Time-Lapse Tour of the Ship

The Palmer spent most of today on the move. We steamed 180 miles northeast of Ross Island to recover a glider for Dr. Walker Smith of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Then we turned toward Station 16 (see Jan 28 post), about 120 miles to our northwest. Along the way we are sampling the water and the mud on the seafloor. We sailed into thick gray clouds and a few snow squalls, but the winds were light and our passage was smooth.

Early in the morning, the ship’s computer specialist, Bill Jirsa, printed out an enormous version of the New York Times Sunday crossword puzzle and pinned it to the bulletin board. Throughout the day groups of scientists gathered in the corridor brainstorming answers. If anyone knows a tributary to the Ubangi that has four letters and starts with a ‘U’, please let us know.

With so much steaming time, Chris and I decided to take you on a tour of the ship. We’ve told you about most of the parts of the ship now, but to give you an idea of how they’re all connected, we made a time-lapse video. Watch closely and see what you can see:

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Follow us through the ship.

This is where we went:

1. We started in the Forward Dry Lab, where people work at computers. I’m putting my boots on.
2. From there we went into the Bio Lab, where we ran into Dr. Bob Sanders (see yesterday’s post).
3. Next was the cold room, where there’s a dissecting microscope.
4. Across the hall is the Aft Dry Lab, with a yellow glider on a work bench.
5. Next is the Baltic Room, with the CTD rosette (Jan 20 post).
6. From there we walked past the ‘Bubble’ (Jan 26 post). Dr. Phoebe Lam was inside.
7. Out on the main deck we looked into Dr. Measures’s trace-metal van (Jan 26 post).
8. We looked off the fantail and watched our wake.
9. Then we headed upstairs to the 01 deck.
10. We go through some narrow passageways and then stop in a bedroom with its two bunk beds.
11. We go up another flight of stairs to the 02 deck.
12. We walk along the port side to the bow and take a look around. Behind us, up high, is the bridge, where the captain and mates drive the ship. This is also where Dr. Josh Kohut sets up ‘Glider Base’ (Jan 21 post).
13. We turn and walk back along the starboard side, under a lifeboat, then cut across the ship to end up on the port side again.
14. We go up three more levels to the bridge and walk around the catwalk outside the bridge and over the water.
15. On the bridge, third mate Chris Peterson is at the window, and second mate Gary Talbot is writing notes in the logbook. They’re in charge of the bank of instruments and monitors that help them control the ship.
16. Next we go up three sets of ladders to get to the conning tower (Jan 29 post), where we have a bird’s eye view of the ship and the Ross Sea.
17. Then it’s down five flights of stairs, past some beautiful Antarctic photography hung on the walls, and into the galley, where it’s suppertime.
18. Scientists and crew are gathered here eating prime rib, vegetable risotto, and fresh-baked bread.
19. The people at the first table are Dr. Bob Sanders, Dr. Allen Milligan, Dan Ohnemus, Dr. Lam, Ana Filipa Carvalho, Dr. Josh Kohut, Dr. Rebecca Gast, and Eli Hunter.
20. Chris takes a pass down the food line and ends at possibly the most important part of the entire ship—the dessert counter
21. I’m eating a cinnamon roll.

Scavenger hunt

See if you can spot the answers to these questions:

• Did you see Dr. Josh Kohut working on his computer just as we started?
• Did you notice I put on an orange jacket before going out on the main deck? That’s a ‘float coat.’ It blocks wind and contains flotation like a life jacket, so it’s both warm and safe.
• Did you see what the Bubble is decorated with?
• What color is the main deck painted?
• Did you see where the zodiac is kept when it’s not in the water?
• How many flights of stairs up from the main deck is the bridge?
• How many penguins did you see?
• What color are the lifeboats?
• Which part of the ship would you want to work in if you were here?

Curious about where exactly we went?

Take a look at this map. It shows our route through the Main Deck, up to the 01 Deck and 02 Deck, and then up to the Bridge (which isn’t shown here). From the bridge we went downstairs all the way to the galley, where the video ends.