Party leaving for Antarctica
from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA Jan 25. 2003
Clothing Distribution Center, Christchurch, New Zealand
Boarding Airforce Jet
A long line
En route to McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station
Funny Tires
Mt. Erebus
Passenger Terminal
Helicopter Ride to waiting ship
Helicopter taxi arriving at the edge of the ice shelf
Taxi riders unloading luggage
Coast Guard Helicopter about the leave
Helicopter Away!
US Research Vessel Ice Breaker Nathaniel B Palmer
Captain of the Vessel Joe Borkowski III
RVIB NBPalmer
Overview of Vessel
NVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer in dry dock, Chile in 2002
Propellers to cut the Ice
RVIB NV Palmer in dry dock
Amphipod
Sea Spiders
Sea Lillies
Emperor Penguins
Adelie Penguins
Back of Ship
Seismics in the ice
Orange balls
Tom , Mechanical Techical Scientific Support Person
ICEBERG AHOY!
Icebergs behind the ship
John sights gigantic iceberg
Satellite image of ice
Icebergs
Ghost chip
Beautiful and menacing
B-15
Icebergs
The sun never set during our cruise
Left to Right:
Juan Chow (graduate student), Jason Holloman (grad.), Phil Bart (PI), Press Viator (undergraduate), Maria Pacheco (undergrad.), David Egan(grad.), Juan Lorenzo (Collaborator), Jill Hattier(undergrad.)
Marlene explaining clothing options
All passengers must wear Antarctic clothing upon boarding
Inflight Accommodation
United States Antarctic Base, Ross Sea, Antarctica
Vans are specially adapted for moving through snow and ice
A lava filled active volcano on whose northern flank McMurdo Station lies.
Waiting for the helicopter ride out to the edge of the ice shelf to board the ship Jason Holloman in the foreground
Press Viator in foreground
Full Antarctic dress is also required during flight
Views are spectacular
The ride only takes about 10 minutes
US Coast Guard ship Polar Sea sends helicopter to collect scientific equipment. Mechanical Technician "TJ" leaves the helicopter behind
Our comfortable home for the next several weeks
Also known affectionately as Capt'n "Joe"
Start of cruise NVP0301A, January 31, 2003
All aboard!
Ship's anchor reflects ship's size
An immense ship
RVIB NVPalmer's immense propellers and specially
designed hull can break through 3 feet of ice at a constant
speed of roughly 3 knots
The ship's size is more apparent when it is out of the water!
The cold, Antarctic waters are home to unusual denizens. This preserved amphipod is as large as a man's hand.
Creepy but harmless
Relatives of this "crinoid" can be found in fossils hundreds of millions of years old. (Note more sea spiders in the background)
These curious penguins can reach 4 feet in height!c
"That way buddy!"
What we we do? We collect seismic data to study climate change.
Our ship clears a path among the ice inwhich we tow seismic quipment behind the ship
Buoys keep our heavy seismic sources from sinking
Bolt devices release air through the hole you can see
This year a particularly large number of ice bergs were about
Melted icebergs substitute for mountains at sea
Purple and blue areas are relatively ice free but redder areas are not!
We pass icebergs constantly
Under dark clouds the icebergs appear menacing
A giant iceberg calved from the Ross Ice Shelf
But it got closer to the horizon with each passing day
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Party leaving for Antarctica
from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA Jan 25. 2003
Left to Right:
Juan Chow (graduate student), Jason Holloman (grad.), Phil Bart (PI), Press Viator (undergraduate), Maria Pacheco (undergrad.), David Egan(grad.), Juan Lorenzo (Collaborator), Jill Hattier(undergrad.)