smooth sailing

i'm lying in bed in my new room. finally i have settled down in a
room and can unpack the bags which i've been toting around since i
left. it feels good and this room is much larger, cleaner, and the
bunk has a ladder to help me dismount in the morning. i unpacked my
gummi worms too.

we left right on time at 11 am today, sailing out of the channel
which cuts through the permanent sea ice which blocks mcmurdo from
the open ocean. residents of mcmurdo are not the only things that
appreciate the access -- sheltered openings in the ice are ideal for
wildlife. biology fans had a field day -- minke whales, orcas,
emperor and adelie penguins, weddell and crabeater seals. it was a
beautiful morning, we sailed into some light flurries in the afternoon.

we had our first "test station" today, sent the CTD and rosette down
650 meters and filled up 24 bottles at 12 depths, 23 of which held
water.

as we're still up in the air about the final track for the cruse, I'm
reading up on the techniques which we're using and the oceanographic
features we'll look at in different parts of the Ross Sea. although
we took a CTD cast today, we didn't have any real features of
interest. usually we are looking to find specific types of water
which are precursors to the very dense water "bottom water" which
flows off the Antarctic continental shelf and "ventilates" the deep
ocean. there are very few places in the world where deep water is
formed. changes in the propeties and or volume of these can signal
changes in local climate which may have a larger impact because of
the rarity of the conditions which are required for water to sink to
the bottom of the ocean.

Terra Nova Bay, where we take our next CTD cast, is, according to
Amy, an antarctic veteran, the most beautiful spot in the world.
We're there in 7 hours. i'm going to try to read before i crash.

Chris