Arriving at Palmer Station - Students Perspective

This blog was written by Ian Conery and David Young, both are masters
students at ECU Geological Sciences:

After a day and half of violent seas, we certainly welcomed the wind
and waves easing which made it much simpler to get around the ship.
During the rougher waters of the Drake Passage, everyday tasks become
more challenging, such as putting in contact lenses and sleeping in a
top bunk without side railings! Fortunately no one got sick and morale
around the ship was great throughout.

The views became absolutely beautiful when we approached Smith Island,
our first glimpse of the Antarctic continent. Despite some fog, we were
still blown away by the enormity of the glaciers and mountains. It is
difficult to grasp the scale of the landscape until actually
experiencing it in person. After sailing through the spectacular
Gerlache and Neumever Straits with Minke whales, energetic penguins,
seals and plenty of birds, we arrived at Palmer station around 2pm. The
remainder of our team that has been working hard at Palmer station since
early January was eagerly waiting to welcome us.

Very shortly after we stepped foot on land, our team was excited to
get us out on the water in the zodiac and we headed to the dynamic
sampling location called Point 8 for some measurements. Fur and
elephant seals and penguins were scattered throughout the site. It was
a surreal feeling working in close proximity to these wild animals while
making sure our presence did not have any impact. When we arrived back
at Palmer station we were able to relax in their lounge and enjoy some
darts and ping pong.

This morning there was some free time as we were waiting for the
ship's crew to unload cargo for Palmer station. We took advantage of
that time as we took a hike up the glacier directly behind the station.
We only made it up about a quarter of the way, but took in all the views
and the reality of scaling a glacier. After, the entire team worked on
building the hydrology lab aboard the ship for our upcoming week where
we will be taking samples at several fjords and offshore transects. We
are very excited to start collecting data and enjoy our ultimate purpose
here, SCIENCE! Thanks to the captain and crew of the R/V Gould for a
safe crossing and also to Drs. Corbett and Null for giving us this
incredible opportunity!

David and Ian