Images from the Bottom of the Earth

Bow of RSV Aurora Australis heading in to ice berg field off Antartica. (note RSV stands for Research and Supply Vessel)

Scientific party and crew of RSV Aurora Australis ANARE Voyage 3.

View of pancake ice through port hole.

Lone ice berg near the edge of the seasonally ice covered waters.

Dark skys and clouds were common.

CTD/Rosette water sampler being lowered from ship between ice flows.

Recovery of flotation used to keep sediment trap mooring upright and taught.

Deployment of net used to sample marine plankton.

View from the ship of Adelie penguins as they slide to the watersedge

Close up (or too close?) to an ice berg as viewed from the upper deck of the Aurora Australis.

Approach to the Mertz Glacier field. Note thin skim of ice dampens waves and gives light sheen to water vs. deeper blue color and ripples on non-ice covered areas.

Moon rise over the melting ice at midnight.

King Neptune pays us a visit & demands homage.

Ray of sun iluminates sea near lone ice berg.

Ice coring on the melting ice field with larger ice berg in background.

Two Adelie penguins on ice (and Ken's boot to show how close he got-not an attempt to boot the penguin!)

Penguin sledding--the only way to travel.

A day on the ice shared by scientists and penguins alike.

Close-up view of Adelie Penguin from ice.

Ken Buesseler overlooking the bow of the Aurora Australis.