27 September 2014 My first iceberg!

Journal

Thar she blows, my first iceberg!

Location: Long -54 degrees 1.84 Lat -38 degrees 42.3
Temp: -1.6C
Windchill: -18C

Today started like any other, a bit anticlimactic as we are still transiting. In case I have forgotten to explain; transiting is basically traveling from one location to another, and in our case we have been traveling since Monday to reach our first science location which is Bird Island off the western tip of South Georgia.

My mornings are usually spent talking with scientists, getting a better feel for the science of this expedition: GPSA Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system used to track the location or position of objects on the Earth’s surface., Seismic, Multi-beam and the echo sounder, all of which are fairly new to me. And then...wait for it...I looked out the starboard port hole and there it was, my first ice berg.

Tabular ice berg — My first iceberg off the starboard side. In a word magnificent.

Within seconds I grabbed my sun glasses, and headed up the five flights of stairs to get a glimpse from the bridge. In a word, magnificent. A glorious tabular ice shelf, floating by.

As you can see through the pictures, I was enamored by the ice bergs, and as a whole the entire day was a wonderfully cool and chilly, we even started the morning with snow on the deck.

Cromer Middle School, Flagstaff, Arizona — Thanks to Cromer Middle School for following along, Maybe by having your flag in the snow we will have a great snow winter at home this year!

Holden Middle School, Missouri — Thank you Holden 5th Grade Eagles for following along on our expedition!

After all our iceberg gawking and snow play it was time for science. Tomorrow we will arrive at South Georgia and Bird Island. The GPSA Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system used to track the location or position of objects on the Earth’s surface. team is getting ready to set up the first GPSA Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite-based navigation system used to track the location or position of objects on the Earth’s surface. unit. ( a total of three for the entire research cruise) Bob and Nico are the leads and tomorrow my journal will be all about their work and its importance to looking at the movement of different land masses.

preparing for GPS installation — Nico checking all the GPS equipment prior to tomorrows first day of official science.

Bird Island and all of South Georgia is a very unique ecosystem, and with invasive species many indigenous plants and animals are at risk. Each person going ashore has had their clothing checked for any plant matter, seeds, any hangers on that might contaminate the existing ecosystem. The government of South Georgia is working diligently to ensure the integrity of their ecosystems.