Panorama view of the king penguin colony...
on the Salisbury Plain of South Georgia. Wow!
(Click image to enlarge.)
A toast to Sir Ernest Shackleton...
was made by guests and expedition staff at his grave in Grytviken on arrival at this historic whaling station. Later, my two colleagues, Peter Harrison and Jonathan Rossouw, joined me at the grave for a more personal reflection.
A gallery of birds on South Georgia...
Giant Petrel
South Georgia Pintail
South Georgia Shag
South Georgia Pippet
Gentoo Penguin
Macaroni Penguin
Wandering Albatross
King Penguins
South Georgia Island in the Southern Ocean...
is a platform for biology on steroids. Here are several images of the enormous king penguin colony (as many as ~100,000 pairs) as seen from different perspectives. Words can’t describe the overwhelming experience to land here!
Sir Ernest Shackleton wrote the final entry in his log...
on the evening of 4 January 1922, as his ship lay anchored in the Grytviken harbor on South Georgia. Sadly, later that night he succumbed to a heart attack and died in the place he loved most. I used an astronomical charting program to determine, for that night at that location, the star he likely saw was Sirius, the brightest star in the evening sky.
Page from Sir Ernest Shackleton’s log book, courtesy Scott Polar Institute.
Black-browed albatross...
is the most numerous and widespread albatross in the world. Here’s an adult that has just returned to the nest on West Point Island in the Falklands to feed its chick a meal of squid.
Allow me to quote Shirley Metz...
the first woman to ski to the South Pole in 1982, and one of the members of the expedition staff that I will be joining soon, from recent email correspondence with her:
I always find it amazing that, on a day such as this, all the components of a 3-week expedition that have been in the planning process for at least 2 years, are now in place.
People are flying from all directions towards one pinpoint of a destination - Ushuaia, to board a ship that many have never seen. Some are complete strangers while others have known each other for years - but all are with the single purpose of exploring the most mysterious and fascinating place on the planet.
In 3 weeks time, most of us will travel back whence we came. However, all will be smitten and changed forever by our encounter with the magical spell of Antarctica. Our lives are forever changed. It is an affliction for which there is no cure. The only hope is to struggle in an attempt to return, somehow, and in whatever fashion, be it beyond the grave, to be held captive, once again, by Antarctica's icy grasp.
Oh my, I've thought this thought for over 30 years but never put it in writing...
Geologists should always get window seats...
when traveling on an airplane as demonstrated by these quick pics on the first leg of my travel southward.
East face of Steen’s Mountain in east-central Oregon, catching the morning light.
Basin and Range physiography of northern Nevada.
View to west across the high Sierra toward the deeply shadowed Yosemite Valley. Half Dome is prominent.
Heading to Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina...
at the bottom of the world in order to join the expedition staff aboard the M/V Silver Explorer for two months as we explore the sub-Antarctic islands and the Antarctic Peninsula in the Scotia Sea. Stay tuned to this blog for occasional posts during the next two months - there will be penguins!
The development of the Scotia Sea (plate) gradually opened the Drake Passage between South America and Antarctica beginning approximately 30-40 million years ago, allowing the formation of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, thereby isolating the southern icy continent from warmer ocean waters.
Full moon rising...
the night after the shortest day of the year in Castle Valley, Utah.
Sunset on the solstice...
in Castle Valley, Utah. (Click image to enlarge.)
Transition in progress...
as I move out of the office I have occupied for more than 34 years at EWU. It’s amazing how much stuff had fallen into the event horizon defined by these walls! IMPORTANT NOTE: This is not at all a sad occasion, as my next “office” is a staff cabin on an expedition ship exploring the world, specifically Antarctica, my third season on the icy continent!
My good friend and erstwhile colleague Nigel contributed the image above. Thanks!
Missed it...
by a fraction. Considerably more than 100 bald eagles were easily spied in the trees in Wolf Lodge Bay on Lake Coeur d’Alene this morning, and many were fishing kokanee during their annual migration south. Most eagles were successful in their efforts, however these are very lucky kokanee salmon seen in the first two images below. The juvenile bird in the third image was successful in its quest for breakfast.
All images: Canon 5Div w/ Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM Lens: ISO=1000, 1/1000s, f/8.
Where is 46P/Wirtanen?
Short-period comet 64P/Wirtanen is well placed for what could be a naked eye view the next few nights. I’ve created a chart where you can generally locate the fuzzy object with binoculars as it arrives at perihelion (closest approach to the Sun) today. It’s a worthwhile challenge to spot the glowing object as appears early in the night sky, above and to the right of the constellation Orion.
Furthermore, the Geminid meteor shower should be at its highest activity Friday night, and its radiant is located to the left of Orion. So if the weather is clear, and you can see Orion, then you should be able to spot the comet and enjoy a few meteors if you brave the evening chill.
Good luck and keep your expectations low. I’ll post a shot of the comet if I can manage a good one.
Here’s a finder chart showing the comet directly above the constellation Orion several hours after sunset.
External links to Sky and Telescope:
Shooting bald eagles on Lake Coeur d'Alene...
… at Higgins Point this morning. The recent frigid weather has apparently caused the number of eagles to drop dramatically this week as compared to last.
BLM Weekly Counts
2018/2019
December 7, 2018: 182 adults and 27 juveniles = 209 total (*Visibility was tough resulting in lower than average numbers.)
November 29, 2018: 299 adults and 44 juveniles = 343 total
November 21, 2018: 95 adults and 15 juveniles = 110 total
November 15, 2018: 47 adults and 8 juveniles = 55 total
Last lecture at EWU
Here’s most of my last senior class in sedimentology and stratigraphy, celebrating the end of my long career! I could not have hoped for a better bunch of students… thank you all.
Emeritus Professor of Geology
I am delighted to share the news of being awarded Emeritus status after more than 34 years of teaching and research at Eastern Washington University!