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Punta Arenas (Sun., 4/19/09) - Preparations — by Andy Read — posted Apr 19, 2009

We spent today preparing equipment and obtaining our cold weather gear.      comments (1)

At Sea (Wed., 4/22/09) - Anticipating anticipation — by Lindsey Peavey — posted Apr 23, 2009

The Gould was shined up and covered in a fresh coat of paint when I first boarded on the 20th. Ahhh, that means she’s anticipating a new adventure, just like me!      comments (2)

Drake Passage (Wed., 4/22/09) - Heading out into the Drake Passage — by Dave Johnston — posted Apr 23, 2009

We left Punta Arenas two days ago, and this afternoon we passed the southern tip of South America, steaming steadily passed Cape Horn and down into the Drake Passage.      comments (1)

Drake Passage (Thurs., 4/23/09) - Day One in the Passage — by Elliott Hazen — posted Apr 24, 2009

As I'm writing, we are at 59 degrees south. It is plausible that the Drake passage is the source of the sailors maxim that "Below 40 degrees, there is no law. Below 50 degrees, there is no God."      comments (2)

Palmer Station (Sun., 4/26/09) - Video walking tour — by Elliott Lee Hazen — posted Apr 26, 2009

Here is a quick walking tour of Palmer Station from the outside from the dock where we arrived to the Palmer Station Glacier in the backyard.      comments (1)

Palmer - (Fri., 4/24/09) - We Survived! — by Reny Tyson — posted Apr 26, 2009

Today was another beautiful day on the Drake with winds between 10-20 knots, and seas at 3-4 meters. Apparently rubbing the big toe of one of Magellan’s friends on the statue in Punta Arenas does provide good fortune to those embarking on the journey south. Thank you weather gods and thank you “Drake” for taking mercy on us. We survived!     

Palmer Station (Fri., 4/24/09) - We have arrived! — by Pat Halpin — posted Apr 26, 2009

We arrived at Palmer Station... An especially long awaited arrival for me.      comments (1)

Palmer Station (Sun., 4/26/09) - Exploring the Islands around Palmer Station (videos) — by Ari Friedlaender — posted Apr 26, 2009

The day began with a windy wake-up call, making the waters around Palmer Station choppy and too dangerous for small boat operations. Last night gusts were clocked up to nearly 40 knots, and even at half that strength, the bite of the wind cut through most clothing.      comments (12)

Palmer Station (Tues., 4/28/09) - Preparation and Anticipation — by Douglas Nowacek — posted Apr 28, 2009

Busy making final preparations for our first day of full operations      comments (3)

At Sea (Wed., 4/29/09) - Deadliest Catch: Out with the Icefish team — by Andy Read — posted Apr 29, 2009

The visual survey team has been out fishing with our colleagues on the icefish research team for the last three days. On our first day, in transit to Dallman Bay, we had great conditions and saw lots of whales (see Sunday’s blog).      comments (3)

Antarctica (Sat., 4/25/09) - An aquascience teacher's dream — by Megan O'Neill — posted Apr 25, 2009

Teacher-at-sea Megan O'Neill shares her Antarctic experience.     

Palmer Station (Thurs., 4/30/09) - Game On! — by Lindsey Peavey — posted May 01, 2009

Yesterday we pulled into Palmer and effectively yelled “game on!” From 0800-1200 the fish team worked with LMG and Palmer crew to offload all the fish they had trawled and trapped over the last three days.      comments (5)

Piccard Cove (Fri., 5/1/09) - A Cove of Whales and a Blizzard of Penguins — by Andy Read and Alison Stimpert — posted May 04, 2009

The home page on the ship’s intranet said that today was a good day to be a scientist a truer word was never spoken.      comments (4)

Antarctica (Sat., 5/2/09) - Grease ice, brash ice, bergie bits and krill pancakes — by Elliott Hazen — posted May 04, 2009

After about 6 hours in a small zodiac with an air temperature of -5 degrees C, I stopped feeling two of my toes on my right foot. However, I still had a huge smile on my face and said aloud “this is paradise.”      comments (1)

At Sea (Sun., 5/3/09) - White Noise — by Dave Johnston — posted May 04, 2009

schshhhhhhhhhhthchhchhhhhhthhchhchhhcrackleshcchsnaphrhchhchchch chilechrhchhcshhehhchhehhhfhhhehhhehhshhehhhshhehehchhchhhhh hthhchhchhhcrackleshcchsnaphrhchhchchchcehshhshchshhshfhschshhshhchs hhchshhchhshshrhhshchilechhshhhhthchhchhhhhhthhchhchhhcrackleshcch snaphrhchpeppershshshchchsahchthachdhahhahahhfhhhehhhehhshhehhhs hhehehchhchhhhhhthchshshchhchshchhchhchhhhhhthhchhchhhcracklesh cchsnaphrhchhchchchcshchshchshsnap *beep*.......      comments (5)

Nansen Island (Mon., 5/4/09) - Stage 8 of Radio Tracking — by Douglas Nowacek — posted May 05, 2009

After two days of intense searching we managed to relocate and recover our wayward tag just before dusk this afternoon.      comments (3)

Piccard Cove (Tues., 5/5/09) - It's a bird! It's a plane! Its an Arnoux's Beaked Whale! — by Reny Tyson — posted May 07, 2009

After a full night sleep free of listening to: SchshhhhhhhhhhthchhBEEEEEEPhhthhchhchhhcracklBEEEEP snaphrhchhchchchchrhchhcsh the team woke up well rested and ready to go at it again!      comments (2)

Errera Channel (Wed., 5/6/09) - Leopard Seals — by Pat Halpin — posted May 07, 2009

Sometimes days don't go quite as planned, but opportunities do arise.     

