Wednesday, January 20, 2010

January 20: Visitors

We woke up to find two ships in the neighborhood, one from the Chilean navy and a cruise ship. Later another cruise ship showed up. Then there was an airplane (see picture): a Chilean P3. Quite a busy place. I suppose we are not the only ones who think that this is a nice place. The weather is essentially unchanged. It's not bad, but we have solid low cloud cover that prevents any flying into the mountains. Some of the geologists were dropped off on small islands to look for evidence of land rebound: As the glaciers retreat the reduced weight of the ice causes the land to rise. They are also collecting erratic rocks that are then dated to find the time of
deglaciation.

In the meantime a program of marine measurements and coring continues. Last night a ROV (remotely operated vehicle) was in the water for five hours taking video of all the critters that live on the ocean floor. It is full of little fish, krill, octopus, squid and other things. No wonder the whales and penguins like it here.

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