Arrived at Palmer Station

We arrived at Palmer station where the ship will remain for two days to offload some passengers and cargo. We took this opportunity to break out our skis and climbing gear and visit the local glacier, which consists only of a small icecap.

Palmer Station

A nice blue iceberg in the Neumayer Channel, near Palmer Station

Team 'Terrific' goes skiing ....

On the way to the Antarctic Peninsula

We are starting a new research program on the western Antarctic Peninsula, looking at the biological productivity in glacial fjords. It brings me back to a place we visited almost 6 years ago with spectacular scenery, lots of wildlife, and beautiful glaciers. But getting to the Peninsula means crossing the famous Drake Passage with its storms and big seas on an icebreaker. Luckily for us, the crossing turned out to be relatively calm, and we are now heading for Palmer Station to offload some gear and passengers. After that we'll be on the ship (the Laurence M Gould) for about a month doing mostly oceanography and putting out some timelapse cameras and weather stations.

Leaving Punta Arenas (Chile) with one day delay.

Our first snow storm

... and our first big ice bergs, just before it got dark.