Chickens in Choppers

Workin out on the sea ice....chopper style

nice berg stuck in the sea ice

the view from Platcha where we had lunch

Last week we spent most of our time out on the sea ice and in the fjords drilling holes through the sea ice to collect the algae growing underneath. This is a small component of my PhD, but fairly important in determining what eats the algae. As the surface of the sea ice was getting slushy and the edges becoming unsafe, the best option to reach the outer edges of the ice and into the fjords was through helicopter. I don't know how many marine biology PhD students get to use a helicopter to get to their field sites but i don't think it would be too many! Along the way we collected some Weddell seal poo to check out if we could see any human influences in their diet.

We also had our first day in the water dip netting (which we also reached by helicopter). The first hour and a bit we spent flying around looking for suitable sites up and down the coast, finally settling on a narrow section of Ellis fjord where the ice had melted due to the faster flowing tidal movements. I jumped in the water and had a bit of splash with Glenn and we attracted a nearby Weddell seal who wanted to know what all the fuss was about. We collected about 50 urchins for Jake's project and scooped up a small fish. While waiting for the chopper to take us and the urchins back home we cracked open the Camembert and blue vein cheese....

Sometimes i can't believe the stuff we get up to down here.

PS just spent a drink on the chinese research ship...more to come on that and christmas!

-C