the Palmer pulls into view
I spy the Palmer!
The Nathaniel B Palmer (which has also been an icebreaker) has been in and out of our port for the past few weeks. The vessel primarily runs extended scientific missions in the Antarctic.
waiting on the ice pier (covered in dirt for traction) to board
Dave and I got a chance to tour the boat while it was docked at the McMurdo floating ice pier. I know I would never survive below decks on a boat like this (thanks Mom for the motion sickness!)... but I could see how it would be a pretty interesting assignment!
the Nathaniel B Palmer
The boat was full of science labs and computer banks, looking at physical oceanography (the dynamics and kinematics of polar oceans, effects of interface forces such as wind and solar, dynamics at the pack ice edge, etc) chemical oceanography (chemical composition of seawater, fluxes of materials, etc), microbiology, seismology, etc.
A photomontage of one of the scientific experiments we saw on our tour:
a scientific tool for capturing water at various depths and measuring its chemical/biological content, temperature, etc.
the tool goes out this huge door in the side of the ship, and is lowered into the water with a pully system
a wall of scientific monitors, where they monitor the tool while it is underwater
Some shots of the labs onboard:
the Palmer is constantly gathering scientific data about its surroundings
mapping ocean depth- as the Palmer travels, it is continually sounding the bottom; eventually they will have a complete map of the ocean floor
hmmmm...
what do they keep in all of these science coolers?
The daily inner vistas of the vessel:
the PANIC wall
dining hall (notice how just about everything is bolted down!)
the bridge: command central
tools of the trade-winds
The vessel is well equiped for the cold weather and long months at sea. A few final shots from around the main decks...
looking over the bow
escape pod! (good thing its covered- those icy waters get cold!!
the Cajun Cruncher
anchors aweigh!
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