Information
Comments
We are now working within 2 Nm mile of the continent and are the closest we will be to land during the voyage. There is a small outcrop of rock visible directly to the south of us but apart from that the land is entirely covered with ice for as far as we can see. With a depth of just 180 m this is also one of the shallowest sites we will be sampling. The crushed rocks that came up in the last samples are evidence that the seabed at these depths is frequently disturbed by the keels of passing ice-bergs. From here we will head due east to within a mile of the 80 mile long Mertz Glacier. This next site will be the deepest so far at about 1200 m. There we will be sampling sea-bed that was covered by the Mertz during previous ice-ages when it extended out across the continental shelf. Trawling, coring and CTD water sampling continues. 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.