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We are all shocked to hear of the extent of the floods in Queensland and our thoughts are with those affected and their friends and families. The contrast between flooding rains and storms in Australia and our weather here over the last few days could hardly be greater. Most of yesterday we experienced clear skies and winds of less than 5 knots. The clear skies gave us a peek at an aurora last night, perhaps the last one we will see before we reach the latitudes of 24 hour daylight. The work continues to go well. One of the tools we use to measure ocean currents is sound. The ADCP (which stands for acoustic Doppler current profiler) sends out a sound pulse and measures the signal reflected from particles in the water that scatter sound. From the change in frequency of the reflected pulse, we can deduce the speed at which the currents are carrying particles. The ADCP confirms that we crossed a particularly strong current jet in the last day or so, with peak speeds greater than 2 knots. Now we are just crossing a submarine mountain range known as the Southeast Indian Ridge, and the currents are starting to weaken again on this side of the ridge.
REGARDS: Steve, Fred and Penny
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.