Land ahoy

The fourth and fifth days of navigation have been much more pleasant than the first three. Calm waters have made a big difference to my comfort level... I am no longer seasick, even without the patch.

Yesterday evening we celebrated our last night at sea with the traditional party. Lots of music, lots of dancing, lots of drinking. The ship is very quiet this morning. I suspect a number of people will not be feeling too perky when they wake up.

It is a grey day, and there is a mist on the horizon. The southern tip of Tasmania is barely visible, rising above the mist. We should reach it in six hours time. It will be great to set foot on dry land again!

We shall stay in Hobart for the weekend, sleeping on the Astrolabe, and shall start our 24h plane journey back to France on Monday morning.

The adventure is nearly over. I am very much looking forward to being back home, but at the same time I am sorry to leave Antarctica behind. There is a magic about the place I cannot quite explain...

Day three

This third day at sea has passed much like the two previous days. There is a moderate to strong sea-swell, which is making us roll severely (30 degrees either way). I'm doing OK at the moment, thanks to the sea-sickness patch.

There is not much to do on the Astrolabe to pass the time. One can read, watch films, work on a computer. I can do none of the above without feeling queasy. Other options are watching the sea from the bridge, or from the helipad at the rear of the ship. I spend most of my time either watching the sea from one of these two locations, or lying on my berth being rocked by the waves.

Eating on the Astrolabe requires willpower, and the certain knowledge that it is better to be queasy with something in the stomach than with nothing at all. Taking a shower is more challenging still!

We should have only another 48 hours at sea before we reach Hobart. Yay!

Second day at sea

Sea state : moderate swell

My state : patched, but still queasy and drowsy.

We are making good speed. At this rate we should arrive in Hobart Saturday afternoon. Fingers crossed!

First day at sea

Current location: S61° 50'.

Sea state: slight swell.

My state: seasick... ugh!

After having managed to keep down none out of the three meals taken on board, I have now opted for a seasickness patch. Hopefully things will be better tomorrow.

Departure from DDU

Last half-day at DDU...

We are expected to be on board the Astrolabe this afternoon, as our departure is set for early evening. Six days at sea await us... what a glorious prospect...

The day is bright and windy, which makes for great visibility, but choppy waters. The numerous icebergs that in the bay at the moment will escort us out to the open sea. I shall be sad to say goodbye to these ice-monsters.

Goodbye Dumont d'Urville, goodbye Antarctica! I hope to be back soon...

The Astrolabe is back

The sun that bathed us most generously over the weekend (the photo above was taken last Sunday) has given way to two days of wind and snow. There has been so much cloud that at times we could hardly see over to the next building, let alone make out the continent or the icebergs in the bay.

The Astrolabe arrived offshore early this morning, but did not dare come into dock in such windy conditions with near zero visibility. It waited until early afternoon for the snow storm to clear, then gingerly inched onto the bay and to its mooring. It should stay here five days or so, time enough to unload its cargo (mostly fuel for the winter) and pick up its forty odd passengers (I shall be one of them) for the crossing over to Hobart.

If all goes as planned, I should be leaving here this coming Sunday or Monday. Although the prospect of a 5-7 day crossing through rough seas the flat-bottomed Astrolabe doesn't really fill me with anticipatory joy, I shall be glad to be on my way home at last.

Midnight arrival at Dumont d'Urville

It is a quarter to midnight local time (GMT+9), the sky is light, the penguins are active, and we are finally moored opposite Dumont d'Urville station.

It has been a day of ice. Big tabular bergs floating by, the Astrolabe bumping through unconsolidated pack, forcing its way though thicker but still not solid pack, us taking photographs from all angles and in all light conditions. More often than not it felt like being in a dream world. A cold one at that.

For the time being we are consigned to the ship. Those whose final stop is Dumont itself will disembark tomorrow. The others (myself included) will continue to bunk on the Astrolabe, and hope to get permission to go ashore and visit the base during the day. This state of affairs should only last a couply of days, as JY and I are scheduled to fly up to Concordia on Tuesday 8th.

Thats all for now... Goodnight from Dumont d'Urville station!

First ice

This morning after breakfast we got the treat we have all been waiting for: a fantastic tabular iceberg passing at barely a few hundred meters from the ship.

Tabular icebergs carry their name well. They are flat like table-tops (at least the visible part is). We were close enough to this one to make out vertical fractures at regular intervals, and brilliant ice-blue reflections at its base. The color was so vivid it seemed painted on. Fantastic!

As this was our first berg, it got its fair share of photographs. I'll share some of them as soon as I can, though I fear they will not convey the same impression as we got first hand.

Otherwise all is going well, we are at 64 degrees south, proceding at a leisurely 10-12 knots. The sea is calm (a welcome change) and pretty cold (0.4C). The Astrolabe has gone back to a gentle rolling regime, enabling us all to get a good night's sleep and to finally enjoy a hearty breakfast. The mood is good all round, though we're all fairly impatient to get to Dumont d'Urville at last.

