Steen V. Mogensen
email: mogensen@bellsouth.net
Updated 01-Oct-06
Pictures:
Gallery 1
Gallery 2
Gallery 3
Gallery 4
Gallery 5
Gallery 6
Gallery 7
Gallery 8
Other related links:
Kelly's site
Vincent's
site
Shane's
site
United States Antarctic Program
A year has gone by since I left for Antarctica the first time. It is now time to retire this page to the archives and sharpen the pencil for the writings of a new one. I will keep a new log for the 2006 expedition but I will leave these pages, and the pictures from last year, for you and me to enjoy in the future. Make sure to visit the 2006 expedition log for the latest!
Sunday February 19th, 2006.
Added a page about the photo equipment I had with
me, and a little about the special problems involved in taking pictures in
Antarctica. Please go to the [Photography details] link.
Saturday January 14th, 2006
It is now about 1 month since I came off the ice and the rhythm of daily
life has pretty much set in again. In one sense it feels like a long time
ago, and in other ways, it feels like yesterday.
As time goes by, many of the impressions, gathered while in Antarctica, are
finally settling. I have the same experience after this adventure as I have
had after trips to other parts of the world ... The magnitude of the
experience and the details, do not really register until a while after I get
home!
I have added a few more interesting links to related
websites.
Now back in the US again, the time in Antarctica already seems a little distant. After having spent nearly 2 months on the Ice, and after being used to the fact that the weather would always have the final say in the planning of the day, it is amusing that I am now stuck in Los Angeles airport because there is a snowstorm in Dallas!
The last few days have seen a lot of waiting, a lot
of sitting in airports and a lot of cramped airplane seats. Weather, with
snow and strong winds, delayed the flight out of McMurdo for 2 days. The
flight was on a Kiwi C130 military transport plane. It was packed and that
means sitting knee to knee with the people in front of you. To make it more
interesting, they were conducting a penguin count, which means flying at low
altitude, with the doors open, the first 2 hours of the trip. Since we were
all strapped in, we didn't get the benefit of that survey, just the extra
turbulence.
When I got to Christchurch I checked out at the CDC where I handed in my
Cold Weather Clothes and equipment, and then I spent the night at a Bed &
Breakfast in town. Next morning I walked to the Botanical Gardens, which is
now in full bloom and then I flew to Auckland in the afternoon. Here I
rented a car for 2 days, spent one night at a B&B and drove up to the area
around "Bay of Islands on the North East coast. Weather forecast was
doubtful, but it turned out reasonably good anyway.
Summer is coming to Antarctica and things are changing fast. The last few days have been sunny with little or no wind, and when you listen you can sometimes hear the ice melt. Anything reflecting the suns heat causes the ice around it to melt, and just this morning one of the sleep huts started to move a little when someone entered.
The ice roads are constantly being monitored and tested for safety and the rumors, about when the camps will have to be pulled back to McMurdo, are getting stronger. The Airport is scheduled to be relocated this coming weekend and after that they will want to get started on getting the heavy things moved too.
The science team will
continue another 2 weeks but I am getting ready to head on home to Georgia
in 2 days. It is with mixed feelings I am beginning to pack my things. I
miss my family and cant wait to see them again, but I will also miss this
place.
Antarctica offered some unique experiences. The incredible views, the close
work with the Weddell seals and the feeling of being in one of the last
places on earth where humans are secondary and only present to study and
learn.
The equipment Ward Sener and I built, for the science team, has worked well. There will always be little things that can be improved, and there are now many ideas for new or better features hopefully to be implemented for next season. This opportunity to be around the team, while working with the equipment, has been invaluable and has shown once again that no matter how well things work in the lab, getting it into the field might be a totally different thing. Especially under such harsh conditions as what we find here.
In Gallery 8 you will find some pictures from our Thanksgiving dinner in camp, some of the incredible nature we are surrounded by and a few of the seal pups now when they are growing up.
Thanks to friends, family and family of friends who
have followed this webpage over the last 2 months. When I get home I might
still work a little on the page, so if you are interested, you may want to
check back now and then.
One of the unique opportunities here, is to be able to visit some of the huts used by the Antarctic explorers back in the day. The hut at Cape Evans, also known as the "Scott hut" is the largest and it is close to our camp. It is a very special feeling to be in the hut, surrounded by the equipment and conditions they had to deal with back then, and then realize that it is not that long ago at all.
For the past 2 years,
the number of seals returning to the colonies have been very low. One theory
is that the presence of the gigantic iceberg, "B15", preventing the ice in
McMurdo Sound from breaking up in the summer, has caused major changes in
the food resources. To investigate the possibility of some of the seals
forming new colonies on the North side of Ross Island, we have flown a
number of exploratory flights around Mt. Erebus to look for these seals. We
have found some, but not many of the missing seals, so the question of where
they are is still open.
