Information
Comments
We are currently on way point 0402 just short of 64 degrees South and 3600 metres of water. Overnight, we transited southwards off the Gribb Bank back into the deeper water of the Princess Elizabeth trough and we are currently doing a CTD in 3600 metres of water.
We caught a strange looking creature overnight in the nets. It’s the colour of a goldfish, slightly larger than a golf ball and looks like an overgrown ladybird with all the black bits removed. It’s been identified as an Amphipod but of uncertain species. It’s deemed to be rather large for that genus and has been provisionally dubbed Amphipod gigantor.
As we get closer to the ice edge, we have picked up a couple of large swarms of krill on the echo-sounders. At least, we thought they were krill and we unintentionally confirmed it with a MIDOC trawl which came up with a massive load of krill this morning. As if to emphasise the point, a number of humpback whales were seen shortly afterwards which is generally a sign that krill are about.
The wind has tantalisingly opened up the pack ice and the latest sea ice images look promising as we head closer to it. We are currently considering just how much we want to tangle with it.
Lloyd and Brett
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.