Promptly at 7:30 we set off for our tour, into the teeth of the wind in a driving rain heading up-bay to see the Elephant Seals. This was our first opportunity to see this particular seal and it is aptly named as full grown adult males can reach a weight of 6,000 pounds, or 3 tons, with an elongated nose not unlike an elephant's trunk. The first group we came across were recently weaned "newborns" that Pete, our driver, estimated weighed about 500 pounds! According to Pete, newborns gain an average of 30 pounds a day while nursing, meaning by the time they are weaned Mom has lost 300 – 500 pounds!! And human Mom's think they have it rough!!! After an hour of really uncomfortable sailing about the bay, and several bird, penguin and other animal sightings, we returned to the ship to warm up and have breakfast.
Our tour operator, Abercrombie & Kent, also has a philanthropic foundation, funded partially by passenger fares, which annually donates scientific equipment to Antarctic research at Palmer. At 10:30 a group of scientists and researchers from the station came onboard for a presentation on their work and to receive this year's donation. As part of the "donation process", they asked one person from each country to come up to the stage and if you look at the picture closely, you will see Monica in the background.
Once the presentation was over it was time for lunch. The passengers were divided into four groups, with each one having a set time to be at the Zodiacs for transfer to visit the station. We were supposed to have an outdoor BBQ, with the station staff invited, but given the weather that was a no-go. In order to make sure that everyone got to the Zodiacs on time, people were asked to stagger their lunches so those with the later trips would eat later. We were in Group 2 so we also had the opportunity to talk to some of the scientists while we ate (indoors), before they had to head back to the base. They're a relatively young group, but all doing work on various aspects of the Antarctic ecology, from penguins and seabirds to zooplankton, as well as extensive work on the effects of climate change on Antarctica and its animal inhabitants. Most of them stay for 4-6 months before heading back to their various universities, etc. One of our cruise lecturers, Dr. Jim McClintock, will be there in February doing field work as part of his regular research.
By the time we boarded the Zodiacs for the short trip over, the rain had turned to slushy snow, more wet than snowy, but messy just the same. At least we know that the weatherproof pants we bought work as described. The parkas stayed warm and dry on the inside, but the water-resistant backpacks were a little damp. Good thing we had used one of our shopping bags from Ushuaia as a liner of sorts to keep the camera and the souvenir items we bought at the Station Store dry on the way back.
Palmer Station is the smallest of the three US stations in the Antarctic, and is also the most northern, at 64 degrees, 46 minutes South latitude. The maximum number of researchers/scientists working there at any time is about 45, since that's how many bed spaces there are. Most of the researchers are working on sea-based projects since the water is fairly well open most of the year, and, unfortunately, seems to be getting very slightly warmer every year. The effects of this warming are also a major part of the research since Palmer is the only US station located on the Antarctic Peninsula. Here are a couple of photos of the station:
Having returned to the ship and prepared for the evening, we're now keeping an eye on the weather. It seems to be lightening up, but it is still snowing lightly. We're supposed to leave here and head toward the Lemaire Channel, alternately known as 'Kodak Alley' or the 'Fuji Fjord', depending on your camera equipment. (We really need to make up a Nikon reference. We've been joking on this whole trip that if everybody put their cameras down in one place at the same time, we'd have to look at the photos on them to be able to tell them apart!) We remember it as spectacular the last time we were here, even though we couldn't get through the Channel itself. We'll keep our fingers crossed…
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