Antarctic Seals

There are 35 different species of seals. However, only six types live in Antarctica. "The Antarctic seals belong to the group of marine mammals called Pinnipeds (fin-footed). This includes the Phocidae (true seals), Otariidae (fur seals and sea lions, or eared seals), and Odobenidae (walruses). In Antarctica, there is one eared seal - the Antarctic fur seal - and five true seals: southern elephant, Weddell, leopard, crabeater and Ross.
All seals are carnivorous, and except for the fact that their feet are flipper-like to accommodate an aquatic life style, they are very similar to the Carnivore order, which includes the cats, dogs, otters, bears, etc.

Many species of seals, including some of those found in Antarctica, migrate long distances during different seasons of the year. They gather on and around the pack ice and shorelines during summer months in order to breed. The females only give birth to one young. Because other seals disperse after the short breeding season, mating must take place soon after the females give birth.

The mothers' milk contains about 45% fat and 10% protein (compared to 4% and 2% respectively in cow's milk), and the seal pups grow very quickly. Most species are weaned in about two months. The males have little or nothing to do with the raising of their offspring.

While the fur seal and the true seal are fairly closely related, there are some important differences. Fur seals have external ears, their hind feet can be positioned beneath the body in order to walk or hop on land. By contrast, the true seal has no external ears, their hind limbs extend straight back in line with the body. Of all the differences, however, the most important is the composition of the fur. The fur seals are aptly named for their dense, luxurious coats. Their fur consists of two different types of hairs, guard hairs and under-fur, which are arranged in bundles. Each long guard hair is surrounded by up to 70 short under-fur hairs, which gives the animal a highly efficient protective layer of insulation against low temperatures. It also gives it a pelt which was once highly valued by people. True seals, rely primarily on a thick layer of subcutaneous oil-rich fat or blubber, to insulate their bodies from the intense cold. Their fur is not nearly so thick or luxurious.

SOUTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL

The southern elephant seal has a large circumpolar range which includes not only the Antarctic mainland and islands, but most of the subantarctic islands as well. This is the largest species of seal in the world, surpassing even the walrus in size. The males grow to 20 feet in length and can weigh as much as 4 tons. Females, though large, are much smaller than the males and grow to about 12 feet in length and 1 ton.

WEDDELL SEAL

This is the most southerly of the seals - and indeed the most southerly of all mammals - breeding as far sough as 78 degrees South. It is almost always found within sight of land in both summer and winter. The species was not discovered until 1823 when Captain James Weddell captured six specimens during his voyage to the South Pole.

CRABEATER SEAL

This is the most abundant seal in the world, totalling somewhere between 30 and 70 million. The adults of both genders are about the same size, growing to 9 feet in length with a weight of 500 pounds. It is quite common to see adults with prominent scars on their flanks or bellies caused by encounters with leopard seals, or perhaps killer whales. It has a pointed , rather dog-like snout and is often encountered resting on pack ice or ice floes.

LEOPARD SEAL

As its name suggests, this seal is a predator. It is the only Antarctic seal which regularly eats warm-blooded prey. A portion of its diet consists of penguins, but it also eats fish, krill, and even the young of other seals. The leopard seal has none of the cute appeal of the other seals, but despite it ferocious reputation there have been very few cases of unprovoked attacks upon humans. They are solitary animals and it is rare to see more than one individual in a given area. Leopard seals chase and catch penguins with great speed, often vigorously shaking their prey to break it into smaller pieces before swallowing it.

While our expedition was in Paradise Harbor, we had two curious leopard seals following our zodiac boats to and from shore, often coming a few feet from the side.

ROSS SEAL

The Ross seal is probably the least known of all the pinnipeds. It is a solitary animal and is quite rarely seen as it inhabits the thick pack ice along the fringes of the Antarctic continent. The Ross seal has very large and well developed flippers compared with other seals. The incisor and canine teeth are delicate, sharp, and re-curved for catching squid, its main source of food. It is very vocal, and one of its alternative names is 'singing seal.' Very little is known of its breeding habits. (Antarctic Primer pg 76-85)

Icebergs

I'm hoping that I still have students and teachers that are following the blog as I share out some of the educational postings. Today, I'm going to focus on Ice. Believe me, in Antarctica there is plenty of ice in all shapes and sizes. I use this picture from Wikipedia to demonstrate how much larger an iceberg is below the surface of the ocean.

