East Antarctica is Special
I want to try and explain how special this expedition is. No US government ship has been to this part of Antarctica for 22 years. But it's not just that it's been a while since US scientists took a look at the seafloor here, it's also that:
1.This part of Antarctica's oceans is under-visited by any ships with any affiliation ever. Check the first image for tonight- look at how nobody goes to this part of the world!
2. Because it's been 22 years, the last scientists to visit this area used old research methods. The scientist teams onboard now will get information that was 1000% unavailable the last time anybody was here- sampling methods have changed so much that they can't even use their current methods to learn extra from samples collected in the past.
3. All of Antarctica is not created equal (I just learned that we're supposed to visit a place known for calving "jade-green" glaciers!!?!). We cannot understand the patterns that the whole puzzle makes if we're missing a big chunk of pieces.
- We're finally on the move! 5 more days of crossing, then total science chaos. See our location here: https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/home/shipid:426075/zoom:13
- If you have any questions, message me here or email me. I've gotten a few that I'll start answering tomorrow.
🌊 Virginia
Pics:
1. Scientific expedition tracks! Through 2012, published in Oceanography magazine.
2. and 3. These images are from yesterday, before I spent hours laying down trying to keep my organs in one place. Look at the position of the yellow bar on the left relative to the horizon in these 2 images- we had big swells left over from a storm 🤢 I wish I could send you the video, but we hit the slow internet zone a few hours ago.