From the Fifties to the Sixties

So much for the Antarctic convergence zone leading to calmer waters (see previous post). We are now nearing the end of the Howling Fifties in great southern ocean style: white-topped waves as far as the eye can see.

There are two sets of waves coming from different directions, leading to a very disorganized sea. The Astrolabe rolls and pitches in an unpredictable manner. This motion is called cork-screwing. It feels like we are ping pong balls in a washing machine.

The sea is beautiful to watch, dark blue fringed with white crests, and dotted with ice-blue patches where waves have broken. There are albatros and other birds circling our ship, but there have been no whale sightings (the sea is too rough for us to distinguish much).

The rumours of us hitting sea ice before long have been confirmed. Apparently the ice pack is still well formed around Dumont d'Urville. Our instructions are to stay out of the navigator's way once we reach the pack, as they will have a lot of manouvering to do.

I'm looking forward to reaching ice, firstly beacause I have never seen an ice-pack for real, much less navigated through one, and secondly because ice-pack equals calm water, and we haven't had any of that since we left Hobart 4 days ago.

Antarctic convergence

Today we have passed the Antarctic convergence, where the waters of the southern Indian Ocean meet the circum-Antarctic current. The net effect is a cooling of the water temperature (it is now below 4 degrees, down from 9 at the same time yesterday) with a corresponding drop in air temperature. The sea is also a bit calmer than before, which makes writing this post less of a sporting activity than it was yesterday.

Unfortunately the weather has also changed. Instead of blue skies with the odd cumulus cloud (which we - as good children at heart - had good fun seeing animals in) we now have monotonous grey all around, with a stiff but constant tail wind, and drizzle. I still fully intend to brave the outdoors while I can. I'm sure the polar equipment we have been issued with will keep me warm enough.

We have been making good speed, and are now at 55 degrees south. If all goes well, we should start to see ice tomorrow, maybe even tonight if we are lucky. As soon as we do, I'll let you know.

Into the howling fifties

We have just passed from the roaring forties to the howling fifties, and the change is noticeable. We are now regularly rolling 30 degrees from vertical in both directions.

I am writing this mail by touch-typing while doing my best to keep my eyes on the horizon. The chair and the computer are both bolted to the deck, and I have to keep myself in the chair by jamming my feet against the sides of the desk.

Sea-sickness is being kept at bay, but only just. I'm ok so long as I can go outside every now and again, or am where I can see the horizon. The only other solution is lying horizontal in my bunk.

Otherwise the crossing is going well. There is not much to do except eat if possible, sleep when possible, watch the sea or - if your stomach is solidly attached - a movie.

We have been sailing for two days now, though it feels much longer than that. Another three and we should be there.

New Year's celebrations on the Astrolabe

New Year's greetings to you all.

I am writing this on what is for me the morning of January 1st 2008. Our current timezone is UTC+10h, which places us 9 hours ahead of central Europe, and 18 hours ahead of California. The sea is rougher than yesterday (white crested waves are everywhere) and the ship is as unstable as ever. We are currently enjoying regular 10-15 degree roll with occasional waves sending us over 20 degrees in either direction. The sky has cleared, and we have cold sunshine to greet on deck.

Last night we celebrated the coming of the new year in stlye. After an early dinner (we dine in two shifts, one at 18:00 and one at 19:00) we mostly hung around either outside or in the bar, waiting for midnight to arrive. The music began in earnest at half eleven, as did the dancing. The first bottle of chmpagne was uncorked at exactly midnight (as it should be), and from then on the party really took off.

All I can say is that dancing to disco music in a restricted space on a rolling ship is an experience to be had at least once in one's life. After a slow beginning, we all got used to dancing on the moving floor, and had a great time. The music, dancing and champagne lasted until 2am. This morning, only about one third of the passengers made it to breakfast. Many are still sleeping off the combined effects of alcohol, dancing and anti-seasickness medication.

Happy New Year

Hi folks, and Happy New Year to you all.

We left harbour at 2pm local time. After 10 hours of navigation, the state of affairs is the following: heading 190 degrees, speed 12 knots calm(ish) sea, rapidly clouding over.

I was told to expect the Astrolabe to roll a lot, and I can confirm that it does. The sea is pretty calm, yet we are rolling constantly between 10 and 20 degrees. I have not yet felt seasick, luckily.

We have been playing games on the aft deck to train our inner ear: running round the helipad, balancing on one leg, standing still in a tai-chi position etc. All this ponctuated by running to the side to gawp at dolfins that come every now and again to play.

We are an hour away from midnight, the sun has set, and champagne is waiting for us in the mess. Happy New Year to you all!

Astrolabe day 1

Hi folks!

Here we are on board the Astrolabe. It is a sunny day in Hobart, Tasmania, and we spent the morning strolling around the harbour. It is yachting season, and there are many great ships that have just finished the Melbourne to Hobart regatta. Some of these look like they cut water really well.

