So Long to the R/V LMG

As we near our port the science crew that remains on the R/V Laurence
M. Gould is preparing to disembark the ship. We should arrive in Punta
Arenas around midnight, and will clear customs at that time. Once we
disembark the ship we will begin our journey home. It will be sad to
leave what has become home over the last two weeks.

Overall we had amazing weather on this voyage. At times we saw swells
in the 6-8ft range but nothing larger, and while there were cold and
snowy days, we also had a lot of sunshine. As a crew we accomplished
our science goals. We performed 92 CTD casts over the five days of
sampling. We collected 300L per cast, so we sampled 27,600L of water
total. That is 54,000lbs of water that was carried across the deck of
the R/V LMG in buckets. That is 6,750lbs of water per person, if each
person carried the same amount of water. We were so efficient that we
were able to add new sites to our transects to gain additional
information about what is happening in the water off of Anvers Island.

Attached above are pictures of some of the highlights for the first
part of the project. While this is the last post from the R/V LMG,
please stay tuned, as Dr. Corbett and scientists on Palmer Station will
continue to blog about their experiences from the Antarctic Continent.
Have a Merry Christmas!


- David Sybert
University of North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute Educator