Occasionally, huge pieces of floating shelf ice break loose and drift away in the currents. These pieces of ice are called Tabular Bergs or Tabular Icebergs, and can be enormous, perhaps hundreds of square kilometers in surface area, and may drift for years before melting or becoming grounded. These are not to be confused with regular icebergs, which break off from glaciers that reach the sea. Not all Antarctic icebergs are of such huge proportions. Some are much smaller, for icebergs are simply pieces of ice, large or small which have broken (calved) off the ice sheet, ice shelves, or glaciers, and float in the sea. By definition, however, an iceberg is suppose to measure more than 100 square meters (1,100 square feet) in area, and stand more than five meters (16 feet) above the surface.

Indications of an iceberg's history can be gleaned by observing its color (which depends on age, density and air content of the ice), or dark bands that reveal the presence of glacial moraines or volcanic ash, or its general shape and sculpturing. Sometimes horizontal or oblique water-lines at different levels show where the iceberg has melted and then tilted as it adjusts its center of gravity (AP pg. 32,33).

Most of the information I could find, including a presentation that was given to us the night before heading into Iceberg Alley, classifies icebergs into roughly seven categories.

1. Tabular - These are large with flat top resembling a huge tablet. Have usually broken away from ice sheets or an ice shelf

2. Non-Tabular - Often referred to all icebergs that are not tabular

3. Blocky - Flat topped and block shaped with steep sides

4. Dome - Rounded in the middle while tapering to the edges

5. Wedge - Top narrows to a pyramid point

6. Drydock - An iceberg eroding to the point that it forms and enclosure much like a harbor. Thus the name "drydock"

7. Pinnacle - Having one or spires, often resembling a castle.

Other terms used to classify ice at Antarctica:

1. Anchor ice - Submerged ice that is attached to the sea bed

2. Glacier - A mass of snow and/or ice moving from higher to lower ground. Sometimes a glacier can float out onto the sea

3. Pancake ice - a form of ice that consists of round pieces of ice with diameters ranging from a few inches to many feet in diameter

See if you can pick out and identify the different types of icebergs!

Antarctic Eco Tourism

A friend sent me this news article which is an interesting policy move from President Obama so early in his tenure.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/first100days/2009/04/05/obama-calls-limits-tourism-antarctica/

The Southern Ocean

There is a tremendous amount of information that has written about Antarctica for those wanting to do some heavy reading. Much of the information I will be sharing is from a few different sources including my personal experience, pictures from our expedition, personal research on specific subject matters and the Antarctic Primer provided to each member of the expedition.

"The Southern Ocean consists of a broad band of generally turbulent water surrounding the continent of Antarctica. The northern limit of this ocean is at about 40 degrees South latitude. Westerly winds and the associated West Wind Drift, or Antarctic Circumpolar Current, are outstanding features of the Southern Ocean. They cause massive amounts of water to move constantly from west to east all around Antarctica. This involves water from the surface down to about 3,000 meters (9,900 feet) stretching over a distance of some 24,000 kilometers (14,200 miles).

It has been estimated that on average some 130 million cubic meters of water per second are continuously on the move, four times that of the Gulf Stream, and 400 times that of the Mississippi.

A ship sailing south to Antarctica will encounter a sharp drop in temperature between 49 degrees and 55 degrees South latitude. At that point one can usually detect subtle changes in both the ocean and the atmosphere. If the weather is calm there may be a sudden fog bank, a line of turbulence, and/or concentrations of feeding seabirds. This delineates the Antarctic Convergence, a zone that surrounds the continent." (AP pg.15)

On the expedition, it was communicated when we were heading into the Antarctic Convergence. We experienced a definite drop in temperature and associated fog which can be associated with a change in atmospheric conditions.

A few of us commented on the change we could see and feel regarding the changes in the atmospheric pressure and climate change. I commented in an earlier blog on how the foggy conditions also contributed to the mystic that surrounds Antarctica.

Obviously, one of the dangers of the Southern Ocean are the large icebergs.

ANTARCTICA

My first educational posting will focus on the continent of Antarctica and King George Island of the South Shetland Island chain. Our expedition, departed Ushuaia, Argentina and we traveled by ship through the Drake Passage for 2.5 days. The Drake Passage is considered some of the most dangerous waters to navigate in the world. If you view my postings on the Drake you will understand why.

Our first stop was on King George Island, 684 Nautical miles away from the southern tip of South America. It is located at 62˚23’S 58˚27W between the Drake passage on one side and Bransfield Strait on the other. In 1819, the island was named by British explorer William Smith in honor of King George.


