A quick update from the Betanzos

We successfully made it to Antarctica! Our flight left Punta Arenas, and we landed on King George Island the night of January 2.

We briefly visited Base Escudero, where we stayed last year. From there, we took small boats out to our research vessel: the Betanzos. It was very late at night (about 1 am on Jan 3), so it was almost like dusk. The lights on the horizon at the upper left are from the Betanzos. Our home away from home!

After dropping some scientists off at Base O’Higgins, we have been moving along the northwest side of the Antarctic Peninsula. We stop at a new site each day, and the ship sails to the next at night. So far, we have collected samples at Isla Duroch where there are a lot of chinstrap penguins. 

Now we have moved on to Baya Esperanza (Hope Bay) on the tip of the Peninsula. There is an Argentinian base with a cell phone tower. That is why I have a little bit of internet… for right now! Tonight we will move on to the next site, away from cell reception. 

At each site on our “cruise”, we are looking for the succession gradients from a receding glacier where plants are beginning to grow. We are hopeful that Baya Esperanza will have the sites we need! However, we have been on a weather delay all day. It is not safe whether to take the Zodiacs (the small boats) from the Betanzos to the shore. 

So we are just waiting for conditions to improve… hopefully tonight!