25 January, 2000

Hi all,

Greetings! Activity around the station was pretty much the same as yesterday. The permit I have been waiting for, which allows me to

take Antarctic artifacts back to the states, finally arrived by fax. I got made my final addition to the box of goodies, a nice sampling

of krill. While donning a rubber glove the size of my arm, I captured several from the aquarium room using a small net. Even with the glove on, the water was very cold. I preserved the sample in 10% formalin. Krill are beautiful crustaceans and appear to be very delicate and almost see-through. Actually, their exoskeleton makes them quite hardy. It is hard to believe these animals are the backbone of the food chain in the Antarctic!!

After lunch, I rode out to Humble Island with Bill Fraser's group. It was a scheduled diet-sampling day for the penguins of Torgersen Island. I went along to take a series of pictures to be stitched together to create a panoramic view of the island and it's rookery. After I finished my work, I joined the diet samplers. An extra hand often comes in handy. I was eager to help them with weighing the bird, and then I got to be the good guy and set it free.

Once we got back to station, there was barely enough time to get a quick shower and meet in the lounge for another science talk. This evening's presenter was Doug Quin, our resident soundscape artist.

He had the most unusual presentation. It was an experience in acoustical ecology. Doug instructed the audience to "get comfortable, and don't worry if you go to sleep." With the mood set, Doug read an eloquent account of his experiences while recording wild and wonderful sounds from the Amazon and Madagascar. What a wonderful evening. Everyone was drawn into his sound web. We could have

easily been in the rainforest instead of Antarctica. Doug's work as an soundscape artist has given him the best of both worlds. It nicely partners his love for music and science.

It is getting late and I am on my way out to the hut to sleep. Hut? That is right! Check with me tomorrow for details...good night!

Mimi

After diet samples are taken from the penguins, the nonmeasurable pieces of krill are fed to the skuas.

These penguin chicks are seen in varying stages of molting.

Doug Quin on Cormorant island,listening. Photo by Steve Dunbar.