We observed both chinstrap and Gentoo penguins playing on the shore as we landed. Many penguins had migrated north in preparation for the winter months.

King George Island is the largest of the South Shetland Islands off the coast of the Antarctic peninsula. The surface of the island is made up of volcanic rock and 90 percent is covered in Glacier. Since first claimed by Britain, Chile and Argentina have both laid claims to the island. Most countries do not recognize Chile and Argentina's claim and reserve the right to make claims throughout Antarctica.

Many countries have laid claim and established bases on King George Island. This is due to better weather conditions, convenient airstrip accessibility and waters that do not freeze during the winter months.

The famous Russian base of Bellingshausen Station was where we landed our zodiac boats. The base is fairly large and is manned by roughly 22 people throughout the year. While there, we met the only female at the Russian base who was filming a documentary of life at the station. She had planned to be there for an entire year. At Bellingshausen Station, the Russians have also established what is considered one of the southernmost Church's in the world. The Russian Orthodox Trinity Church which was brought piece by piece from Russia.

Other countries who have established bases on King George Island are: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China (the base is call the Great Wall and the Chinese members of our expedition were allowed to visit), South Korea, Peru, Poland and Uruguay.

Robert Swan's 2041 organization was the first independent group to establish a private ebase (e-learning) on King George Island. In 2009, this base went live 365 days a year through the use of renewable energy.

By definition (Heritage Dictionary) "Antarctica is a continent lying chiefly within the Antarctic Circle and asymmetrically centered on the South Pole. Some 95 percent of Antarctica is covered by an icecap averaging 1.6 km or 1 mile in thickness. The region was first explored in the early 1800s, and although there are no permanent settlements, many countries have made territorial claims. The Antarctic Treaty of 1959, signed by 12 nations, prohibited military operations on the continent and provided for the interchange of scientific data. "

According to Wikipedia, "Antarctica is the Earth's southern most continent, overlying the South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctica region of the southern hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. It is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America and South America.

Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. The coldest natural temperature ever recorded on Earth was -89 degrees Celsius or -128 degrees Fahrenheit at the Russian Vostok Station in Antarctica on 21, July 1983. For comparison, this is 11 degrees colder than subliming dry ice. Antarctica is a frozen desert with little precipitation; the South Pole itself receives less than 10 centimeters or 4 inches per year, on average. Eastern Antarctica is colder than its western counterpart because of its higher elevation. Weather fronts rarely penetrate far into the continent, leaving the center cold and dry."

One of the key differences between the Arctic and Antarctic, is that Antarctica is a continent. It is made of 5.4 million miles and is covered by an icecap. The Arctic is not a continent, but a floating icecap. In the winter months, Antarctica swells to 10.2 million square miles.

Check back soon for another educational posting!

Educational Learnings

Thus far this blog has been dedicated to the experiences I have had on my expedition to Antarctica. These next few postings are going to be dedicated to educational learning's with pictures I captured.

1. What is the difference between the Arctic and Antarctic?
2. Icebergs - how are they made? Are there more than one kind? Where do they go?
3. What whales did we see? How do they feed? How do you tell them apart?
4. Penguins -Boy, did we see penguins. What types? Who are their predators? Do they stay on the ice?
5. Seals-What types and food source?
6. Who owns Antarctica?
7. More, more, more

These postings should be educational to all, but I want to make sure all the students have some of their science, wildlife and geography questions answered. I'm not an expert, but I learned quite a bit on this expedition and I want to share this knowledge with the students. The list above is not a comprehensive list, so if there is something specific you would like to know or understand, please send me your question through the comment section.

Cape Horn, Beagle Channel and our return to Ushuaia

It is 12:30 am and I write this as we make our way up the Beagle channel to Ushuaia, Argentina. Earlier today, we passed Cape Horn, the southernmost point of the Americas. This formation is part of the country of Chile, so we can only come within twelve miles because our ship did not register to go within Chilean waters. You should be able to see the Horn in the background.

Cape Horn was encompassed with clouds which gave it an ominous feel. This is a significant navigation point on the map that sailors throughout the centuries have highlighted. It was almost a sign for them that they had passed the oceanic right of passage through the southern ocean on their way to the Atlantic. It is now something I have in common with a select group of ocean fairing people. This is a pretty select bond with these people when you think about it.

