Entering the Southern Ocean

Hey everyone!! We had a full day at sea today. Today (18th of November) is a noteworthy date in Antarctic History. On this date in 1910, Roald Amundsen (Norwegian Explorer) requested permission from his sponsor to proceed from Hobart, Tasmania toward Antarctica. Then on this same day one year later, he began his mountain climb to the Polar Plateau, which would lead to his arrival at the South Pole in less than one more month. On a far less grand level, we crossed the Antarctic Convergence, a turbulent buffer that separates the “warm(er)” (45 F) South Atlantic from the “cold(er)” (38 F) Southern (Antarctic) Ocean. These are water temps. Air Temps have been about 40-45F.
One great thing about this cruise is it tailors to a bit more cerebral crowd, so there were two lectures this morning and one yesterday after we left Stanley. Yesterday was one on The South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, and today one on Geology and one on Antarctica Ecology. I wouldn’t miss any!! The SG lecture was given by the “Executive Officer” of South Georgia. There are basically 12-20 people on S.G. Island, and it is part of Great Britain. Their “Government” consists of about 5 people, not really counting those in England. Let’s just say the guy’s presentation included two pie charts of their finances including the breakdown of money in and money out. It felt a bit like a Shareholder’s Meeting. But, I found it interesting anyway. They make like 50% of their income from fishing licenses, and spent about 30% of their expenses on a dam for hydroelectric power for ~20 people. So, you might imagine this is not a Fortune 500 kind of organization. Selling stamps made the short list of income wedges.
The geology presentation was similarly interesting. It started with a vanilla description of rock types and formations and then got into plate tectonic theory. That was interesting.
The second presentation was by the former Director of the Ukrainian Antarctica Station (some long name with 3x more consonants than vowels). What was fair about his presentation was that he brought together mostly facts, and did not bludgeon the idea of global warming. He did discuss the metrics by which average temps are determined, and where they were relevant. He even got into the magnetic effects, and had schematics for the magnetic fields with numbers. I haven’t seen (or heard) nT (nano Teslas) since college, and certainly would not expect it on a cruise!!!) But, what really surprised me was the level of questions that followed. There were probably 75-100 of the 117 passengers there for the presentation, and the one who questioned the theory of a super star gravitational force tearing mass from the sun to create the planets, as opposed to the “Accretion Disk” theory, got my attention. I wasn’t exactly prepared to discuss “Accretion Disk” theory when setting off on vacation, but I happily joined in, nonetheless! (Note, while on a tour in Kauai, I got enmeshed in a debate about the Big Bang theory and how successive “bangs” might result in different values for “c” (the speed of light). So, you never know.)
During a wine tasting seminar later in the afternoon, a woman with whom we were visiting, had borrowed a book from another passenger. The book compared Amundsen to Scott, the first and second teams to reach the South Pole, just 3 months apart. Robert F. Scott was British, and so was Richard, the other passenger. So, the three of us (but mostly the two of them) ended up discussing the three men who led teams (Amundsen, Scott, and Shackleton) and their ratings as explorers, and failures thereof. It was lighthearted, and fun but a little political, as certainly the Brits have a favorite version of events.
Throughout this cruise, I/we have engaged in numerous weighty conversations at pretty much every dinner, and many lunches. So, I am finding it very intellectually stimulating.
I’m not sure what all is on the schedule for tomorrow, but I know there is at least one presentation on the South Pole Expedition. Part of me thinks I should read up on it to “prepare”. I did not expect to need to study for this trip! Good Night!