Ross Sea Connection

Far up in the bow of the Palmer, past the cold rooms, beyond the dry labs, and five stories below the bridge, two people are at work in a gleaming steel room. They mix compounds in metal bowls, sprinkle in precisely measured powders, and then arrange their mixtures on trays to put into calibrated heating […]

Almost all the scientific work today was canceled as 40-knot winds buffeted the Palmer and seas pitched the ship forward and back. Not good weather for dangling a 750-pound, $100,000 instrument like a CTD rosette over the side. On land, bad weather can disrupt a science plan, but only in the ocean can the very […]

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 […]

Clouds form and dissipate, snow falls, and the sun emerges in this time lapse video shot during the transit from the central Ross Sea to the entrance of the McMurdo ice channel. At the end of the video, Beaufort Island, Cape Bird, and Mount Erebus come into view in that order. It represents 13.5 hours of real time.

This time lapse video shows the mooring being deployed from the back deck. It represents two hours of real time.

Scientists set up their equipment in the main lab of the Palmer before getting underway. This time lapse video shows a 360 degree view of the main lab over 37 minutes.