Wilhelmina Bay (Thurs., 5/7/09) - Hitting a Trampoline with a Chopstick — by Ari Friedlaender — posted May 08, 2009

These are by far the most rotund and plump whales I have ever been around. When they rise, the span of their backs looks like a small parking lot.     

Palmer (Sun., 5/10/09) - Leg One Is In the Bag! — by Andy Read — posted May 12, 2009

Our first leg of tagging was amazingly productive (and fun).      comments (5)

Palmer station (Wed., 5/6/09) - Underwater Leopard Seal Video — by Andy Read — posted May 12, 2009

Dave managed to take some spectacular underwater video of two leopard seals      comments (3)

Palmer Station (Sat., 5/9/09)-The Battle at Base Brown — by Chance Miller — posted May 12, 2009

Deadly, dangerous, deceitful. Scientists are all of these. Whether it takes form in freezing helpless krill, kicking their last feeble kicks as they near dewars of liquid nitrogen, or sneaking up on sleeping whales, smacking their Goodyear like backsides with tags. Their dubious urges know no bounds, or limits.      comments (1)

Palmer Station (Wed., 5/13/09) - More than just a port for the Gould — by Lindsey Peavey — posted May 14, 2009

Palmer Station is home to quite a bit of science year round, mostly of the geophysical sort.      comments (3)

Andvord Bay (Fri., 5/15/09) - The emotional rollercoaster — by Alison Stimpert — posted May 18, 2009

Yay! There’s a whale just sitting at the surface, let’s tag that one! ... Boo, that guy was a bit difficult to track.      comments (2)

Andvord Bay (Sat., 5/16/09) - Visions of sugarwhales dancing in my head — by Megan O'Neill — posted May 18, 2009

It was like Christmas Eve,­ getting to go tag a whale in the morning on a zodiac in Antarctica! What a dream!      comments (1)

Andvord Bay (Sun., 5/17/09) - Orcas!!! — by Dave Johnston — posted May 18, 2009

Today brought us into contact with our first killer whales (Orcinus orca) of the trip. Ari spotted them traveling northeast along the Gerlache, and thanks to a little luck, he soon had some amazing pictures of them.     

Palmer (Mon., 5/18/09) - We're Surrounded By Antarctica — by Elliott Hazen — posted May 19, 2009

...brash ice with two southern fulmars on ice bits off the port side, whales on three sides of us, penguins honking about 200 meters away, and glaciers calving 2-3 kilometers away....      comments (1)

Piccard Cove (Tues., 5/19/09) – Just Another “Normal” Day in the Antarctic — by Reny Tyson — posted May 21, 2009

I am humbled to be a part of this experience and am continuously amazed at how a “normal” day for us here in the Antarctic is an extraordinary day in each and every one of our lives.      comments (1)

Andvord Bay (Wed., 5/20/09) - The ice is getting thick and the minke whales are getting playful... — by Pat Halpin — posted May 21, 2009

While the science was going right on schedule, the highlight of the day was an unanticipated visit from an extremely curious minke whale.      comments (4)

Errera Channel (Thurs., 5/21/09) - Don't Distract Us from the Scenery — by Ari Friedlaender — posted May 22, 2009

As we cruised passed Cuverville Island, we could see the tell-tale signs of penguins hauling out and resting on the snow. As one of the observers noted, it was a good thing there weren't many whales to distract us from the scenery.     

Palmer (Sun., 5/24/09) - An Icy Night becomes a SNOW DAY!! — by Chance Miller and Doug Nowacek — posted May 25, 2009

Time to explore a new area - so we pushed on to Charlotte Bay, just to the northeast of where we'd been working. Turns out Charlotte was pretty full of ice as well as whales...      comments (1)

Wilhelmina Bay (Thurs., 5/28/09) - Nature Red in Tooth and Claw — by Andy Read — posted May 29, 2009

Another tag on today in a bay full of whales and a spectacular sighting of a leopard seal eating a Gentoo penguin.      comments (4)

Wilhelmina Bay (Fri., 5/29/09) - A Delightful Snowy Day — by Lindsey Peavey — posted May 30, 2009

In hand: snowballs. Note to self: Get revenge.      comments (2)

Wilhelmina Bay (Sun., 5/31/09) - Hiiii Wayne! Hiii-iii--iiiiiii!! — by Alison Stimpert — posted Jun 01, 2009

Humpback tagging from the whale's perspective....      comments (3)

Wilhelmina Bay (Mon., 6/1/09) - A fond farewell to Wilhelmina Bay — by Dave Johnston — posted Jun 03, 2009

June 1 was the last day of major operations in Wilhelmina Bay, our most frequented portion of the study area, and the place with the biggest signal to noise ratio of life I have ever seen.      comments (1)

Gerlache Strait (Wed., 6/3/09) - Thoughts towards the voyage home — by Elliott Hazen — posted Jun 04, 2009

Now, over fifty days later we’ve seen some of the densest aggregations of humpback whales ever recorded...      comments (4)

Lockroy Station (Thurs., 6/4/09) - A super happy something or other — by Chance Miller — posted Jun 05, 2009

So today was Andy Read’s birthday. What a mess that was.     

Port Lockroy (Fri., 6/5/09) - Let the Party Commence — by Reny Tyson — posted Jun 05, 2009

With all of our science completed, the MISHAP team woke today ready to p.a.r.t.y!     

Gerlache Strait (Sun., 6/7/09) - Coming Home! — by Ari Friedlaender — posted Jun 08, 2009

What does it mean when mostly sane people strip down, show off their serious need for a tan, and jump into frigid water when you leave?      comments (2)

The Long Trip Home — by Douglas Nowacek — posted Jun 17, 2009

After an amazingly successful cruise, thoughts turned to homes, friends and families – though we had many miles to travel to get to them.      comments (3)