DAY 18 WAVES

Of Tags and Icebergs! (Written on Jan 16, 2014)

 

A blue iceberg seen at 2am in the morning! The lack of bubbles in the ice causes the blue coloration. Photo credit M. Jenner

A blue iceberg seen at 2am in the morning! The lack of bubbles in the ice causes the blue coloration.
Photo credit M. Jenner

At 1610 yesterday, a whale with a smallish dorsal fin and distinctive black/white fluke ‘Tiny Lander’ was tagged with a Russ designed Whale Lander Tag, collecting GPS data as well as yaw, pitch and roll information.  This tag is specifically designed to fall off, but in the meantime, using three accelerometers, it logs precise information about the animals’ dive profile, particularly interesting when attached to a feeding humpback whale.  The small tag was placed carefully in the midline orientation, halfway between the blowholes and the dorsal fin for short-term attachment purposes.  As soon as it was deployed, comfortingly a space-age sound ‘be-deep’ received in the wheelhouse, indicated it was functioning.

Now our task was to follow this whale until the tag fell off and simply retrieve it to download the data!  Sounds simple right! Well, actually it was!  Through the late afternoon when the whales began their crazy feeding surges with mouths open and lunging through the surface and into the early evening we tracked the whale.  Variously crew swapped chores and took meals in stages, just as we do for watch-keeping.  This time the duties included whale-keeping too!  Photographs (yep, several thousand, as a record of activities and animals present were collected of the feeding gang thrashing around in the grey-pink twilight, which is the Antarctic at 10pm at night!  The too-full-of-energy, calf-of last year ‘Diatom’ began breaching, livening the whole scene a few more notches!  Russ was just relieved that it wasn’t the tagged whale, ‘Tiny Lander’, which was throwing itself out of the water over and over again with a chance to possibly damage the tag!

During feeding Humpback whales move quickly and fluidly, note the Cape Petrel by the tail fluke also in the action!  Photo credit M. Jenner

During feeding Humpback whales move quickly and fluidly, note the Cape Petrel by the tail fluke also in the action!
Photo credit M. Jenner

Exhausted and exhilarated, at 10pm I forced myself to catch a couple of hours sleep before my Whale Song and whale watch.  The usual bright light at midnight made it very easy for us to track ‘Tiny Lander’.  Simon drove while I watched in the binoculars or took film on GoPro.  “That’s our whale, I can see the tag”.  “Tiny Lander’ was with three other whales or just another, but with each surfacing we could clearly see the tag, identifying the animal.  This Whale Lander Tag which is 6 cm across and 4 am deep, was nicely seated on the centreline and mid-way between the blowholes and the dorsal fin.  The beep with every surfacing as well visually locating the tag were helpful, but additionally, our whale lifted its’ tail flukes with each dive and thus we could recognise its’ “finger-print”.  A strikingly pretty fluke, the ventral pattern is white with a central black butterfly and a black barnacle ring on the left side.  “That’s it, that’s the fluke” we said repeatedly.  The sea was calm and the sky pink-grey and with ‘Tiny Lander’ in our sights, all was ok.

Sam joined Simon and I at 0130, whom had the second best night watch ever.  The previous best he had said was the morning before, when we had two blue icebergs and four pods of humpback whales before 3 – am that is!  Driving Whale Song to track ‘Tiny Lander’, Sam thought this was THE BEST night watch so far!  Simon and I handed over to Dale and Sam at three, leaving them a calm, glassy sea and a beeping whale.  Before 7 all crew were woken, all hands were needed on deck.  The tag had come off and we were driving to it for retrieval.  After sometime circling at the last known fix and estimating for set and drift we came across the tag!  It was floating, with just one centimetre showing above the water surface.  This was our veritable needle in a hay stack!  The tag was scooped up with our biopsy net (aka a pool leaf cleaner with an extended pole) and immediately, we set about to continue tagging with the last of the satellite tags.  The wind began to increase, but we were undeterred.

Given the forecast, which Curt has been receiving daily from BOM and specialist Antarctic forecasters, we knew that we should stay south of a developing low-pressure system and thus we could dally with tagging and following a tagged whale yesterday.