Other flights have gone to White Island where a small colony of seals have
been isolated for many years. A few animals originally probably got there
via a crack in the ice, a crack which has not occurred again since, and now
there is no access to open water for these animals.
The Skua's are taking advantage of the seals, adults and pups, that do not make it. While the Skua looks like a large seagull, it acts in many ways like a Vulcher.
Gallery 7 contains pictures of animals from the
North side of Ross, some pictures from the Scott hut and some helicopter
shots. Enjoy.
The pups are growing fast
and are now in the teenage stage. The swimming lessons have started and it
is very entertaining to watch the pups as they get in the water the first
few times.
It takes a little time for them to adjust to this new
environment and mom plays a very active role in the learning process.
One of the tasks for the research team, is to look for seals outside the
study area. Some of these seals were originally tagged in the study area and
their pups are therefore of interest. To get to these locations, helicopters
are often required since the distances are too great for snowmobiles.
It is getting warmer day by day and the ice conditions are changing rapidly.
Areas which were perfectly safe to travel just a week ago, are now dangerous
and any travel has to be conducted with great care. New snow cover makes it
hard to see the cracks in the ice and we often have to get off the
snowmobiles and probe or drill the ice before we can proceed.
In Gallery 6 you will find some pictures of the pups getting swimming
lessons.
Time is going by fast and it is not easy to understand the changes that has happened in the past few weeks. The sun is now on the sky 24 hours a day so darkness is a thing of the past. The thick curtains in the sleep huts are very much appreciated and the strong sunlight, even in the middle of the night, requires constant use of sunglasses and sun screen.
We are seeing more and more Adelie Penguins and they are fun little birds to watch. When we are around, they will come running as fast as they can, just to see what is going on. When they come close, they stand around for a while, sometimes in little groups as if they are discussing what we are doing, and then they often just lie down and go to sleep in the middle of it all.
We now have over 160 pups across the colonies and it is getting difficult to handle some of the early ones. We still have to weigh them now and then but that is not an easy task when the pup is 160lb or more and has found out that it has teeth!
Gallery 5 have new pictures of seals, the fish hut and some Penguins!.
We now have around 80 pups across the colonies. More seals are showing up, and it now looks like it will be a better year than 2004. Maybe not by much, but at least by some.
Dr. Bob Garrott, has now joined the team and is out and about all day working with the animals. He has been here many times before and knows the routine very well. It adds to the evening conversations, around the dinner table in the kitchen hut, to have him here. He has a lot of wild life experience from here and from Yellowstone National Park.
The more time we spend away from McMurdo, the more I realize how fortunate
we are to be based in a field camp and not in town. There are about 6
support people for each person on the science teams, and life in town is not
exactly the most interesting. A lot of people here have little or no chance
to get out to enjoy the beautiful surroundings, but end up working, eating
and sleeping.
Mark and I have now started on the fishing part of the program. This is
where we are using the sonar system Ward and I have built for the team. We
have a hut set up out on the sea ice in the middle of the Ships channel.
This is where the supply ship will come in sometime later when the ice gets
more manageable. We have about 1600 feet of water under us, so it is a
priority not to fall into the 4 foot hole we have in the middle of the
floor. There will be pictures from that next time.
In Gallery 4 you will find even more pictures of seals and the area.
There are more and more seals
coming in to the colonies around the study area, but it is still a little
slow. The theory is that the giant ice berg, B15, which was blocking the
entrance to McMurdo Sound for a couple of years, has dramatically changed
the balance of these waters. Last year, the team recorded about 40% of the
animals seen the year before and this year it seems to be starting out in a
similar way.
B15, which is 23 miles across and sits 100 feet out of the water, making it
a total of 1000 feet from top to bottom, has now drifted past the Sound and
is no longer having a direct effect. There are still 2 smaller bergs, broken
off from B15, which are grounded at the entrance to the Sound, but these
bergs are not blocking the currents nor the access for seals, penguins and
Orca.
As of yesterday, we have 27 pups across the colonies. Some are now getting
old enough that the moms are beginning to dive for food again. The
interaction between mom and pup, when she returns, is interesting to
observe. The mom and pup recognize each other based on calls and smell.
Gallery 3, has some more images of seals, pups and daily life around here.
Enjoy!
We have now been in the field camp
for a week. Everything is going well but there are not many seals yet. The
last couple of days have shown good development and we have started tagging
and registering the newborn pups.
There are some new pictures now, including a number of seal pictures.
Look in Gallery 2 for the new pictures.
The first set of pictures are up. Select from the links in the left margin to get to the pages and see some of the places and things I am seeing down here! More will come as I have opportunity to upload text and pictures so check back now and then.
Click on "Gallery 1" in the top left of this screen
to see the pictures.
Go to the "Happy Camper" link top left of this screen for some pictures.
Copyright © Steen V. Mogensen 2005