As we headed south after the geological survey of the South Sandwich Islands was completed, we finally reached the ice covered parts of the Weddell Sea, and I could enjoy again the beauty of this landscape and the stillness of the sea surface undisturbed by waves:
I could also enjoy again the presence of my favorite animal in his natural environment:
Then our work began: the recovery of the moorings we had deployed last year.
We started with the shallowest mooring, where an automated water sampler had been deployed. Once the instrument was on deck, I could read John's mind: "Are you gonna come and help me drag this thing inside the lab, or are you gonna keep taking your bloody pictures?"
Once in the lab, I inspected the instrument, which looked in good shape after having spent a whole year in freezing cold waters where huge icebergs ocasionnally drift by and could have smashed it into pieces...
I immediately started to retrieve the water sample bags from the plastic bottles, and put new bags in place for a short 24-hour redeployment, in order to have an idea of the high-frequency variability which could have aliased our weekly sampling measurements. I owe a big thank to Simmon Day, one of the geologists, who patiently helped me through the whole day, and without whom I would not have been ready for the redeployment by the end of the working day!
In the meantime, John was bringing in the lab other instruments from the moorings, such as this Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler:
(to be continued...)
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