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The map shows the route of our cruise, from the southern tip of
South America to the coast of the Antarctic peninsula.
We followed the coastline almost to the Antarctic Circle.
Courtesy of Lindblad Expeditions
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Antarctica
is shaped somewhat like a giant stingray. The main part of the continent,
called “Greater Antarctica,” lies within the Antarctic Circle. The Antarctic
Peninsula juts out from the main body of the continent like a curved stingray
tail; this section is called “Lesser Antarctica.” This peninsula reaches toward the southern tip of South
America.
Like
most cruise ships going to Antarctica, the Endeavour departed from Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world. Two days
out of Ushuaia we saw our first iceberg. It was breakfast time when the captain
came on the intercom telling us that there was an iceberg ahead. We all
charged out excitedly along the railings on deck to look at it, our breath all
frosty in the gray cold. Just as quickly as it appeared, it was astern
and we all felt a little wistful to see such a marvel shrink away. It was
our first iceberg and we didn’t yet know how much ice lay over the
horizon. As we sailed on, more icebergs slipped by, on the port and on the
starboard sides of the ship. The icebergs were notable at first but then became
routine as we got used to seeing them.
By
the next morning we were surrounded by ice. This was the most magical part
of the trip, a surreal vista of floating ice that seemed to stretch on forever.
This type of ice is called fast ice. Fast ice develops when thin pieces of ice with raised edges, called pancake ice,
form on the surface of the ocean. Over time, as air temperatures remain low,
crystals form and the pancakes eventually freeze together, creating a solid
layer several centimeters thick. Continued cold causes this layer to attach to the shore, thus the name “fast
ice.”
Towering
glaciers seemed to rise from the deep blue ocean like icy monuments. These
glaciers form in the mountains of Antarctica. Snow accumulates on the peaks and
becomes compressed by its own weight into solid ice. Glacial ice can last
decades, centuries, or even millennia. This solid ice flows down off the
mountains right into the ocean. When pieces break off, or “calve,” they become
icebergs. |
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