The Drake Passage had rough waters for the entire passage. When we were not rocking from bow to stern then it was port to starboard. People were running into the walls of the ship or often times into each other. Now that we are in the Beagle Channel it is very calm. In about half an hour, a pilot boat will guide us the rest of the way into port at Ushuaia. My bunk mate Sean Hannaby and I have our bags packed. The members of our expedition will have a 6:00 am wake-up call. Breakfast will be at 7:00 am and I will disembark with all those expedition members who need to make it to the Ushuaia airport for early flights.

At 5:15 I looked out the porthole window of our cabin and tried to decide whether to brave the cold morning and wind one more time. Going out on deck to capture one more picture, one more experience that I could relate when I arrived home. For a moment, I decided to get back in bed and try to get a few more minutes of sleep. It was going to be a long couple of days flight to get back home. Then I remembered the commitment to myself of getting as much out of this opportunity as possible. I put on my clothes and coat and made the final walk to the top deck. I walked out into the cold wind and watched as the sailors brought us into dock. Watching as sailors pulled the massive ropes to shore that would hold the ship in place. There I reflected on the past few weeks. Everything I had seen, heard and said and tried to develop a mental message to share on my return. As I stood in thought, a shorter figure dressed in black walked up. Robert Swan said, "good morning mate" with that British accent. I asked how he was doing and he responded saying, "Good, this is my time. It is the time I can relax knowing that everyone has returned from the expedition safely." We chatted about the expedition for a moment before he dismissed himself to make final preparations to disembark.

This will be a sad goodbye as we each depart for our small corner of the globe. This expedition has developed some good relationships. We have been able to share a part of the world relatively few have experienced or seen close up. However, I know I will be able to call or send an email to Sean, Jens, Parker or a number of other expedition members and get a laugh or a reflective moment from our expedition memories to Antarctica.

I’m very excited to get home. I have been away from my family and friends for too long and it will be fun catching up. I miss my wife and children. In fifteen years of marriage, I have never done anything like this for myself. My energies have been invested into raising my family and building my career. As I sit and reflect on this expedition, a few things come to mind. I had dreamed of going to Antarctica and having a life changing experience like this expedition, but was never sure if it would happen. I’ve previously mentioned that it is part of my personality to try new things, find new adventures. But there is emptiness when you can’t share it simultaneously with those you love the most. It is great to finally reach that distant goal I set for myself, but it would have tasted better if my wife was there to experience it with me. I will bring home the pictures and rave about Antarctica and how we need to do all we can to preserve it as a global wilderness area, but in the end, I feel the experience may fall short.

Our Return through the Drake

We left for the Drake Passage a little earlier than planned based on a weather report that was less than promising. The captain of our ship wanted to try and get out in front of the storm. I don’t know for sure how much this helped, because we were in rough waters for the entire return through the Drake.

It is difficult to explain how the ship was being tossed about, so I’m going to include a few pictures to provide perspective. The first is a picture of me sitting in front of the bow of the ship at the pier. The others will be pictures of waves cutting over the bow. So everyone understands, we were not allowed on the open deck to take pictures for the most violent parts of the storm. Even the bridge was off limits. This is an enclosed area where the captain and navigators manage the actions of the ship. The captain would often allow expedition members access to observe what was happening on the horizon.

As we "Drake proofed" ourselves and cabins and ourselves, I took a chance and did not take any Dramamine or other prescribed motion sickness medicine. It seemed as if most others had a skin colored patch (a prescription based motion sickness drug that lasts about three days) behind their ear as a bit of insurance. Dr. Ludwig (our family doctor) had provided this type of prescription and I made the purchase at my Albertsons pharmacy, but I didn’t want to use it. I’m sure some will criticize and question, others who have been on the ocean might think it was very stupid decision, but I wanted the full experience of going through the Drake Passage, come what may…bring it on.The feeling of being tossed around on a ship during a storm is quite exciting. However, I would say that about three quarters of the expedition team came down with seasickness. About half of those were throwing-up. Most of the team did not come to dinner that first night in the Drake, including Sean (My cabin and expedition partner) because they were a bit queasy. One member of the team thought it would be a good idea to get something in his stomach, hopefully to settle it a bit. Not a good idea. The smell of food when you are seasick only exacerbates the nausea. I saw him try to get out of the galley, but it was too late and all for nothing. He ended up vomiting in front of his team’s table (the few who had made it). Their facial expressions were priceless. I thought they were all going to run to the bathroom and start upchucking. This may sound a bit demented, but I actually think Robert Swan got a kick out of the fact that we were to encountering the Passage’s true personality….helped to solidify the experience for the team :)

