At Sea
We are heading in a southwesterly direction, deeper into the Southern Ocean, en route to the Antarctic Peninsula. A day at sea… a time to reflect, prepare and just plain catch-up! Throughout the National Geographic Explorer there are glowing computer displays where massive files of photos are being culled and edited, journals are becoming current and memories of just a few days ago, strangely distant, are relived and reworked. In between there are lectures and events focused on yesterdays and tomorrows leaving us with barely enough time for today, a day at sea.
Outside there is a bit of wind, which is great for the birdwatchers. The albatrosses and petrels are on the wing in effortless flight as they soar invisible waves of air, first near, then far, then back around and near again. At times, whales are spotted heading further south, a seasonal migration that we are now part of.
I am working on undersea video from South Georgia. In the video, the water is fairly clear, good visibility, as it is still early springtime in South Georgia and the plankton bloom has not developed yet, not like we had at the Falkland Islands where the water was green through the efforts of a myriad of tiny photosynthetic algae. Soon enough there will be zooplankton (little animals) to eat the phytoplankton, then bigger animals to eat the zooplankton and finally, the nototheniid fish, the so called southern rock cod in the picture, will get a chance at a decent meal and not just mope about on the bottom!
