Field Work

Antarctic voyage: Photographic tips and advice

Guest Author • Mar 07, 2013

• Antarctic voyage,
• Antarctica,
• photography

Written by Adrian Bass Date: 6/3/13 Location: 60.015577°S, 154.067054°E Weather: cloudy, 20 knot winds Sea state: 1-2 swell I am a scientist, so my main aim on this expedition was to collect some good data for my research. But a close second is the opportunity to photograph what is certainly one of the most breathtaking places … Read More

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Antarctic Voyage: Ocean Acidification

Guest Author • Mar 06, 2013

• Antarctic voyage,
• Antarctica,
• ocean acidification,
• ocean carbon balance

Written by Elizabeth Shadwick (ACE CRC) Date:5/3/2013 Location: 62.803893°S, 147.03681°E Weather: Cloudy, 25-30 knots Sea state: 3-4 m swell Pink Errina fissurata attached to pebbles on the Ross Sea slope, Antarctica at 470 m depth. Other invertebrates visible in the image are a variety of sponges and the white spiky brittle star Ophiacantha pentactis. [ … Read More

Antarctic Voyage: The CTD

Guest Author • Mar 05, 2013

• Antarctic voyage,
• Antarctica,
• CTD,
• oceanography

Written by NIWA oceanographer and voyage leader Dr Mike Williams. Date: 4/03/2013 Location: 63.394131°S, 149.553421°E Weather: Cloudy, snow and rain, 25 knots of wind Sea state: 3-4 m swell CTD about to be deployed. [Jill Scott]With 10 days left of the voyage we are now heading north, starting to make our way back to Wellington. As … Read More

Antarctic Voyage: It is all about the critters!

Guest Author • Mar 04, 2013

• antarctic ecology,
• Antarctic voyage,
• Antarctica,
• maring biology

Written by Mark Fenwick (NIWA) Date: 3/3/13 Location: 64.92023°S, 150.066839°E Weather: Sunny, with a few clouds Sea state: 2 m swell coming in from the Southern Ocean Molly Patterson (VUW) adjusting the GOPRO camera unit pre-deployment. [Mark Fenwick]It is nearly the end of the trip and they finally let the token biologist loose to write … Read More

Antarctic Voyage: On the shelf at last!

Guest Author • Mar 01, 2013

• Antarctic voyage,
• Antarctica,
• MODIS

Date: 28/2/2013 Location: 66.170212°S, 147.947581°E Weather: Cloudy with the odd sunny spell, a light breeze and very cold Sea state: Calm and icy Sea ice image from 26th February 2013. [NASA MODIS satellite]Sunny, clear days definitely make this region look less formidable and give it a magical glow. They also provide us with good sea … Read More

Antarctic voyage: Mud, mud, glorious mud

Guest Author • Feb 28, 2013

• Antarctic voyage,
• Antarctica,
• seafloor mapping,
• sediment cores

Date: 27/2/2013 Location: 66.5914˚S, 148.064901˚E Weather: 10 knots and clear Sea state: Calm …Nothing quite like it for cooling the blood. Especially when the air temperature is below freezing. Multibeam data for canyons. [Helen Bostock; data supplied by Alix Post,Geoscience Australia]We have successfully collected a couple of cores from the Antarctic slope in between some … Read More

Antarctic Voyage: The biological pump – the importance of microscopic phytoplankton

Guest Author • Feb 27, 2013

• Antarctic voyage,
• Antarctica,
• diatoms,
• plankton

Writtenby  Helen Bostock (Marine Geologist, NIWA) and Elizabeth Shadwick (ACE CRC) Date: 26/2/2013 Location: 65.111248°S, 146.056312°E Weather: Sunny, less than 20 knots Simplified Antarctic food web. [Courtney Derriman]Sea state: 1-3 m swell Phytoplankton are microscopic plants that live at the surface of the ocean. There are billions of them in ocean surface waters, which are then grazed … Read More

Antarctic Voyage: The discovery of the Mertz Region

Guest Author • Feb 26, 2013

• Antarctic voyage,
• Antarctica,
• Douglas Mawson,
• History

Written by Dr Helen Bostock  (Marine Geologist, NIWA). Date: 25/2/2013 Location: 65.507326°E, 143.982206°S Weather: Cloudy and foggy, gentle wind (<20 knots) Sea State: 2-3 m swell Given the issues we are having with accessing the coast due to the sea ice this year, it seems incredible that just over 100 years ago an Australian expedition landed … Read More

Antarctic Voyage: Hump day – half way through the trip

Guest Author • Feb 25, 2013

• Antarctic voyage,
• Antarctica,
• humpback whales,
• whales

Written by Dr Helen Bostock  (Marine Geologist, NIWA). Date: 22/2/2013 Location: 64.838758°S, 142.310661°E Weather: 20 knots, cloudy Sea state: 2-3 m swell Humpback whales We are now half way through the voyage…. it seems to be going by quickly. While most people were at lunch today, we were visited by 5 or 6 large humpback whales … Read More

Antarctic Voyage: Could the past be the key to the present?

Guest Author • Feb 25, 2013

• ANDRILL,
• Antarctic voyage,
• Antarctica,
• sediment cores

Written by Molly Paterson (PhD student, Antarctic Research Centre, VUW). Date:21/2/2013 Location: 65.17903°S, 141.413812°E Weather: Cloudy with winds up to 30 knots Sea state: 3-4 m swell Molly logging a sediment core. [Helen Bostock]Over the last week, while the oceanographers have been studying the hydrology of the slope, the geologists have recovered two cores. We … Read More