At Vernadsky and Pleneau plus Lemaire Channel and then the
Drake Passage.
The staff of Vernadsky welcomed us ashore this morning. The
station is operated by the science division of the Government of Ukraine. The history
of the station is worth telling. The site was selected and most of the
buildings were built by the British in 1954 and it was given the name
‘Faraday’. When this station opened one of its main focuses was exploration of
the upper atmosphere. Measurements taken at ‘Faraday’ were the first to measure
the extent of the ozone depletion zone or hole above Antarctica. These
measurements, now monitoring, continue to the present time and they are now
taken by Ukrainian scientists at Vernadsky Station. There is no confusion here
for in 1996 the British government transferred Faraday Station to the Ukrainian
government and this long term, valuable, series of measurements continues uninterrupted.
In addition to our scientific tour Vernadsky also hosts a
port office, a souvenir shop and a friendly pub.
Pleneau Island is at the southern entrance to the Lemaire
Channel. The granitic rocks that compose the island had been rounded and smoothed
as they were over-ridden by glaciers. Most of the granitic surfaces we saw were
are scratched and show linear striations, these were ground into the bedrock by
rocks carried along at the glaciers base. This island is a one stop shop to see
many of the birds and seals that inhabit the Antarctic Peninsula. For example
we saw multiple generations of Gentoo Penguins and Antarctic Terns. Also
present were Blue-eyed Shags, Kelp Gulls, Skuas and both Fur and Weddell Seals.
Many of us delayed our Filipino dinner to stay out on deck
as we passed between the towering walls of Lemaire Channel. As the day closed
we closed on headed to the observation lounge for the Crew’s performance in the
Cruise Show while the FRAM headed northward to cross the Drake Passage.
