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On passage conducting marine science. Clocks were advanced overnight and the Ship time is now UTC+10, Hobart is on UTC+11. This afternoon we find ourselves under overcast conditions once more, this morning the sunrise was spectacular as gaps in the clouds allowed the sunshine to create large columns above the water surface. Initially it was thought that this could be an occurrence of "crepuscular rays", but this was discounted with reference to the Marine Weather Observers Handbook. In fact we were observing a common event referred to as "the sun drawing water." We are currently making good speed towards the site of CTD Station 7 and expect to be ready to commence the CTD at 0830 tomorrow as programmed. Last night the ship passed within approximately 30nm of the South Magnetic Pole, which is on the move at a rate of about 8nm per annum in a north westerly direction. It is interesting to note that it is only in the last decade that this pole was pinpointed exactly by magnetometer. Apparently this was by an Australian leading a private expedition aboard the vessel SIR HUBERT WILKINS. Another fact is that there is in fact two north magnetic poles. Thanks to the 8-12 watch for the interesting trivia. On the wildlife front, a busy day was had on the bridge yesterday with a multitude of whale sightings. The second Orca sighting of the voyage was made when a pod of about 10 of them appeared on our port beam and transited astern of the ship. Later on we had the pleasure of watching some humpbacks breeching and putting on a show for us as we passed. Today has been a bit light on, with only a visit by a Giant Petrel to add to our omnipresent Antarctic Mutton bird colleagues. Marine science continues unabated. For those interested in acronyms XBT stands for eXpendable Bathy Thermograph and is used to measure sea temperature at a variety of depths. This probe is shot off the starboard side of the ship down aft and towed for a few minutes to collect data. Our 10,000 guests in Lab 4 (KBC) are doing well and looking forward to joining there team mates in the AAD's Krill Aquarium upon our arrival. The Krill Aquarium is managed and operated under the auspices of the Australian Antarctic program's Southern Ocean Ecosystems science program. For those that are interested, the AAD has a camera installed in the Aquarium that provides footage of the krill in action. This is accessible via the AAD website at www.aad.gov.au. The last emergency muster drill was conducted this morning, while the crew undertook a fire fighting exercise in the tween deck. With this under our belts its finally starting to feel like we are on our way home. Regards Rob, Aaron and Mick.
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.