07.02.2013 - Sun shining on ice and emperor pinguins

07.02.2013 (Thursday). Alternance of blue sky and thin clouds of high altitude. So, a very bright day. The ice is much thicker and more irregular than during the past few days. I photograph three emperor pinguins from afar. In the afternoon, we fix the last buoy on the lander. Then we put batteries in the flash and in the radio beacon and successfully test them. The flash is fixed on the lander with plastic collars and tape. We do the job on deck, with a complete ice coverage and a sun is shining (the temperature is sweet). This results in an immaculate combination. Some tabular icebergs rise from this sea of ice. 

 Emperor pinguins: the most iconic inhabitants of Antarctica. They are much less common than the smaller chinstrap pinguins, which are seen everywhere.

Cédric on deck.

Marie on deck.

The flash is fixed by plastic collars and tape on the lander.

 Tabular iceberg rising from the ice.

 (Cédric)

07.02.2013 (Thursday). Last quiet day, tomorrow we’re sampling! I am impatient, but for today, we can enjoy the first sunny weather in a long time. It really changes everything. Everyone was outside, taking pictures, chatting or relaxing in the sun. The sunglasses are necessary with the reflexion of the ice. I didn’t put them straightaway and my vision was a bit blurry for a while afterwards. The view was amazing, I don’t think I’ll ever forget that feeling. I would have stayed there until it gets dark if I hadn’t other obligations. Plates of ice floating on water and everywhere around us, monuments of ice : huge flat and elevated icebergs. Carried away by the currents, they are gathering together in some places, sometimes you see none, sometimes a lot at the same time. It really felt like a once-in-a-lifetime chance, to see all these amazing things together at the same place, at the same time: the sun shining so much, we could go outside without jackets and not feel cold, the bright sea, the boat zigzagging through those imposing ice-giants and the always adorable and entertaining seals and penguins everywhere around us on the ice-plates, probably enjoying this great weather as much as we did. 

In the evening, I leave those incredible sights to go to the scientific meeting, we are presenting our work tonight. Cédric first presents an introduction of our goals, what we intend to do with the material collected on board and about the amphipods in general and in Antarctica. And I continue with a summary of my PhD thesis project. 

(Marie)