ARTEMIS 2015 - Robotic Exploration Beneath the McMurdo Ice Shelf
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Animals

11/12/2015

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By Peter Kimball
Yesterday was a huge day for wildlife sightings.  Those who stayed overnight at camp were surprised to find that a Weddell Seal had wandered into camp the night before.  The seal was bloodied a bit from fighting (this is common), and rested near our camp for about a day and a half before moving on this evening.  Evan, Justin, Vickie, and Brian followed the seal's trail yesterday morning hoping to find the open crack it had come from, but gave up after a half-mile journey in order to start work for the day. 

Keith and I arrived at camp by snowmobile later in the morning and enjoyed the chance to snap a few photos ourselves.  It's important (and required by the Antarctic Treaty!) to keep enough distance not to disturb these animals, so I was happy to have a big lens with me.
Heading back to McMurdo after a long day at camp, we encountered a single Adélie Penguin crossing the "road."  This was an unlikely sighting so far from open water, and the first penguin ever seen by several members of our team.  We spent a few minutes taking pictures, gave a wide berth, and headed home delighted.
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    ARTEMIS is part of the SIMPLE project, supported by NASA ASTEP.

    About the Blog

    This is the personal blog of Peter Kimball and Evan Clark, following our deployment with the ARTEMIS long-range underwater robotic vehicle to explore beneath the McMurdo Ice Shelf in Antarctica.

    Authors

    Peter Kimball
    Peter Kimball is an aerospace engineer and field roboticist on the Stone Aerospace ARTEMIS project.
    Evan Clark
    Evan Clark is a computer scientist and field roboticist on the Stone Aerospace ARTEMIS project.
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    Kristof Richmond is a mechanical engineer and field roboticist on the Stone Aerospace ARTEMIS project.

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