April 1, 2006

Funded by the National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs

Location: Latitude 62° 15' S, Longitude 55° 20' W

Air Temperature: .4°C

Bottom of the Ninth

A little over eight hours ago we set sail for Patagonia. It appears we have already left most of the ice behind us, along with a few unsampled sites, some hopes that may have been too high, and a bottom hole assembly or two. However, we are headed north with the afterglow of a critical success.

When we left the Seymour Island region two days ago, we intended to revisit each of our potential Oligocene drill sites and then select one for a final attempt at this target. A north wind had been blowing and we hoped this might have pushed the ice edge south of the proposed sites. It seems the wind did indeed push the ice to the south, but just enough to pack it tightly into our work area and make transiting difficult and drilling out of the question. Last night we reached the last of these potential sites, the farthest north and east, and found relatively clear water. We had precious little time left in the cruise, but as it turned out, a little was all we needed. The very first core returned Oligocene strata. A total depth of 7.2 m was achieved in the hole and we have enough material to be confident in the age and sedimentology. Having sampled this age material, we now have samples of every interval on our target list this year. Shortly before time was up and we would have had to quit working anyway, ice again forced us to pull pipe and leave station. I thought it a fitting ending that even in the last moments, it was again the ice telling us when to go.

There was definitely a mood of jubilation last night as these samples came aboard. At the beginning of this cruise, Andy, the drilling superintendent, warned us not to celebrate too early. He thought last year's announcement of a home run on the first pitch made the later difficulties harder to stomach. I don't think he will argue with the science party celebrating in the bottom of the ninth. I know that our success is the drillers' success as well. Despite that, I appreciate their enthusiasm for the task, whether this means watching the ice side-by-side with us as a site is selected or the lack of complaint when, due to ice, pipe is tripped again without ever having reached bottom. In his first journal, Andy warned us that a driller is not someone to take home to mother. This warning now seems as unnecessary as his first.

It was a long morning to get everything secure as thoughts quickly turned to Punta Arenas. Jay and Jeff helped get the clump weight out of the moonpool so that we could begin our passage home. Now all of the clean up, analysis, and report writing will happen and we are all so glad to have last night to write about.

Best wishes, Julia

Ice coverage at a site not drilled.

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