Whalers Bay
We slipped into Neptune's Bellows around 7:15 this morning. The narrow passageway is the tricky entry to the sea-filled caldera on volcanic Deception Island. The island is toward the south west end of the South Shetland Islands chain. It looks dirty, as the glaciers are covered with volcanic ash Everything is black and gray, except for the rhyolitic stone splashed on some of the cliff faces.
We landed on a deserted beach where an old whale oil processing facility lay in considerable decay. The station had been used from 1911-1931, shutting down when the demand for whale oil collapsed. The British took up year-round residency in the old buildings in 1944, in part to support their claim on part of Antarctica. They continued to operate the research center until 1969, when the volcano erupted and triggered a mud slide that triggered am evacuation and damaged many of the buildings. The Brits returned in the early 1990s to remove fuel, batteries and hazardous waste, and to clean up much of the debris. In 1995 the whaling station was designated a Historic Site and Monument under the Antarctic Treaty, which protects the remaining structures (buildings, hangar, storage tanks, rendering equipment, etc) and will allow them to degrade naturally.
Storage tanks for whale oil
Housing building collapsed by mudslide
We got ashore in light blowing rain and traipsed along the black sand beach to see the old processing equipment and peer in the windows of the decaying buildings. Not a penguin to be seen, though there fur seals laying camouflaged on the cinders. The usual smell of guano was replaced by that of sulfur dioxide emitted by the volcano. A puddle of water on the beach was streaming and warm to the touch, reminding us that we're on, literally, a hot spot.
Our morning lecture was on the geologic history of Antarctica and the challenges of geologic research on a continent that is 98% covered by ice, not to mention that this is the coldest, driest and windiest of the continents. Antarctica (land mass + ice shelves) is larger than Europe and contains 20% of the southern hemisphere. It's hard to fathom how much fresh water is contained on Antarctica, but if it all melted, sea level worldwide would rise 60 meters (195 feet).
We had a second lecture this afternoon about core sample research. Kiki had worked on a ship that is dedicated exclusively to obtaining and analyzing core samples from sea beds around the world. The data is being used for assessing movement of tectonic plates, studying ancient vegetation and life forms, geologic analysis, looking at global temperature trends and changes, etc.
We watched the second half of the Shackleton mini series, and then had a late dinner with Kathy and Charley.
We have been forewarned that our northbound crossing of the Drake Passage is going to be much more typical than our southbound trip. The Captain is heading west to try to avoid the eye of a large low pressure system across the Passage. Gale force winds are predicted for much of the 36 hour crossing. It will be a bumpy ride
By 9:30 this evening, we needed to hang on to railings when walking the halls or stairs. We've been instructed to pack up electronics and small items so they don't bounce around our cabin, and to start taking any seasickness medicine we may need. We're bouncing around pretty good right now, with a front-to-back roll that is much more pronounced that the typical side-to-side roll we'd been experiencing in open seas. Our patches and accupressure bands are back on. It will be an exciting night and day!
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