26 January, 2000

Some of the people I met while in McMurdo were working on the NOMAD robot. This robot searches the ice cap for meteorites that have fallen from space. Since the ice can be 15000 feet thick, rocks are well buried. There is a good chance that any rocks found on the surface of the ice are meteorites.

This Weddell seal lounging on the beach spent nearly 24 hours in the same place. On land they do not move around much. In the water, however, they are expert divers. Researchers using time depth recorders have found that they can swim to depths of 400 to 500 meters (1000 to 1300 ft.) where they hunt the Antarctic cod or Mawsoni. Weddells also feed on squid and crustaceans. While on a deep dive, they have been found to reduce their heart rate up to 75 % in order to conserve oxygen.