Friday 11 January 2008 à 18:21
So much water!
Sophie Mouge. Correspondent aboard the Aurora Australis
The Antarctic ice cap constitutes 90% of the world’s reserves of freshwater with 30 millions km3 of continental ice. This ice cap lays on the continental base and is made of ice coming from the accumulation of precipitations.
Friday 11 January 2008 à 17:39
Data for the Aurora Australis
Sophie Mouge. Correspondent aboard the Aurora Australis
Position of the icebreaker:
latitude: 62°52.370' S
longitude: 146°34.062’ E
Wind:
direction: S
speed: 23 knots
Water temperature: -1°C
Air temperature: -2.7°C and -21°C in the wind
Atmospheric pressure: 980 hPa
Relative humidity: 85%
UV-B: 4.5 W/m²
Water depth: 908 meters
Sunset: 00h02/ sunrise: 02h41
Friday 11 January 2008 à 14:13
Position of Aurora Australis
Sophie Mouge. Correspondent aboard the Aurora Australis
FROM: Martin Riddle
DATE: 11/01/08
REPORT (SITREP) NO.: 326
UNIVERSAL TIME: 0100
LOCAL (SHIP) TIME: 1200
AUSTRALIAN EASTERN STANDARD TIME: 1200
POSITION: -65 49.6S, 146 35E
HEADING: 174
CURRENT SPEED (KNOTS): 5 kts
DISTANCE TO NEXT WAYPOINT (NAUTICAL MILES): n/a
DISTANCE COVERED LAST 24
HOURS (NAUTICAL MILES): 125.6 Nm
WEATHER CONDITIONS: Overcast with low level
cloud 7/8ths, moderate to good visibility, wind 20 kts from 165T gusting to
27 kts
AIR TEMPERATURE: -2.6
SEA TEMPERATURE: -1.1
SEA CONDITIONS: Moderate
to rough seas and moderate SSE swell 2 m
ICE CONDITIONS: Scattered bergs and
some bergy bits.
REMARKS: Yesterday we continued to meet dense pack ice as we attempted to
head south along the CASO CTD transect west of the Mertz Glacier. Rather
than spend time pushing against the ice we decided to move to the middle of
the three CASO transects, to sample along longitude 147E to the north of the
Mertz. We completed 2 of the sites along this transect before again meeting
dense pack ice and once more moved slightly west. We have now completed 3
sites along 146 35E. Satellite imagery indicates that the sites directly to
the south of our current position should be clear. The CTD data indicates
that we are again positioned over an outflow of bottom water generated by
the Mertz Polynya as it pours off the continental shelf, in contrast to the
Ross Sea bottom water detected further east. This is the first time it has
been confirmed that Mertz bottom water streams over the shelf in more than
one place. Over the past few days we have collected water samples from as
deep as 4000 m. At this depth the pressure is about 400 times atmospheric
pressure, to put this in perspective, if you opened a full diving cylinder
at this depth the pressure would force water into the cylinder and fill
about a quarter of it rather than allow the air out. Our plan is to complete
this phase of CASO sampling by about 1800 this evening, then to steam to the
polynya moorings to take advantage of a weather window to again move the
Pole Compass, before re-starting the CEAMARC sea-bed sampling.
Regards, Martin and Sarah.
Friday 11 January 2008 à 13:19
Seasick!
Stéphanie Pavoine. Based in Dumont D’Urville station
I am startled awake by Anne. One station to do. In turn, I wake David. It is 8h. We would have loved a little more sleep.
