Hi there, how are you all doing?
It’s Reckless here, writing to you as we have finished our work periods down in the Antarctic. During our final work period, we were mostly in a part of the Antarctic known as the Bransfield Straight. This is just north of the Antarctic Peninsula and contains lots of interesting places, which we had not seen before.
HMS Endurance in Deception Island
One of the most interesting sights was Deception Island. This is a very special place as it is a huge volcano that rises up from the bottom of the sea, which is over 1000m deep where it is. Only the top of the volcano, or the crater as it is known is visible above the sea and is shaped like a huge bowl. One edge however is open to the sea and we sailed through this chasm into the crater itself.
During our last work period in Antarctica, the weather was a lot colder than before and everyone had to wrap up really warm and wear lots of special cold weather clothing. All of the clothing worked and no one got cold and so everyone on HMS ENDURANCE was able to complete all the important work that had to be done.
Humpback whale
We also saw lots of whales during this last work period. The most common whale was the Humpback, which often jumped out of the water next to the ship. Humpback whales grow to about 15.5m (51ft) in length and weigh about 48 tonnes. Measure everyone’s height and weight in your classroom and find out how many individuals are needed to equal the length and weight of a Humpback whale.
Also, try drawing a food web for the Southern Ocean and look at how animals depend on each other for food. Plants and animals that could be included are algae, zooplankton, krill, squid, albatross, Emperor penguin, crabeater seal, elephant seal, humpback whale and killer whale.
Research the size of the animals in the food web and then draw them – in chalk in the playground. Make sure the dimensions are correct – including those of krill (3cm long) and the Humpback whale (15.5m long)! The try discussing the following:
- What would happen if all the krill were removed from the food web?
- What would happen if whales became extinct?
- What are some of the ways in which Antarctic food chains could be broken?
We also saw some Orca whales, which are probably better known to you as killer whales. In Antarctica, killer whales swim around in family groups called pods. A pod may be anything from a few to a couple of dozen killer whales. While killer whales like to eat penguins, seals, fish and on occasion, other whales, they don’t seem very interested in bears – phew!
Anchor and I think we are very brave bears for coming to Antarctica with HMS ENDURANCE. However, we aren’t as brave as some of the early explorers like Scott, Shackleton and Amundsen.
Captain Robert Scott
Captain Robert Falcon Scott is perhaps the best know Antarctic explorer. In 1911, Scott went to Antarctica for an attempt at being the first man to reach the South Pole and so did a team of Norwegians led by Roald Amundsen. Amundsen was an experienced explorer with a great knowledge regarding survival and travel at the North Pole. Amundsen had attempted a journey to the North Pole in 1910 but changed his mind about the trip when he learned that two people had already seen the North Pole.
Roald Amundsen
Instead, he turned to the unexplored South Pole. Amundsen's camp was positioned in the Bay of Whales, 100 km closer to the Pole than Scott’s camp. The Norwegians used 59 husky dogs to help with hauling supplies on sleds. Scott on the other hand used ponies as well as dogs, yet the ponies could not function in the snow and eventually proved useless. Scott also refused to see the usefulness in wearing fur clothing.
Scott’s team at the South Pole
57 days after the started out Amundsen's team of four, with the remaining 18 dogs (originally 97 dogs) reached the South Pole on the 14th of December 1911. They swiftly returned to their camp and set sail for Australia to tell the world of their achievements.
Scott and his party also reached the Pole, only a month later and were devastated to see the Norwegian flag flying at the bottom of the world. In his diary, Scott said of the discovery "This is an awful place and terrible enough for us to have laboured to, without the reward of priority". Scott’s team retreated and was held by bad weather long enough for all of them to perish from lack of supplies.
Scott memorial window
Make a timeline of Antarctic explorers. (This could be either on paper or as a `clothesline’ across your classroom). Choose an explorer to report on as much as you can about them. Did they succeed in their explorations of Antarctica, or did they fail? Can you think of a record that would make you a famous explorer to Antarctica?
We had lots of fun in the Antarctic and now we are on to the next phase of our deployment, which takes us to South America and South Africa. As we get to each place, I will write more letters.
Keep working hard at school.
Yours aye,
Reckless
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