Susan R. Eaton
February 22, 2010

Antarctica: Dispatch Number Six

It’s Day Three of a very rough crossing of the Scotia Sea. We expect to
reach South Georgia, the Galapagos of Antarctica, in about 10 hours. In
order to avoid personal injury – while the ship is rolling and pitching –
we must keep all four points (hands and feet) on the walls, railings and
floors, while traversing the boat and climbing its staircases.

Today, we attended lectures on Sir Ernest Shackleton, the commercial
krill fishery in Antarctica, and the royalty of Antarctic a (Emperor and
King penguins). I presented my lecture on the geology of Antarctica and
South Georgia, describing how plate tectonics played a huge role in the
formation of the Antarctic continent, and in the distribution of
fossilized dinosaurs and petrified trees in Antarctica. The geological
outcrops of Antarctica are simply spectacular, with modern-day volcanic
islands, pillow lavas, and granitic and esitic rocks exposed in
outcrop. Antarctica and South Georgia both contain ocean spreading zones
(similar to the mid-Atlantic Ridge), and areas where the Pacific oceanic
plate is being sub-ducted under the Antarctic continent.

According to Steve Nicol, the Expedition’s Antarctic krill expert, a
commercial fishery has been operating in Antarctic waters since the late
1960s. To date, said Nicols, over seven million tonnes of krill have
been harvested by fishing nations including Japan, Norway, Chile, Korea,
Poland and Russia. During the 1980s, catches peaked at half-a-million
tonnes a year – today, the current annual catch is around 150,000
tonnes.
Krill are used for human consumption, for aquaculture feed, and for the
production of valuable chemicals. Rich in Omega 3 fatty acids, krill
are sold as nutritional supplements; they also contain strong enzymes
suited to a variety of medical and industrial uses. The fishery is
managed by an international body (the Commission for the Conservation of
Antarctic Marine Living Resources) which employs an ecosystem approach
to management, ensuring that the needs of all members are incorporated
in establishing the catch limit. Because krill are integral to
Antarctica’s food chain, it’s imperative that the fishery be managed
sustainably, ensuring that the entire ecosystem is protected.
The krill sampling net, the holocamera, and the video plankton recorder
were deployed this evening, and the Scientific Crew expects to be up
late tonight, examining and cataloguing the plankton haul.

Some of my blog readers are disappointed that I’ve not sent any
photographic images from Antarctica. Unfortunately, there’s a simple
explanation for this – with full intentions of communicating with the
outside world, I rented my own Iridium satellite phone. However, to
date, I’ve been unsuccessful in transmitting images or emails via the
Iridium satellite network. In fact, it’s quite an arduous process to
use an Iridium Satellite phone in Antarctica – I’ve tried, on several
occasions, and have failed miserably.

In order to obtain a satellite connection in Antarctica, one must climb
to the highest deck of the ship, hook up the satellite phone to the
laptop, point the phone’s antenna to the horizon, and try to establish
an internet connection on the laptop. Add additional variables to this
tenuous process – a wildly pitching boat, a snowstorm, freezing rain,
and sub-zero temperatures – and, it’s not surprising that I’ve failed
at sending texts or images, using my Iridium phone. Plan B, however, is
working well – I’m using the Professor Molchanov’s Iridium system (which
is part of its navigational computer system). Sadly, the Molchanov does
not permit the transmission of photos.
I’ll update my blog with photos upon my return.