedition guide Martin, who has spent four seasons working as a SCUBA diver for the US Antarctic Program. Martin explained to us why we might be interested in studying the sea floor of the Antarctic continent and how we go about doing so. During sea voyages it is quite common to develop a routine; to lose track of time in a foreign place. After four days on the Antarctic peninsula we have grown accustomed to early wake up calls, bundling ourselves up in waterproof expedition gear, and experiencing new animals and vistas. Today, we were able to decompress a bit, and learn a bit more about our newfound polar environment. Amanda, our resident marine biologist and expedition guide, then shared some information on the various seals of the Antarctic. We were able to delve a bit more deeply into our newfound companions the Weddell Seal and Crabeater Seal (hint: they do not eat crab!). We also learned more about the solitary Leopard Seal that we had the pleasure of interacting with at Petermann Island. Thomas, a former university lecturer in both Hong Kong and Australia, presented a brief history of the Antarctic treaty. He explained that under the treaty the Antarctic continent actually belongs to all of us, and to none of us. All signatories have pledged to forego any exploitation of mineral resources on the continent and also to protect the wildlife and their habitat from human impacts. After relaxing for a bit and settling our bills, we had our final recap in the Viking Theatre, followed by yet another scrumptious dinner in the Vinland restaurant. Later, the gentle rocking of the Ocean Atlantic lulled us to sleep on our second night at sea during the northbound journey. 5 JAN 2020 – 14 JAN 2020 © Renato Granieri Photography Volume 2, Issue 9
Page 1 and 2: 5 JAN 2020 - 14 JAN 2020 Albatros M
Page 3 and 4: TABLE OF CONTENTS The Voyage Meet t
Page 5 and 6: Meet the Team 4 Phil Hunter Assista
Page 7 and 8: The Seven Sisters of Szczecin David
Page 9 and 10: Rolling Our Way South 6 January 202
Page 11 and 12: Approaching the ice 7 January 2020
Page 13 and 14: Drake Passage 5 JAN 2020 - 14 JAN 2
Page 15 and 16: Chasing Icebergs, Finding Penguins
Page 17 and 18: The White Continent 9 January 2020
Page 19 and 20: © Renato Granieri 5 JAN 2020 - 14
Page 21 and 22: Deception Island 11 January 2020- B
Page 23: A Brief History of the Zodiac Steve
Page 27 and 28: Towards the Horn 13 January 2020- D
Page 29 and 30: King of the Southern Winds Sandra O
Page 31 and 32: By the Numbers… 30 Voyage Statist

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