We boarded last night, our fist night of sleep in a horizontal position for three days (long haul flights and all that). Luckily for us the Astrolabe had not finished loading its cargo, so we spent the night in the harbour. No seasickness.

We will be departing in a few hours for the open sea. Large seas are forcast right for New Year's dinner... I'll keep you posted on how that goes.

[No photo attachments are permitted on either outgoing or incoming mail to the ship, so there will be no pictures with my posts until I reach dry land again.]

Expedition Planning #13 : Astrolabe position update

D-Day minus one and a bit: the latest GPS readings have the Astrolabe at 250 nautical miles (290 miles or 560 km) from Hobart (see image above).

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Keep up to date with the latest developments at http://sismordia.blogspot.com

Merry Christmas, folks!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

It's that time of year again, the decorations are up, the cards are sent, the presents wrapped. This year I have been deficient on the card side, so here is an attempt to make up for things. The picture above was taken in March 2006, on the Southern Indian Ocean island of Crozet, and shows the peaceful co-habitation of Royal Penguins and Elephant Seals. I've turned it into my official 2007 Christmas card.

My thoughts go to my family, with whom I had an early Christmas reunion ten days ago, to my friends and colleagues in Strasbourg, Cambridge, Pasadena and Rome (you know who you are), to our valiant seismic operators at Crozet, Kerguelen, New Amsterdam, Dumont d'Urville and Concordia, and to the folks spending Christmas on the high seas aboard the Astrolabe (current position shown below).

Best wishes to all !

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Keep up to date with the latest developments at http://sismordia.blogspot.com

Expedition Planning #11 : Astrolabe back on the move

Here is the latest position of the Astrolabe. As you an see, it has left Dumont d'Urville and is heading out to the open sea. In five days time it should reach Hobart.

Our departure date of December 28th has been confirmed. We set off on the 7am flight out of Strasbourg. Our route will take us to Paris, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Hobart, where we should arrive on December 30th.

Just a few more small things to take care of, and I'll be good to go.

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Keep up to date with the latest developments at http://sismordia.blogspot.com

Expedition Planning #10 : departure postponed

As you can see from the picture, the Astrolabe is still at Dumont d'Urville. The latest information we have indicates it will set out again on December 23rd.

This means our departure has to be postponed. We'll be flying out on the 28th instead of the 26th. Good news for those celebrating Christmas with their families!


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Keep up to date with the latest developments at http://sismordia.blogspot.com

Where is the Astrolabe?

The Astrolabe, the ship in the image on the left and our transport to Antarctica, is currently at Dumont d'Urville. You can follow its progress on this web page, or using Google Earth and this kml file.

A little while ago, I wrote a post about the new high-resolution images of Antarctica, called LIMA. They have now been integrated into Google Earth. Here is an image of the current position of the Astrolabe superposed on the LIMA image, in which the ship seems to be navigating on sea-ice. The ship's position is given by its on-board GPS, and is updated regularly. On the other hand, the background image is fixed, and shows the winter extent of the sea-ice. In the height of the Antarctic summer (the summer solstice is two days away), the waters around Dumont d'Urville are usually navigable, though dotted with ice.


As soon as it has finished unloading its cargo, the Astrolabe will go back to Hobart, from where it is scheduled to depart again - with me on board - on December 28th. During the next week, I'll be keeping a close watch on its position !

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Keep up to date with the latest developments at http://sismordia.blogspot.com

High Resolution Antarctica Images

There has been a lot of buzz around the web recently about new high resolution imagery of Antarctica, called Landsat Image Mosaic of Antarctica (LIMA). LIMA was created by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), the British Antarctic Survey (BAS), and NASA, with funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF). Follow the links to read the official press releases from the USGS, BAS, and NASA.

As an example of the quality of images available from LIMA, here is a false-color map of the region surrounding the French permanent Antarctic station Dumont d'Urville. The false-color map incorporates infrared data, which makes it easier to distinguish between ice and snow. Each pixel in the image represents a 15x15m area.



In this image, South is approximately up. You can see the difference between the glaciers sitting behind Dumont d'Urville, and the sea-ice sitting in front of it. In winter the sea-ice completely shuts off the base from the water. As there is no airfield, just a small landing area for Twin Otters and helicopters, all cargo and most people must get to and from the base by ship. The base is accessible only during the summer months, when the sea-ice retreats.

I have been told that the first trips of the year, usually end of October, are the most spectacular. The Astrolabe (the ice-capable ship used to reach Dumont from Hobart in Australia) has to navigate between plates of sea-ice, and some years cannot get to the base itself. In these cases, if the ice-pack is not too wide, people and light cargo is ferried over to Dumont by helicopter. Sometimes the ice-pack is too wide, and the ship has to turn around and go back.

The crossing my colleague JY and I are booked on is due to sail from Hobart on December 28th. We will most likely reach Dumont on the 1st or 2nd of January, at the height of the Antarctic summer. Our chances of finding sea-ice are minimal, but we may if we are lucky get good views of the larger icebergs that will not have drifted too far or melted too much by that time. I am very much looking forward to that!