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| These Adelie chicks are 19
days old and being in the nest under the parent is no longer an option.
They are too big and can keep themselves warm from now on. The parent
is still nearby to guard them, and will continue to feed them, but the
nest is too small for all three. |
This chick is also 19 days
old and almost as tall as the adult. It will stand on it's toes and beg
for food by tapping at the parent's beak. |
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| This expanse is the Ross Sea
ice (frozen sea water that is created in the winter and retreats in the
summer). The penguins must walk over this to get to open water everytime
they want to feed. In Oct they had to walk 10km (over 6 mi), now, in Dec,
the ice edge is retreating and the walk is only 2 km. Soon open water
will be at the doorstep of the colony at Cape Royds, and they will not
have to walk far at all. |
As summer progresses, large
cracks form in the sheet of ice locked in place by the land. The winds
and waves create ice floes from the larger ice sheets bringing open water
closer to the colony. Seals and whales take advantage of these cracks
and move further into the area to feed. |
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| Crabeater seals who are resting
on the ice near open water. These are not penguin eaters. |
These Orca (Killer whales)
are swimming in one of the cracks you see in the above picture. They use
the cracks for air as they search for food (large fish near the bottom
of the ocean) in the area. |
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| One of the cracks in the ice
with a reflection of Mt Erebus in the still water. The temperature of
this ocean water is -1.6oC, colder than the freezing point of fresh water
because of the salt content. |
An iceberg grounded at the
edge of the sea ice. The sea ice is about a meter thick and the water
is over 400 meters deep. Over 80% of the iceberg is under the water. This
is a huge chunk of fresh water ice that has broken off from an ice shelf,
which is part of a glacier. The ice at eye level of our cameraman fell
as snow a few thousand years ago. |
