We finally made it out of town. Wednesday morning we came out to help the carpenters set up camp, and we moved out for good Wednesday night. We've got 4 little fishing huts out next to Big Razorback Island - a kitchen hut, 2 sleep huts, and an equipment hut. Thursday was kind of a slow day because of some high winds and low visibility. The wind would almost 
pick me up off my feet, and on ice it makes it hard to move around sometimes. But, we did make out to look at a few seals. Today, the weather was perfect, and we got a quick course on reading the cracks and how to walk around in the pressure ridges, which are the upheavings of ice where 2 plates of ice push together. Then I went on my first helicopter ride to look at the study area from above. This gives us an idea of where the seals are congregating and is much faster than doing it on snowmobiles. I was a little nervous about whether I would get sick, but the ride 
was about as smooth as you could get. It was amazing being able to get above everything and see the full picture. After the helo ride, we came back and took a quick snowmobile ride around Tent Island to look at the seals. 
We found a few new pups and learned how to tag. And our camp now has internet and phone. Can you believe that? Phone and internet in the middle of sea ice in Antarctica. Crazy! Tomorrow, I'm sure we'll get out and look around a few of the other islands. Sorry for the brevity, but I'm not really in the typing mood. I'll report back in a few days.
pick me up off my feet, and on ice it makes it hard to move around sometimes. But, we did make out to look at a few seals. Today, the weather was perfect, and we got a quick course on reading the cracks and how to walk around in the pressure ridges, which are the upheavings of ice where 2 plates of ice push together. Then I went on my first helicopter ride to look at the study area from above. This gives us an idea of where the seals are congregating and is much faster than doing it on snowmobiles. I was a little nervous about whether I would get sick, but the ride 
was about as smooth as you could get. It was amazing being able to get above everything and see the full picture. After the helo ride, we came back and took a quick snowmobile ride around Tent Island to look at the seals. 
We found a few new pups and learned how to tag. And our camp now has internet and phone. Can you believe that? Phone and internet in the middle of sea ice in Antarctica. Crazy! Tomorrow, I'm sure we'll get out and look around a few of the other islands. Sorry for the brevity, but I'm not really in the typing mood. I'll report back in a few days.
3 comments:
did you witness the birth?
Babies!
No I didn't witness the birth. We won't tag a mother or pup if the umbilical cord is not frozen or if the pup is still wet. Most things freeze pretty quickly, so blood stays on the ice for a long time.
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