Thursday 3 January 2008 à 16:04
Position of Astrolabe at 06:37 UTC
Anne Goffart. Correspondent aboard the Astrolabe
56° 47 S
143° 39 E
Thursday 3 January 2008 à 15:51
Feather stars among us!
Sophie Mouge. Correspondent aboard the Aurora Australis
The good weather is back!
Thursday 3 January 2008 à 14:40
Data for the Aurora Australis at 12h30
Sophie Mouge. Correspondent aboard the Aurora Australis
Position of the icebreaker:
- latitude: 66°34.040' S
- longitude: 144°53.830’ E
Wind:
- direction: S
- speed: 17 knots
Water temperature: -0.7°C
Air temperature: -1.3°C
Atmospheric pressure: 985 hPa
Relative humidity: 70%
UV-B: 8 W/m²
Water depth: 490 meters
Sunrise: above the horizon all day
Thursday 3 January 2008 à 14:10
Position of Aurora Australis
Sophie Mouge. Correspondent aboard the Aurora Australis
FROM: Martin Riddle
DATE: 03/01/08
REPORT (SITREP) NO.: 318
UNIVERSAL TIME: 0100
LOCAL (SHIP) TIME: 1200
AUSTRALIAN EASTERN STANDARD TIME: 1200
POSITION: -66 34S, 144 41E
HEADING: 154T
CURRENT SPEED (KNOTS): 2.5
DISTANCE TO NEXT WAYPOINT (NAUTICAL MILES): N/A
DISTANCE COVERED LAST 24
HOURS (NAUTICAL MILES): 97.3
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Mostly fine and clear with
some cloud, visibility good, wind 17 kts from 185T with gusts to 19 kts
AIR
TEMPERATURE: -1
SEA TEMPERATURE: -0.7
SEA CONDITIONS: Moderate sea,
southerly swell 2 m ICE
CONDITIONS: Isolated bergs, open water.
REMARKS:
After riding out 40 to 50 knot winds for the first day and a half of the New
Year, conditions had abated sufficiently by 1600 hrs yesterday to allow
sampling to re-commence. However, the lull only lasted for about 6 hours
before winds were again gusting to 50 knots and sampling halted. After a
further 8 hour break, sampling re-commenced at about 0500 hrs this morning
and the day shift woke to sunny conditions and light winds. Overall
impressions of the sea-bed invertebrate communities are that the diversity
and species composition on the Adelie Bank seems roughly equivalent to that
known from at Dumont D'Urville at shallower depths (40-200m), but tends to
decrease in Commonwealth Bay, possibly because of increased iceberg
scouring. Two stations (38 & 36) show strikingly different benthic
communities compared to surrounding stations, with many anemones,
synascidians and serolid isopods. These stations are situated well beneath
the action of icebergs at the bottom of the Georges V Basin where water
conditions may play a role in shaping very different assemblages. The
multi-beam data, previously collected in this area by the US research vessel
the Nathaniel Palmer, provides a very detailed picture of the sea-bed
including tracks of past ice-berg scouring. For those sites where it is
available, it is proving invaluable for interpreting the relationship
between the living communities and the physical environment of the sea-bed.
A multi-beam capability must be considered as an essential element of a
modern program of benthic biodiversity research.
Regards, Martin and Sarah.
