Wednesday 2 January 2008 à 16:03
Position of Astrolabe at 04:25 UTC
Anne Goffart. Correspondent aboard the Astrolabe
52° 01 S
145° 05 E
Wednesday 2 January 2008 à 14:18
Eelpout from every angle
Sophie Mouge. Correspondent aboard the Aurora Australis
The wind is blowing hard and keeping us from trawling. It is better to wait for it to stabilize at 35 knots or less to continuing collecting.
Wednesday 2 January 2008 à 14:12
Data for the Aurora Australis at 12h30
Sophie Mouge. Correspondent aboard the Aurora Australis
Position of the icebreaker:
- latitude: 66°55.540' S
- longitude: 144°24.466’ E
Wind:
- direction: S-SE
- speed: 40 knots
Water temperature: -0.7°C
Air temperature: -0.5°C
Atmospheric pressure: 961 hPa
Relative humidity: 89 %
UV-B: 3 W/m²
Water depth: 850 meters
Sunrise: above the horizon all day
Wednesday 2 January 2008 à 13:48
Position of Aurora Australis
Sophie Mouge. Correspondent aboard the Aurora Australis
FROM: Martin Riddle
DATE: 02/01/08
REPORT (SITREP) NO.: 317
UNIVERSAL TIME: 0100
LOCAL (SHIP) TIME: 1200
AUSTRALIAN EASTERN STANDARD TIME: 1200
POSITION: -66 53, 144 54
HEADING: 165T
CURRENT SPEED (KNOTS): 3
DISTANCE TO NEXT WAYPOINT (NAUTICAL MILES): N/A
DISTANCE COVERED LAST 24
HOURS (NAUTICAL MILES): 65
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Overcast, very low cloud,
distant haze, occasional sleet, visibility poor, wind 30 kts from 145T with
gusts to 40 kts
AIR TEMPERATURE: -1
SEA TEMPERATURE: -1
SEA CONDITIONS:
Moderate to rough seas, moderate swell 3-4 m
ICE CONDITIONS: Isolated bergs,
open water.
REMARKS: Last night we continued to ride out the weather. The wind has now
dropped slightly and we are heading back to site 59 to assess whether
trawling is possible, if not we will attempt CTD sampling until conditions
improve. So far, we have caught at least 38 fish species, including 32
Notothenioids, 2 or more Liparids and 4 Zoarcids. The number of species
continues to increase every day. Interestingly, many species previously
recorded to be common in the depth range 0 - 200 m along the Terre Adelie
coast (Trematomus newnesi, Notothenia coriiceps, T. bernacchi, T. hansoni,
Pagothenia borchgrevinki, Gymnodraco acuticeps) are rare or absent in our
catches. The exceptions are two species, the icefish (Chionodraco hamatus)
and the pelagic species, Pleuragramma antarcticum, which were previously
found to be common in the shallow coastal areas and are also common at our
sites. The latter dominates almost all catches in a range of sizes from
small fingerlings to large size adults. Most species caught since the
beginning of the voyage are not new to science, but previously had not been
recorded in this sector of the Eastern Antarctic continental shelf. The
catches are highly diverse but it is too early to say whether diversity is
linked to seabed type or to particular types of benthic assemblage. We have
collected many fingerlings and post-larval fish from the canyons, suggesting
that these steep and rugged areas may play a role as nursery grounds for
some species, particularly channichthyids. We have not yet caught any skate
although they are known from the area off Dumont D'Urville and have been
observed in our videos. They are probably escaping in front of the trawl.
Regards, Martin and Sarah.
