At Sea
Endeavour has turned north now, heading for South Georgia, one of the sub-Antarctic Islands. The last 8 days on the Antarctic Peninsula and in the South Orkneys have been a blur of penguins, icebergs, and seals, our senses being bombarded with new and exciting sounds, sights, and smells. Antarctica has yet to disappoint us, showing us so many of her treasures, while retaining her raw and untouched beauty.
Under the water, we are constantly amazed at what Antarctica has to offer. Being one of the least explored underwater communities in the world, it is not an uncommon event to see a previously un-cataloged creature. The creatures that one finds quite often set the mind into fantasy, being strange combinations of legs and other appendages, like something out of a science fiction novel. Being able to survive in Antarctica, in such an inhospitable environment where the water temperature rarely gets above 29° F (-1°C), and the areas in which these creatures live are a constant battle zone of icebergs and raging currents, is a real testament to their resilience and adaptability.
Pictured here is a mating pair of Giant Isopods, related to your garden-variety pill bug. Found at depths of 0 – 400 feet, these strange looking animals can grow up to 8 inches. Their eating habits include detritus foraging as well as being omnivorous. In Antarctica, they mate throughout the year, the female brooding the young until they are large enough to head out on their own. Movements while walking on the bottom are slow and steady, but flip them on their back and they use modified gills, aft of their bellies, to swim quickly though the water.
We have left the Antarctic Peninsula behind, and are now entering into the new environment of South Georgia. Still within the Antarctic convergence zone, the water has only warmed 2 degrees, and the creatures we will hopefully find will be no less out of this world in nature.
Endeavour has turned north now, heading for South Georgia, one of the sub-Antarctic Islands. The last 8 days on the Antarctic Peninsula and in the South Orkneys have been a blur of penguins, icebergs, and seals, our senses being bombarded with new and exciting sounds, sights, and smells. Antarctica has yet to disappoint us, showing us so many of her treasures, while retaining her raw and untouched beauty.
Under the water, we are constantly amazed at what Antarctica has to offer. Being one of the least explored underwater communities in the world, it is not an uncommon event to see a previously un-cataloged creature. The creatures that one finds quite often set the mind into fantasy, being strange combinations of legs and other appendages, like something out of a science fiction novel. Being able to survive in Antarctica, in such an inhospitable environment where the water temperature rarely gets above 29° F (-1°C), and the areas in which these creatures live are a constant battle zone of icebergs and raging currents, is a real testament to their resilience and adaptability.
Pictured here is a mating pair of Giant Isopods, related to your garden-variety pill bug. Found at depths of 0 – 400 feet, these strange looking animals can grow up to 8 inches. Their eating habits include detritus foraging as well as being omnivorous. In Antarctica, they mate throughout the year, the female brooding the young until they are large enough to head out on their own. Movements while walking on the bottom are slow and steady, but flip them on their back and they use modified gills, aft of their bellies, to swim quickly though the water.
We have left the Antarctic Peninsula behind, and are now entering into the new environment of South Georgia. Still within the Antarctic convergence zone, the water has only warmed 2 degrees, and the creatures we will hopefully find will be no less out of this world in nature.