In a surface charge, the jaw plate can be seen as well as the ventral pleats near the mouth. Photo credit M. Jenner

In a surface charge, the jaw plate can be seen as well as the ventral pleats near the mouth.
Photo credit M. Jenner

One more humpback whale tag in the weather window this morning was crying out to be deployed!  With many animals, at least 12 in the immediate 1.5 nm vicinity several pods were photo-identified before choosing ‘Newton’ for the 5th and last satellite tag, as well as having a biopsy sample taken.  Result!  A Whale Lander Tag retrieved with 13 hours of data and another satellite tag deployed on a feeding humpback whale in the Antarctic!

As we finished at 1100, the wind had reached 25-30 knots.  It was getting a tad ordinary on the bow!  The downwind runs were actually rather tropical in all our gear, but the upwind legs a hair less pleasant.  For Russ and I at the bow in the wind all geared up but needing dexterity with equipment (thus unable to wear cumbersome mitts) surprisingly, only the tips of our fingers felt the freeze.  My torso and legs were thoroughly toasty even in the 0.00C air temp and -16.40C with the wind chill.  We are ever grateful for the great gear from Eddie Bauer.  Satellite-tagging in the Antarctic – ‘tis not for the faint-hearted!

Noon Observations Jan 16, 2014

 

Lat/Long: 630 52.3 S 1170 13.5 E

Dry Bulb Temp: 0.40C

Wet Bulb Temp: 0.00C

SST (Sea Surface Temp): -0.50C

COG (Course Over the Ground): 2720

SOG (Speed Over the Ground): 5.7 knots

Barometer: 994 Hp

Beaufort SS (Sea State): 5-6

WS (Wind Speed): 25-30 knots

WD (Wind Direction): E

Swell: NW 1.5 m

Wildlife: Black-bellied storm petrel, Cape Petrel, Antarctic Petrel, 12 Humpback Whales with 1 Whale Lander Tag retrieved and the 5th Satellite tag deployed on a ‘Newton’, a humpback whale!

WT: TC – 8

Antarctic Fact: Antarctica’s extremely dry environment can lead to dehydration, so it is wise to drink at least 4 L of water a day.

Antarctic Slang: Skua – (American) nickname for frozen chicken, a staple on Antarctic station menus; also to swipe or scavenge, after the skuas propensity to scavenge food from Antarctic stations.

A light dusting of snow on the sonobuoys used to track whales over large distances and in fog. Photo credit M. Jenner

A light dusting of snow on the sonobuoys used to track whales over large distances and in fog.
Photo credit M. Jenner

When lunch was announced at noon, I was so hungry I could only eat and not speak.  Not any ounce of energy could be wasted in any other form of diversion!  This is how you get me to listen – starve me!  Resty served each crew member with a plate piled high with a mountain of RFC (Resty Fried Chicken) and fried rice with vegetables!  It’s hungry stuff sat-tagging and observing humpbacks feeding!  I almost felt like opening my mouth and surging sideways across my heaped plateful, to capture the impossibly escaping rice!

Having successfully wrapped up the humpback whale satellite tagging program by 11 am in the morning, with 5 satellite tags deployed and 1 Whale Lander Tag deployed and retrieved, we made for cover with the imminent weather closing in.  It has been fantastic having expert weather advice on a daily basis.  We made for the largest iceberg in the region, being 1.5 nm long and currently, we are hiding on the western side in the lee.   Slushy snow has coated Whale Song in a soft white layer.  To the north, the low-pressure system the forecasters are calling “The Beast” is whirring with 50 knots and 11 metre seas.  This seems like a good place to be.  With fog and snow we are flying with our instruments.  I can feel another terrifying night-watch coming on…

A beautiful meal of baked salmon with spring onions, couscous and fresh lettuce salad with tomatoes was served as we bounced in the fog and snow behind the iceberg.  Snow sludged down the windows and we held our glasses with the boat surging, knowing this was unusual but actually the safest place to be.  Quarter of a mile away the iceberg loomed with steep cliffs and edges and archways near the waters’ edge.  An ice fence brought bergie bits and growlers away from the berg and moving slowly up and down the western side of the berg Curt, Dale and Simon expertly dodged these and took us through the night.

Off night watch duty tonight, I will be ready in a flash, if necessary… but I can feel a very heavy sleep coming on,

Mich

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