The Antarctic convergence is the area where currents from the Southern Ocean meet with warmers waters from the north and this biological boundary circles the entire Antarctic. This meeting of water masses leads to a highly dynamic area with upwelling of nutrient and increases in phytoplankton production. Many marine birds such as albatrosses and petrels are found around this region taking advantage of the concentrated food resources. For example, Wandering Albatross are commonly found foraging around this region. We saw many from the ship as we sailed south from South Georgia. These birds breed in on Sub-Antarctic Islands like South Georgia and can fly very long distances throughout the Southern Ocean to find food.

Wandering albatross

We had planned to go next to the South Orkney Islands, which are just north and east of the Antarctic Peninsula. We had hoped to visit the Argentine Research Station “Orcadas” located on Laurie Island in the South Orkney Islands. At the start of my trip I had met with an Argentine colleague in Buenos Aries, who gave me several satellite tags to take to Orcadas. They plan to deploy on Adélie penguins to determine their winter foraging ranges. The Argentine supply ship which was to take them was delayed and would not be able to deliver them in time to Orcadas. Giving the tags to me was the last chance to get the tags to the station this season. In addition, I wanted to collect feather samples from the South Orkney Islands to better understand the diets and migratory patterns of the penguins that lived there.

Picture of Orcadas Base (right) and or the South Orkney Islands map (left) from Wikipedia

However as we traveled south we came across large bands of sea ice and small icebergs that blocked out path. This led us to divert our course westward before heading south again. However, the large amount of ice was slowing down the speed of the ship and the Captain and Expedition Leader decided to abandon our plans to visit the South Orkney Islands. Sadly, no other ships have been able to reach the South Orkney Islands this season due the large amount of ice that has floated up from the Antarctic. We then changed course westward for the South Shetlands Islands which are to the north and west of the Antarctic Peninsula. Sadly, I was not able to deliver the satellite tags to Orcadas this season. Even so, the Argentine researchers will be able to collect feather samples for me and ship them back to the United States and the end of the season. When working in the Antarctic it is often the ice, wind, snow and waves that dictate where you can get to and what science objectives you can achieve.

Ice and  Icebergs