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Today saw two of the science projects of the voyage conducted. Four ARGO floats were deployed between the afternoon and the early hours of the morning. These robotic floats maintain their buoyancy by pumping small amounts of fluids from inside the float to an external bladder altering their buoyancy and allowing them to descend to up to 2km depth for 9 days then rise to the surface. They measure the temperature and salinity of the ocean profile and transmit data via the iridium network, before descending once again. These units have been designed for areas with sea ice and will stay below the surface if ice is detected above them. An array of ARGO floats are deployed all over the world’s oceans and are funded by 22 countries and the European Union.
Many people were also up through the night to locate and retrieve a mooring deployed last season. This has been collecting cetacean recordings (whale songs) from near the ocean floor at 2km depth, to study the whales using the region. Despite concerns about the amount of sea ice we were travelling through during the day, getting thicker only hours earlier, the actual location was clear of ice, the weather conditions were sensational and the release and retrieval went well and faster than expected!
The conditions were bright and sunny for our emergency muster drill on the heli deck this morning. Those who thought that now they were dressed may as well stay outside and test their newly issued sunscreen, were soon disappointed to be surrounded by fog! The cloudy conditions are however allowing the crew to find the ‘water sky’ (darker clouds above water compared to clouds above sea ice) and follow the open water leads on our last stretch into Casey.
Quote of the Day: “There are two big uncertainties here – the biggest being my maths”
REGARDS: Sharon, Fred and Kerry
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.