The sun comes out over Hero Inlet
Mt. Williams (~7000') with afternoon sun
The top of the glacier, just behind station, looking west across Anvers Island and towards the continent.
Visible in the background - the VLF antenna, one of the experiments I am responsible for maintaining.
Iceburg visible in the distance, photo taken from Dalaca Island, early November
Adelie penguins, porpoising through the water
A calm morning, about 4am, with a scum of sea ice on the water near Anvers
Mt. Cloos (I think), a 4000' peak about 23 miles away on Anvers Island
Weddell Seal, Jacob's Island, late November
Giant Petrel on nest, Jacob's Island, late November
Brown Skua flies over two nesting GPs
White phase GPs make up about 10% of the population
View across Jacobs Island to Mt Williams
Melting snow uncovers lichens and Antarctic grasses
Brown Skua, the primary predator on penguins nests and youngsters.
Brown Skua on Torgerson Island. Skuas are the primary predator of penguin hatchlings and eggs, this one is watching the penguin colony from about 20' away.
"Bergy bit"in Arthur Harbor, a chuck of ice calved off the Piedmont Mars glacier in back.
Landing spot at Dalaca Island
2007 photo of the ice bridge on Anvers Island, until it collapsed last year, this was the last bit of glacier connecting Amsler Island to Anvers Island.
Leopard Seal, snoozing on pack ice in Hero Inlet. Viewed through a small telescope.
Leopard Seal outside of the berthing building, in Arthor Harbor.
Although they give the impression of ferocity, leopard seals have been known to gently befriend divers and film makers.
Adelie colony on Torgerson Island, early November
Antarctic Tern, small, nimble and graceful
Blue-Eyed Shags, a type of cormorant whose local population has been very affected locally by the wreck of the Bahia Paraiso
Sunset, about 10pm in mid-november. This time of year the days are getting longer by about 6 minutes a day.
Torgerson Island has these unusual rock projections. They seem like slate with iron concentrations ?
Adelie, wandering about station in late October. Note: there is no political campaigning in Antarctica !
Penguins will do almost anything to slide on their bellies instead of walking, faced with a hill though, this one resorted to walking.
Halloween night in the Bar. Amber came as a tourist.
And I came as "Action Fonseca" a cross between our boating coordinator and a ninja. Kindof an inside joke.
John in Pakistani garb, Andy as a working stiff and Paul as an elf.
Our "parking lot"
Picture perfect Adelies on a picture perfect day
Adelie penguins, probably too young to breed, on Janus Island
Gentoos fishing for krill on the surface of the water
Dirty Adelies diving off Torgerson
Torgerson Island
The first chinstrap penguin I saw - on Elephant Rocks, mid-November
Chinstrap penguin, ashore at our dock.
Chinstrap watching our boat on Torgerson.
Me in tower climbing harness, getting ready to service the weather tower.
George in the skytrak
Scott with his 8 x 10
Boating out in some brash ice
Glacier with brash ice in the foreground
Ocean Search and Rescue team with Anvers Island in the background
Phytoplankton research group head out with zodiac "Bruiser"
Ice covers Anvers Island to a depth of 2000' in the center. The highest mountains are 4500' tall
Our local iceburg has hung out in the same spot for months. Recently though, the burg either rotated or split into pieces. Hard to tell.
On a trip out to the limits of the boating area we get a closer look at the same iceberg.
Several days later and the berg has drifted closer
The berg is enormous, it seems to be about 10 stories tall and as long as a football field
The inside of the berg is a powerful resonance chamber, pumping out huge waves
The three above-ground portions of the berg are connected under water. In fact, about 80% of any berg is underwater.
Iceberg in a sea of brash ice
Although they look close, this zodiac is quite far from the berg.
Fin whale, sticking a eye our direction
Sunset at Torgerson Island
Edge of the glacier
Huge icecubes left ashore by high tide on Dalaca Island
We use this clear ice for drinks in the bar, hence the name "bar ice"
Evening boating at Dalaca
While away from station, we keep in constant touch with station
Sunset in late October
Wet Adelie coming ashore on Torgerson
They are comical and endearing, also tough. Adelies are one of only two true Antarctican penguins, staying here during the winters
This pair seems especially proud of their egg
Station is just visible in the background from Torgerson Island
The colony is a collection of dense little communities
Torgerson is close to Elephant Rocks, site of a large elephant seal breeding colony, and young elephants seem to prefer hanging out here
Another shot of station from Torgie
In warm weather the brooding parent stands to inspect their egg pretty regularly
This particular individual seems to always be standing on top of the little hill
Gentoo coming ashore on station
Elephant Rocks
Young elephant seals on the beach on Torgy
When a humpback whale shows up in the harbor, it pretty much stops work on station
Humpy in Arthur Harbor, Torgy in the background
Mid-November, we started getting ready for our first visitors, the cruise ships Kapitan Klemnikov and Endeavor
Russian flag flying to honor the Kapitan Klemnikov
The Kapitan Klebnikov arrived in snowy weather
Cruise passengers shuttling between the ship and station
Away party from the Royal Navy ship HMS Endurance
Scott makes a portrait of the Endeavor crew
Later that day Endeavor dispatched a helicopter and BBC film crew which landed in our backyard
Instead of armament, the heli carries a robotic camera mount. This is the same equipment and crew used to film the Planet Earth series
This is the last season the National Geographic Endeavor will ply Antarctican waters
We got to aboard for a special evening aboard the Endeavor
Amber and I in the bar aboard
Chinstrap, ashore on our pier
Doctor Pat's birthday
Before Scott Sternbach left station he mounted a show of his portraits of us 'Antarctican Souls'. Hey, not many shows open in the galley of Palmer station
John, Amber and I at the show
Grass on Torgy
This leopard seal checked us out very closely, swimming under and around our zodiac for a few minutes
Me, with my new battery-heated gloves, ashore at Dalaca
Jeff at Dalaca
Chuck, boating on a Sunday morning
Cormorants on Elephant Rocks
These bergy bits produced incredibly gorgeous, eerie blue reflections up through the water
Female Elephant Seal ashore at Elephant Rocks
Adult male with protruding snout
This young seal has been showing up at our wastewater discharge. Pretty yucky, but he seems to like it
Paul Q, leading the Glacier Search and Rescue team exercise
My official portrait session on Jacob's Island
Ice on the water
Walking up on the glacier at Old Palmer
Jeff near one of the Skua ponds at Old Palmer
Giant Petrels (nicknamed GPs, pronounced "JEEP"s) looking like so many ducks near the outfall
The Antarctic Conservation Treaty prohibits approaching the wildlife, but its okay if they approach you
The last three weeks of November saw snow or sleet nearly every day
These nests now have two eggs, which the parents brood constantly
Remains of a Skua lunch, probably from last season
Remains of a Skua raid on a nest at Torgy
