Picture of the Day for 27 August 2002

The weather has warmed up considerable with temperatures reaching a balmy -1 to -5ºC. This picture features a CTD cast. The CTD measures the salinity (Conductivity) and Temperature profiles of the water column as a function of Depth (thus CTD). This requires a crane operator to run the winch as well as people to handle the instrument on deck as it is deployed and recovered. In addition to the people outside, the instrument must be monitored inside the electronics lab to ensure that the data are properly recorded. In the picture on the left, ET Romeo LaRiviere monitors the electronics inside, while on the right MT Jenny White and Jeff Morin handle the instrument on deck (Photos by Dan Costa).

The CTD casts seem to be a time when seals appear behind the stern of the vessel. Yesterday a much larger animal, probably an adult male, joined our resident elephant seal female. We have also seen several crabeater seals and a leopard seal when we have conducted CTD casts. Meanwhile, the Ice Coring team and the Krill team continue to collect data and samples. We are in discussions with the NBP about what to do and where to go next as work at this location has begun to wind down after 6 days here.