Cuverville Island, Neko Harbor, and Paradise Harbor
With advances in new technology, deep sea exploration is exploding across previous borders and allowing the human race to travel to and see deeper below the water’s surface than ever before.
This trip on Endeavour, the undersea world of Antarctica is one of the major themes. Antarctica has one of the least explored benthic communities in the world, and the fish population is under constant investigation. It is not unusual for a previously undocumented animal to be found while diving or using an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle). One of the pieces of equipment that Endeavour is carrying is the National Geographic Rope Cam, allowing pictures to be taken of the sea bottom, 1000 meters down. So far, with two deployments, this camera has been wondrous at demonstrating the quantity of life, no matter how small, that is living at such depths.
However, underwater exploration of Antarctica is not a new concept for Lindblad Expeditions. Throughout the Lindblad Fleet, wherever they travel in the world, each ship carries an Undersea Specialist, a naturalist who is dedicated to exploring the sea bottom and bringing the pictures back to the guests in the comfort of the lounge. On Endeavour, we carry a specialized piece of equipment called the ROV. This little submersible can travel down to 500 feet. It is “flown” from the surface, via a set of controls that looks a little bit like a video game consol, and transmits the video back via an umbilical cord. With this fantastic machine, we can look at areas that have previously only been dredged, and discover how the creatures of the community are interacting with each other.
Pictured here is a naked dragon fish off of Cuverville Island. Fish in Antarctica have developed special traits to help them adapt to the extreme conditions and temperatures of the water (-2°C/28°F). One of the traits is blood antifreeze, which helps suppress the formation of ice crystals in their blood. Another trait is the lack of hemoglobin (the oxygen carrier of the blood). By not having to make or carry this blood product, the fish saves valuable energy, energy it can use to stay warm. One might ask how they receive the oxygen they need – not to worry: the water in Antarctica is very oxygen rich, and the fish can extract all the oxygen it needs directly from its gills.
It is an exciting trip of undersea exploration for the guests of Endeavour. The next three weeks hold the possibility to change what we thought we knew about the underwater community of Antarctica, raising the bar for future study.
With advances in new technology, deep sea exploration is exploding across previous borders and allowing the human race to travel to and see deeper below the water’s surface than ever before.
This trip on Endeavour, the undersea world of Antarctica is one of the major themes. Antarctica has one of the least explored benthic communities in the world, and the fish population is under constant investigation. It is not unusual for a previously undocumented animal to be found while diving or using an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle). One of the pieces of equipment that Endeavour is carrying is the National Geographic Rope Cam, allowing pictures to be taken of the sea bottom, 1000 meters down. So far, with two deployments, this camera has been wondrous at demonstrating the quantity of life, no matter how small, that is living at such depths.
However, underwater exploration of Antarctica is not a new concept for Lindblad Expeditions. Throughout the Lindblad Fleet, wherever they travel in the world, each ship carries an Undersea Specialist, a naturalist who is dedicated to exploring the sea bottom and bringing the pictures back to the guests in the comfort of the lounge. On Endeavour, we carry a specialized piece of equipment called the ROV. This little submersible can travel down to 500 feet. It is “flown” from the surface, via a set of controls that looks a little bit like a video game consol, and transmits the video back via an umbilical cord. With this fantastic machine, we can look at areas that have previously only been dredged, and discover how the creatures of the community are interacting with each other.
Pictured here is a naked dragon fish off of Cuverville Island. Fish in Antarctica have developed special traits to help them adapt to the extreme conditions and temperatures of the water (-2°C/28°F). One of the traits is blood antifreeze, which helps suppress the formation of ice crystals in their blood. Another trait is the lack of hemoglobin (the oxygen carrier of the blood). By not having to make or carry this blood product, the fish saves valuable energy, energy it can use to stay warm. One might ask how they receive the oxygen they need – not to worry: the water in Antarctica is very oxygen rich, and the fish can extract all the oxygen it needs directly from its gills.
It is an exciting trip of undersea exploration for the guests of Endeavour. The next three weeks hold the possibility to change what we thought we knew about the underwater community of Antarctica, raising the bar for future study.
