29th December - At Sea en route to Deception Island.
Time 06.30, 54 degrees 41.55' South, 65 degrees 25.44' West, cloudy at first clearing to bright sunshine and some fog later, water temperature 6.4oC, air temperature 9oC, wind South force 3, Sunrise 4.32 am, Sunset 10.41pm.
Had a good days seawatching with plenty of birds and four species of whales. A lot of the activity was near the Antarctic convergence line.
Time 06.30, 54 degrees 41.55' South, 65 degrees 25.44' West, cloudy at first clearing to bright sunshine and some fog later, water temperature 6.4oC, air temperature 9oC, wind South force 3, Sunrise 4.32 am, Sunset 10.41pm.
Had a good days seawatching with plenty of birds and four species of whales. A lot of the activity was near the Antarctic convergence line.
Sarah Clarke, Marco Polo Expedition Marine Biologist.
I asked our expedition Marine Biologist, Sarah Clarke, who come from Galway in Ireland to explain what exactly was the Antarctic Convergence Line. This is what she told me. -
"The Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) encircles the Antarctic continent and is the largest current found in the worlds oceans. The Antarctic Convergence or Polar Front is the most important feature of the ACC. It usually lies between the latitudes 40 S and 60 S. The front is formed when the colder more saline water of the Antarctic sinks below the warmer waters to the north.
There is generally a 2-3 oC temperature difference across the convergence (in red in the graph above). The convergence forms a thermal barrier to marine fauna found in the water column, resulting in certain species being unique to Antarctic waters (i.e. zooplankton and some coastal and shallow water fish species).
In calm weather conditions the frontal zone is usually visible by a low-lying cloud bank on the surface of the ocean. We crossed the Antarctic convergence, heading south, between 2pm and 4pm today." Thanks Sarah!
During the rest of the season I will be asking other members of the expedition team to be guest bloggers and share their knowledge of all things antarctic. The pupils of St. Mary's National School in Cobh will be glad to know Kenny is having a great time and is becoming a bit of an expert on albatrosses.
There is generally a 2-3 oC temperature difference across the convergence (in red in the graph above). The convergence forms a thermal barrier to marine fauna found in the water column, resulting in certain species being unique to Antarctic waters (i.e. zooplankton and some coastal and shallow water fish species).
In calm weather conditions the frontal zone is usually visible by a low-lying cloud bank on the surface of the ocean. We crossed the Antarctic convergence, heading south, between 2pm and 4pm today." Thanks Sarah!
During the rest of the season I will be asking other members of the expedition team to be guest bloggers and share their knowledge of all things antarctic. The pupils of St. Mary's National School in Cobh will be glad to know Kenny is having a great time and is becoming a bit of an expert on albatrosses.
Kenny getting to grips with the identification challenges of Albatross identification before going to sleep in his cabin.
Tomorrow we cruise in the caldera (flooded volcano) called Deception Island and then show passengers around Cuverville ISland in Zodiacs in the afternoon. We will be passing through the best whale watching waters in the area so fingers crossed for a fine day. Bye for now.
Time 22:15, 61 degrees 10.31 South, 62 degrees 52.07' West, overcast, Water temperature 1.2oC, Air Temperature 60C, wind East force 5
Cruise Species List - Saturday 29th December 2007
Wildlife Seen on the Drake Passage en route south to Deception Island
Tomorrow we cruise in the caldera (flooded volcano) called Deception Island and then show passengers around Cuverville ISland in Zodiacs in the afternoon. We will be passing through the best whale watching waters in the area so fingers crossed for a fine day. Bye for now.
Time 22:15, 61 degrees 10.31 South, 62 degrees 52.07' West, overcast, Water temperature 1.2oC, Air Temperature 60C, wind East force 5
Cruise Species List - Saturday 29th December 2007
Wildlife Seen on the Drake Passage en route south to Deception Island
Mammals
Sei Whale 3+
Fin Whale 3+
Southern Bottlenose Whale 1
Orca (Killer Whale) 1 male
Sperm Whale 1
Unidentified whale 3
Birds
Wandering Albatross 2+
Royal Albatross 4+
Southern Giant Petrel 10+
Unidentified Giant Petrel 5+
Grey-headed Albatross 2
Black-browed Albatross 15+
Cape Petrel 30+
Prions 1,000+ (99% Antarctic, 1% Thin-billed Prion)
Blue Petrel 400+ (mainly around the convergence line)
White-chinned Petrel 5+
Wilson’s Storm Petrel 20+
Black-bellied Storm Petrel 1
Unidentified Penguin Species 25+ (near the convergence line)
Brown Skua 2
Note: A + sign after the counts indicates that we saw at least that number but more may have been present.
