Picture of the Day for
Deep Drilling
Today was a busy work day for all
of the groups. The morning started early with a CTD cast down 300m (1000 feet)
into the ocean. We then pulled up to a new ice floe. This new floe is older and
thicker with lots of snow cover. While the divers performed 2 dives (in search
of Krill), the ice team enlisted seal team members to help with two 25-meter
transects across the ice floe. On each transect we shoveled a hole in the snow
at 1 meter increments to determine snow depth, then drilled through the ice at each
shoveled hole to determine ice thickness. Snow depth along the lines averaged
82 cm (33 inches) of snow. Our greatest snow depth was 140 cm (55 inches). Ice
thickness along the lines averaged 2.59 m (8.5 feet), with the greatest ice
thickness measured being 5.65 m (18.5 feet).
Today's picture shows Pete Hartsough lowering the 2-inch drill to finish drilling an
ice hole that is over 5 meters (16 feet) deep. (Notice how the drill towers
over Pete's head.)
While the ice and seal teams were
working on the transect, three seals hauled out on a
nearby ice floe. When diving and ice transecting were finished, the ship
maneuvered so that the seal team could reach this floe. The seal team then
caught and worked on (studied) one of the seals.