One of the highlights of this journey so far for me has been working with Marc De Vos and Carla Ramjukadh, both of whom are meteorologist/oceanographers with the South African Weather Service aboard the ship. Marc and Carla conduct a wide range of meteorological observations throughout the day, and the data they collect informs regional weather forecasts and boosts our understanding of the forces at play in this remote region of the world. Once we get closer to the Weddell Sea, they will begin sending up weather balloons from a special balloon-launch room in the stern (back) of the ship. Don't worry, I'll be right there when they do, and I'll share it with you!
In the meantime, though, they have kindly let me help them deploy high-tech ocean monitoring buoys during our journey south. By the time we reach the ice, we'll have thrown-overboard 25 ocean-monitoring buoys that will continuously monitor ocean swells, currents, water temperature, salinity (concentration of salt in the water), oxygen levels, and more, sending that data for real-time analysis to scientists around the world.
