At Sea
The Southern Ocean rocks our sturdy ship, as National Geographic Explorer heads northwards towards the tip of South America. The air and sea temperatures have slowly been rising, and we have picked up an escort of Petrels and Prions zipping across the ocean’s surface catching meals on the cresting swells, while black-browed Albatross are happy for the stiff sea breeze that pushes us along. What amazing birds—staying at sea for years at a time, finding everything they need on the wind and waves, except a stable place to breed.
While this voyage has brought us from one incredible destination to another, there is one very obscure place we explore, the underwater world. As Undersea Specialist on National Geographic Explorer it is my pleasure to bring back pictures from beneath the southern ocean’s surface, using Scuba, Splash Cam, or ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle). In the unique ecosystem of the Southern Ocean, the underwater niche is just as important as the terrestrial one.
We have seen only a tiny part of the rich benthic (bottom-dwelling) community of Antarctica, but for most of us it was a glimpse into a whole new world. Brightly colored sponges, tunicates, and anemones line the seabed. Sea Stars, Sea Spiders, Sea Cucumbers, and proboscis worms move slowly looking for the next meal.
Sailing across the ocean’s surface, one cannot forget how important polar seas are for sustaining all the creatures we have seen in the air and on the land during this voyage. These are some of the most nutrient rich waters in the world. The cycle of life that is happening below the water’s surface is what will feed the penguins, albatross, and seals through the summer. Longer hours of sunlight are warming the waters, and feeding small phytoplankton (small plant-organisms such as diatoms), through photosynthesis. The phytoplankton then becomes food for the zooplankton (small animal organisms like copepods). Zooplankton are choice meals for birds such as prions, who simply have to dip into the oceans surface and filter these tasty crustaceans out. And we must not forget most important animal of all—krill—we say “krill is king,” as it feeds not only the penguins, but seals and whales as well.
We bid the cold waters of Antarctica goodbye, but are now more knowledgeable about how the Southern Ocean works in symmetry with all that is found in the last great wilderness on Earth—Antarctica.
