Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 17:18:55 +0000 From: "Coronesi, Stephanie" Subject: Message 6 14:13 (2002.01.10) 63 Degrees 57.912' South Latitude 66 Degrees 51.311' West Longitude (Bellingshausen Sea) Air Temp: 4.1 Degrees C SST (Sea Surface Temperature): 1.3 C Wind Speed: 15 knots 148 Degrees Air Pressure: 972.2 mBar Hey Everyone! Well, the waves are a bit more assertive today with about eight foot swells, which is just enough to make some of our drops tricky. Before we send down a CTD we run a PRR which also gets deployed from the rear of the boat and measures the light are so we know where we should trip the CTD bottles. When the seas are rough it takes a few more people on deck to make sure that there's no tension on the wire as the PRR is being let out, otherwise the accuracy of the data could be compromised and we might not take our samples at the best locations. We're running two particularly deep CTDs today. The one we're running now is going down to 1,700 meters. The drops we do when we're on the shelf go down approximately 300-400 meters, and when we're off the Antarctic continental shelf we can go as deep as 3,500 meters. That's some COLD water. About half the people who take samples wear rubber boots and gloves in the baltic room where the CTD comes up, but I like feeling the cold right on my hands. It amazes me to think of where this stuff just came from, and slightly numb fingers and splashes on my jeans definitely add to interactive nature of the experience. Also adding to the interactive nature of the experience is Chris Carillo in the Chemical Microbiology group, who has taken it upon himself to organize a social calendar. I heard some mention of a "Crazy Hair Day" on Saturday, and then an "Austin Powers Day" and an "All Issue Day," during which we'd have to wear all issued clothing. It seems to me though that every day is "All Issue Day." About 75% of people wear the sort of mustard-y colored Carhartt jeans or overalls that they issued us, about a third have their issued flannel shirts on. Fashion is not high priority on a research ship, I can assure you. It's all about function and comfort. It appears that we're at the tail end of a storm and that the weather should be improving shortly. It's better than it was through the Drake, but we had less time to get used to it here. I took my seasickness patch off last night because it's three-day effectiveness was almost up and the seas were fairly calm. After lunch today I decided that I needed to take something so I took a lovely cherry-flavored pill which takes effect much more quickly than the patch does. Rich is also feeling the effects of the weather, so we just stepped out on the 01 Deck to get some air. Being outside and watching the waves actually helps to calm the sea-sickness, believe it or not. It's worse when you're indoors, especially if you're higher up or more forward on the ship. There are birds swooping about everywhere! There are still plenty of Albatross and a whole slew of Cape Petrels, which are just the coolest looking things. They're about the size of the seagulls you're used to seeing, but they have beautiful white underbellies and the tops of their wings are white with dark brown trim and big dark brown/black spots across the white. They are truly beautiful creatures. Speaking of beautiful creatures, attached is that picture of the Elephant Seal from Palmer Station. She may have challenge your concept of beautiful a bit, but I can assure you, she was cute as a button. The peeling stuff is her dead skin sloughing off to let the healthy skin come on through. With a big, slightly nauseas smile from the Bellingshausen, -Steph (Miss C!)