We were in gale force winds and the waves were huge. How I would explain to adult and children, imagine/visualize being at Disneyland or another entertainment park on one of those zero gravity rides. The “re-entry,” “launching pad” or whatever they are called. However, there are multiple movements instead of two and it lasts for over two days. Like I mentioned, there are multiple movements (back and forth, up and down, side to side, all of them together). The first is when the ship rocks bow to aft (front to back). The second is port to starboard (left to right, sometimes referred to as a Dutch Roll). In the first, one moment, the ship is plunges in a downward forced motion. Like having the side walk drop out from underneath you in the dark…you don’t see it coming. The next, almost immediate, motion has is the whole ship being propelled upward until you are weightless and your body and ship hits zero G-force and is light as a feather. I found the Dutch Roll or second to be more uncomfortable and usually disruptive. This is the one that has the tendency to knock you out of bed or throw you against the walls when walking to some other part of the ship….It is quite the ride.

Enjoy the pictures.

Niko and Paradise Harbors - March 23, 2009

Well everyone, this will be the final blog I can get out before we head for the Drake Passage on our return voyage. In some ways, I find it a little sad because I'm sure there is so much more to see and experience. This is adventure has been incredible, but now I look forward to returning home and sharing my thoughts, experiences, photos and videos with my family and others. The photos and video will not fully communicate what I have seen.

In some ways, I feel it may minimize the experience. Regardless, I look forward to speaking to students about what it is like in Antarctica and encourage them to find and learn from their own experiences.

We were hoping for some spectacular weather these final two days instead of the snow, wind and cold. Today, the last half of the day was sunny, cold and windy. That may sound funny, but the snow makes you wet and weighs down your gear.

We entered Niko Harbor this morning. It is a beautiful harbor and was shielded somewhat from the elements. For some reason, it is also one of the more active areas for the glacier breaks. This is when large sections of glacier facture and fall off into the ocean creating a large tidal wave.

This magnificent event occurred a number of times while we were hiking up one of the more safe glaciers. One moment it was quite and then you hear a loud cracking sound, then a thunderous explosion. A wall of ice then crumbles into the ocean. The Antarctic has so many dimensions to her. From weather that seems to change from moment to moment, to the magnificent beauty of her black mountains scraping the assure sky, covered with glaciers of blue crystals almost as tall as the mountains them self. Then there is the clean blue ocean and wildlife that is usually seen only in documentaries.

On this day while we were out, we came across a humpback whale feeding on creel about 25 yards from out zodiac boat. We then caught some movement by one of the icebergs and found a curious leopard seal that was as interested in us as we were in him. As we were watching the leopard seal, a Minky whale surfaced no more than 10 feet from us.
Since we were short on time, we then moved to Brown Base, which an Argentinean Antarctic base. As we went ashore, two more leopard seals were
keeping eye on our movements. We are now on the ship heading down the
Gerlache Strait. We will make one more stop before heading to the Drake Passage.
I have often wondered as I have been blogging, if anyone has been reading or following this expedition. If you have, I hope you have found some value.
Take some time and leave me your thoughts and how the blog has made you
feel. This Antarctic expedition is not the only thing that has been new to
me. Keeping a blog and sharing my daily adventures is new for me also. If nothing else, it has acted as a great journal for this period of time in my
life. It is a form memory documentation and personal expression. I will
look back and draw on the mental video and snapshots this wilderness has provided me. In some way, I hope it has sparked a desire for some of you to look for your own adventure or expedition.

Base Camp - March 22, 2009

Today has been a long day. We got up fairly early and have kept moving. The weather is so unpredictable. The day started out beautiful and then turned to snow wind and cold. We were able to get a picture of the HP banner early in the morning and I'm attaching it to this blog. Wanted to let the team know they are great and hope Conversion, AOS and RPC is high on my return. Even though it was snowing, we jumped into the zodiac boats and traveled to an island that has the largest penguin colony in the area. Penguins were everywhere. You could hardly step off the boat without having 10 curious penguins waddling over to check you out. The area also stunk to high heaven because of all the penguin poo. On the island, our video specialist captured film of me sitting (yes, poo and all) and using my HP notebook and mobile digital picture frame. I'm sure we will see a jump in sales. I'm attaching a picture of one of the leopard seals. We have some awesome video of one of them catching a penguin. It is a bit graphic, so I'm sure it is not something everyone will want to watch. We spent about three and a half hours on the island and by the time we jumped back into the zodiacs, we were completely soaked. We are now in a snow storm..did I say the weather is unpredictable here?