Journals 2008/2009

Megan O'Neill
Fairhope High School, Fairhope, Alabama

"Thermal Tolerance of Antarctic Fishes" R/V Laurence M. Gould April 21 - June 11, 2009

Journal Index: April 17/18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25         26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 May 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11        12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20        21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29        30 - 31 June 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11

April 22, 2009
Wildlife

Another incredible day on the water in the Southern Hemisphere! We are currently at -54, 53.78' latitude and -64, 58.05' longitude (notice the negatives) coordinate with a temperature of about 45 degrees F and a wind chill of around 32 degrees F. The sun has just barely peeked out of the clouds all day and I got to see another beautiful sunrise. Because the temperature has been quite nice today, we have been out on deck watching the Peale's Dolphins jump in the wake near the bow and watching the many different types of birds go by - black albatross and the cape petrel being the neatest.

After lunch we had a fire drill and had to grab our PTD and survival suit and meet in the lounge according to protocol. Fortunately we all made it and it was a success! We received good news at the meeting about the low-pressure system in Drake's Passage - it is moving quickly and will not make our trip rough! Yeah! One of the graduate students has been openly wishing for a "rough passage" to "experience" Drake's, but everyone has been ready to lynch him! Especially the ones more experienced with this crossing. I really won't feel slighted if we get a calm passage and St. Brendan gets us through easily.

Currently, we are just going in between the Isla de Estados and the tip of Argentina. Cape Horn will not be visible from the ship as we enter Drake's Passage because we will be too far from it. At 7:00 p.m. we had a science meeting with the icefish team to get prepared with some logistics for our experiments once we get to Palmer Station. It is getting closer and preparation will help us be efficient with our tasks. After the meeting, we got to watch the Dark Knight - (as my yearbook girls know) which is possibly my favorite movie currently, after dinner tonight in the lounge area with everyone. I just don't if it gets better than this - great stuff! As I was going to bed the winds have picked up making the waves much larger, so it will be an interesting night!

Peale's Dolphins sighting alongside the ship