Livingston Island and Deception Island
January 8, 2000
I thought that life is the mountains was difficult,
but at sea I learned otherwise.
Crewmember from Switzerland
Livingston Island offered an amazing diversity of plant and animal
species, and it was our good fortune to visit Hannah Point during
the morning. The site was really a microcosm of Antarctic Peninsula
fauna, offering suitable nesting habitat for seven different
species of birds. Macaroni, Gentoo, and Chinstrap Penguins, Kelp
Gulls, Blue-eyed Shags, Snowy Sheathbills, and Southern Giant
Petrels all nest here. We landed on a gently sloping beach of dark,
rounded, fine-grained basaltic pebbles and were met by our Expedition
Leader, who welcomed us to the island and made us aware of
the points of interest. An easy walk of a little over a mile to a
second landing site was the plan, with the opportunity to examine
some fossils and view nesting birds. As an added bonus there were
many southern elephant seals hauled out. Their odor was strong
and unmistakable, but it was nice to be close to these impressive
marine mammals. Antarctic Terns were also seen nesting along the
beach. Many of the rocks were covered with bright orange crustose
lichens, and there were patches of Colobanthus quietensis and
Deschampsia antarctica.
Our next landing was to be at Bailey Head,
Deception Island for a visit to the huge
Chinstrap Penguin colony. Weather
was a factor here and the landing site was
too rough for us to disembark, so we
proceeded to Whaler's Bay. The entrance
to the interior was through a narrow opening
called Neptune's Bellows. Deception Island is
really the caldera of a collapsed volcano. after a significant
explosion around 700,000 years ago, the magma chamber below
was nearly emptied. The volcano then fell in upon itself as gravity
exerted force on the remaining structure. It was a magnificent
place. If you were to sail around it, you would think it to be much
larger that it is until you found the opening, hence the name
Deception Island.
Whaler's Bay is the site of a destroyed whaling facility and research
station. The whaling station was in operation between 1910 and
1931, and some of the huge storage tanks and miscellaneous
equipment were visible. There were eruptions here in 1969, which
forced the abandonment of the research facilities. The eruptions
produced significant lava 8ows that spread down the slopes to the
sea, covering everything in their path. The beach was strewn with
volcanic ash and cinders of various sizes, which covered the old
barrels, equipment, whalebones, and other debris from the whaling
and research groups that once operated here.
Pendulum Cove was the next stop. Nestled deep in the bay, it is
also an area of geothermal springs. The crew battled through the
wind and snow to shore and dug a pit near the tideline. Steam rose
from the newly constructed bathing pool in the black volcanic
sand, and towels were made ready for any intrepid bathers. Only a
few hearty passengers decided to take advantage of the springs,
seven to be exact. But these brave souls enjoyed themselves and
cared not what the others thought of the activity. They were
greeted with a steaming mug of hot chocolate and schnapps when
they returned to the World Discoverer, and felt exhilarated by the
experience.
In the recap, Tim spoke about the history of our next day's destination,
Port Lockroy. It is' involved with ecological and meteorological
research and was instrumental in discovering ozone depletion in
Antarctica. He was coerced into the talk by the simple fact that he
was the only Brit on the staff, and it was a British facility. Allan
spoke of deep diving techniques in marine mammals. By a combination
of relaxation and significant physiological adaptations, they
can attain great depths. They have much greater blood volume and
more oxygen carrying pigments in their blood and muscle tissue.
Rick then discussed the formation of calderas. He also mentioned
the history of eruptions on Deception Island and that recent studies
had determined that the magma was welling below again at a depth
of 1,500 to 2,000 feet (450 to 600 meters). This welling could
indicate that another eruption is due in the next twenty years.
