Picture of the Day for
Day 4 at Ice Station Sparky, day
18 of our Winter
Today was the coldest and
windiest day of the cruise so far, with temperatures hovering around -18ēC and
winds gusting up to 40 knots. The high
winds pushed the ship and floe north at a speed of 1.5 knots during most of the
day, keeping the divers out of the water and the seals under the ice. One lone, brave Emperor penguin was sited
speeding on his belly across the ice floe.
As evening (and darkness) fell
the winds died down to 15 knots, and the Ice Team decided to brave the elements
to go out onto the ice. With the help of
the ship lights they cored a second-year ice floe that was 2.5 m thick with
more than 1.3 m of snow and slush on top.
All in all it was another successful day for scientists aboard the L.M. Gould.
This chapter
written by Kerry Claffey, with editorial help from
Bruce Elder and Paula Adkins. Picture
by Kerry Claffey.