27th January - Investigator at MacDonald Islands hunting for volcanoes - Hobart life

Wednesday 27^th January 2016

Pete Harmsen has sent what I think is a great email from the Southern Ocean, with a few photos:

After 4 days in 40 degree Fremantle it was a relief on Friday 8th Jan to set sail and get out of that sweltering town.  Seems strange now to be complaining about that.  It's almost 4 degrees outside, wind a steady 40-50 knots and water temp around 2.8.

After 16 days slowly cruising the Indian, and now Southern, Ocean and hanging various bits of kit over the side testing water for nutrients, iron, temperature and salinity, sometimes to the sea floor at 3,500 metres, it was a treat yesterday to finally see a rock.  Well worth the wait, at 0730 the first mate shouts "Land Ho!!" and out of the gloom appears McDonald Island, or islands as they are.  Quick bit of geology I learned - first discovered in 1854, only been landed on 2 times, one of Australia's only two active volcanoes (we'll see the other one later, at Heard island) it erupted in 1992 and 1997 when the island doubled in size!  What!!  Yes, these are some of the youngest rocks on the planet, on the remotest spot on the planet (53South 72East). I t's still emitting gas, and we saw that yesterday.  We saw the earth breathe!

After the eruption all the penguins left, but there are now estimated to be a million macaroni and king penguins here.  We are doing the first detailed survey of the sea floor, and are finding under sea volcanoes that we will be sampling when the weather allows.  It got a bit exciting last night when the ship was side on to a big set of waves, and we rolled about 40 degrees, sending the commercial toaster and the dessert across the galley, as well as some computers into walls, furniture into people, and me into a desk.  Luckily my nose broke my fall, and it's a bit fatter today!  Even the table tennis table copped a slide and has been put away for a while.  Hopefully not permanently, as the "Heard Island Masters" was just getting under way, and I'd won my first two rounds.

There is a good crew aboard, 20 crew and 40 scientists from 10 different countries.  The food is great, and meals are frequent, breakfast at 7-8, lunch 1130-1230 and dinner at 5-6.  It's then another 4 hours till sunset around 20 past 10, then slide into the bunk to be gently rolled to sleep.

Doing plenty of filming and snapping, so will try to keep up some sort of a flow now that we are taking pictures of things other than albatrosses!  As magnificent as they are.

Here in Hobart is is hot one day, cool the next.

The garden is heaving with wildlife, in South Hobart.  Bumblebees

Small wallabies

Ducks, native hens, quolls, many birds, all managing to provide me with blurry photo opps…

Once again I am proving my worth as a grandmother by providing quality experiences…

Here we all are, early in the morning  gathered happily around an iPad watching clips of Eurovision songs…

And my bed is always arranged in welcoming ways, by Rose.