Information
Comments
The wind got up almost exactly on the shift changeover at midnight last night. The sidescan sonar was deployed at the time - this tool creates an image of the major features on the seabed in a wide path either side of the ships track, such as old scour marks caused by the keels of passing icebergs as they rip up the bottom. The underwater video camera is showing that the sides of these scours are an important habitat for filter-feeding animals living on the sea-bed. After the sonar was recovered in the early hours, the wind and sea state were too strong to safely continue sampling and since then the ship has been travelling gently with the weather to limit the motion as much as possible. The wind is caused by a low pressure system to the north of us and is likely to pass in the next 12 hours or so. Sampling will resume when the sea settles down to the point that working can continue safely on the trawl deck. Meanwhile people are catching up with the various tasks that were neglected during the busy period of sample collection and processing. I understand that more information on the voyage is being posted to the internet at the Census of Antarctic Marine Life web site at www.caml.aq/voyages - feedback on the content would be appreciated as we do not have web access on the ship. Regards, Martin and Sarah.
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.