Tuesday, January 2, 2024
This morning, after showering, I grabbed a cup of coffee and blogged awhile in the Living Room with a view. Then, back in our stateroom, Jane and I put on warm clothing and headed to Deck 7 mid-ship where an outdoor party was assembling to observe the release of a weather balloon. While waiting for the balloon to be inflated with helium, we were served hot coffee laced with liquor. The weather crew brought the four-foot diameter balloon with a tethered sensor unit to the launching area, and at the end of a countdown, released it to great cheers from the audience. It rose rapidly. Soon, the crowd dispersed and we headed to Expedition Central on Deck 2 to watch the data accumulate as the balloon rose. As expected the atmospheric pressure line steadily decreased with altitude. (The volume of the balloon increased in response until it was about 27 ft. in diameter and burst.) The temperature also decreased until the balloon passed through the tropopause and entered the stratosphere were the temperature began increasing. The humidity varied with altitude depending on cloud layers but after passing the tropopause, steadily decreased until it was close to zero at the end of our balloon’s journey. We also were taught how twice daily balloon releases around the globe (at 0 and 12 UTC) provide the data for meteorological forecast programs.
Shortly, after our meteorology workshop, an announcement was made that the Polaris was surrounded by feeding humpback whales and the captain had paused the ship for us to observe. Sure enough, we could see whales in every direction. Passengers grabbed their cameras and phones and went outside to observe. The humpbacks were practicing a rarely seen feeding activity called bubble netting. A group of 4 to 7 of them would form a circle then dive and herd krill into a concentrated area. One whale would then go lower and emit bubbles from its blow hole that would carry the krill to the surface where the pod would dive through the food filling their mouths and straining the krill via their baleen plates. This attracted sea birds that came to take advantage of the excess food. We observed this process over and over again from numerous pods completely surrounding the ship. We were told that humpback bubble net fishing started in Alaska decades ago and the process had gradually spread around the globe but had only been reported recently in Antartica (twice). Here, we were watching about 30 humpbacks ravenously bubble net feeding. What a unique experience! Eventually, the captain, who we learned was also excited about this whale feeding frenzy, began to slowly ease the Polaris forward and we bade farewell to our whale friends. Later in the day and voyage, fellow passengers were submitting humpback tail pictures via the Happy Whale app. They could request future updates on the position of the whales they submitted and, if the tail was a new submission, they were given the right to name the whale (providing they made a $500 donation).
After lunch, we donned our swim suits and headed to the tepidarium pool! There’s a small heated pool on Polaris that you enter inside and then swim under a glass window to enjoy the outdoor view. And outside, there is a small cold pool to the left (frigidarium) and hot pool to the right (thermadorium) on either side accessible via ladders. After enjoying the icy views from the warm pool, I went back to the room and napped while Jane went to the spa to enjoy some more hot/cold aquatic activities.
 |
| Indoor / Outoor Heated Pool |
Later in the afternoon, we again donned our outdoor gear and headed to Deck A to board a Zodiac. The Polaris was parked offshore of Portal Point, a narrow, rocky beach on the northeast of Reclus Peninsula off Graham Land. This would be a true continental landing as opposed to our previous island landing. Following the usual routine, waiting in line, checking in with the room card, waiting in a holding area, and walking through a boot wash, we boarded our Zodiac. The skies were dark and cloudy as we bounced along for about 20 minutes from the Polaris to the Portal Point landing. We disembarked on a rocky beach and could walk around a marked path up a ridge and around two circular routes. Here, we observed Weddell seals lounging around, brown skuas, and spectacular views of our icy surrounding. Snow began falling during our hike. We could also observed the foundation of a small building that had been used in the 1950s by a British expedition attempting to cross the peninsula.
After returning to the ship, changing into dry clothes and having dinner with Ray and Nina, we headed to the Aula, for an evening presentation about research stations in Antartica before retiring to our stateroom.
 |
| Our Evening Lecture |
.jpeg)
