Terra Nova Bay

We are still in beautiful Terra Nova Bay. The scenery is spectacular. There are large snow-covered mountains rising out of the sea and large sheets of ice that lay trapped against the land.

There is an Italian Base here that gives this place the appearance of a small Scandinavian town, only far grander. We sent over a zodiac with a group of scientists to meet with the Italians and to pick up a microscope which was sent to their base for us to intercept. The scientists (who were served espresso upon arriving) describe their base as "very nice" with wine bottles lined up in the dining area!

Those of us who stayed behind began work on our second full-length experiment to study the impact of grazing by select copepods and juvenile krill on the phytoplankton in the area. Because of this, I have been a bit of a lab rat the past few days. However, upon arriving at each station, I am in charge of the quantitative zooplankton tows (collection and preservation of microscopic animals in large plankton nets, which are later counted to determine abundances) so I get to spend a few hours outside enjoying the excellent scenery. I love it.

Today we have been collecting more water and organisms at several locations within the bay to determine which site is best suited for our next experiment, which will begin tomorrow morning. It looks like it will continue to be a busy week, as we steam south towards McMurdo station in the days ahead.