Yes, I am back in the land of wind and rain, penguins and seals, and really wonderful rocks...for those of you who weren't with us last season, this is a little note I send out every few weeks or so when I am back on the station in from the field, letting you know how I (and this lovely little rock in the Southern Ocean) are doing. I had my first field season over the Austral summer 1999-2000, which was one of the, if not the, most incredible experiences of my life. Now I am back (with Nathan Daczko, my field partner from last season, who has finished his Ph.D. at Sydney University and has joined our University of Texas team as a post-doctoral researcher), and continuing on for my Ph.D.

Where to begin?

A tiny windswept outpost halfway between New Zealand and Antarctica (with nothing to the east or west but South America), Macquarie Island is thought to be unique geologically (as many of you know), as the only complete section of ocean crust that has been uplifted in the ocean basin in which it formed. Because of this, it has been granted "World Heritage Site" status. It is one of those places thought to be important enough to deserve this special protection. It is also a wildlife sanctuary, and home to four species of penguins, four species of albatross, two species of seal, two species of giant petrel, skuas and numerous other seabirds, all in a density that must be seen to be believed.

The Voyage to "Macca"

We departed Hobart, Tasmania on the big orange Australian icebreaker the Aurora Australis as a part of the Australian Antarctic Division's 54th ANARE (Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition...oooh, sounds very official, no?) We had a relatively easy three-day sail through the "Roaring Forties" and the "Furious Fifties"- some rockin' and rollin' at times- and arrived on Macca (as the island is familiarly known) on October 1. There is a scientific station on the north end of the island (see attached map) run by the Australian Antarctic Division, which is inhabited by as many as 40 people- researchers and people that keep those scientists alive (a cook, a doctor, plumbers, electricians, mechanics, etc).

The station is very comfortable with all the amenities of home (bar, library, climbing wall), and is a nice place to come back to after a stint in the field. The fieldwork is also relatively comfortable, as the island is dotted by huts, all about four hours walk from each other. They are equipped with heaters and stoves, food and sleeping bags, so we only have to carry our hammers and rocks, some clothes and our survival gear. It is incredibly wet and windy here, and the huts make it possible to dry out at the end of the day, which makes the work much more pleasurable.

Spring is in the air...

Spring is here on Macca- the Sooty albatross are finding their mates (some of which have been paired for many years), the Grey Headed and Black Brow albatross are on eggs, the Royal penguins are finding new partners in their massive colonies, the Gentoo penguin chicks are just starting to hatch, the Skuas are building nests and courting as are the cormorants, the Elephant seals are engaging in their equivalent of courtship (not quite as gentle as the birds!) it is all beautiful, life and love abounds!

I am just back from my first trip out in the field. We had amazing weather- only lost one afternoon in two weeks to sleety rain! And I only had wet feet for three days the whole time (guess I'll have to change the name of my series!)! I was working down on the southernmost tip of the island, called Hurd Point, where there is the longest stretch of un-faulted volcanics which I wanted to map in detail. So why start at the farthest possible point on the island, my first trip out, you ask? Why not wait until I am a little stronger to trek all the way down there (the trip certainly was a bit hard on my desk-fit body....)? Well, the Royal penguins have a huge colony down there that coincides with my wonderful rocks (half a million birds, the largest Royal colony in the world which may not be saying much since the Royal penguins are only found on Macquarie Island!). They had just started arriving from Antarctica (where they spend their winter, as do all of the animals that aren't year-round residents) the week before we arrived, and had started finding nests and mates and getting ready to make their penguin babies. So I had to get down there as soon as possible, before the birds got too thick for me to do my work. And just in the nick of time, too! I started on a beach at the northernmost edge of the colony, the first "chook" (Australian slang for both chicken and penguin) free area, and began to work my way up the coast. I mapped that first stretch on the first day, continuing north on the second day. At the end of the second day, I thought I'd walk back through the area I had already mapped, just to cement it in my mind, and when I got back to the first beach, I had to check my map a few times- I thought I had to be in the wrong place! Penguins, penguins, everywhere, where there had been none the first day! They extended down the coast in my wake, rafts of them arriving on shore every day, getting thicker and thicker, absolutely amazing. But I was able to finish my map, which wouldn't be possible if I was to return now!

Elephant Seals' Harem

Also down at Hurd Point is Macquarie's second largest elephant seal harem--1,500 animals all on one beach. It is actually a sort of harem complex, several bulls are considered the "beachmasters," and then they have other bulls enlisted as their helpers, who are tolerated and get a little action with the cows, as long as they don't overstep their boundaries and help keep out the challengers. When we first arrived, the bulls had already been here for a couple of weeks and had claimed their beaches, and the first cows had arrived and had given birth to the adorable bags of fur and bones that are their pups. More and more cows showed up every day, with more and more pups popping out all over. The bulls were pretty mellow, just sort of hanging around, with some minor challenges. Then, about a week ago, thing really started heating up. The pups were mostly born, and the bulls kicked into high gear, fighting over the harems. I have never seen anything like it. The way they hit each other would crush a person with one blow, and they keep fighting and fighting-- we watched one fight the lasted for 15 minutes, at least, with the challenger finally triumphing over the beachmaster, who came back for MORE about 20 minutes later, and they went at it AGAIN in a mess of blood and gore, until the beachmaster finally admitted defeat and swam away.

So, every day started with a hour and a half walk around the harems and the penguin colony. (Imagine a location in your life that takes you an hour and a half to walk to. Now fill it with penguins!) The first two days I tried to go around the edge, walking in the surf until I couldn't anymore because the coast became too rocky and rough, then cutting through the edge of the penguin colony (an absolute nightmare- penguins panicking, cows with pups getting REALLY upset, geologist very stressed, the noise and the stench and ugh) but the third day, I couldn't do it anymore. The penguins were getting thicker, and the challenger bulls were lining up in the surf, so I either had to go BETWEEN the challengers and the harems that they were trying to infiltrate (no thank you), or I had to march though the middle of the penguins (frowned upon in a wildlife sanctuary) or I had to swim (rather cold here in the Southern Ocean). So, I opted to go up the cliff and around the top of the colony instead, which was less disturbing for everyone involved (penguins, seals, and geologist) but definitely more physically demanding (the Jane Fonda abs, buns and thighs workout, as my station leader named it).

Now I am back on the station for a few days, to write up my work and make final copies of my maps. It is nice to be fed food that has never been dried or trapped in a tin (and our chef, Gerbil, is something of an artist!), and to be able to take a shower whenever I want to! I hope you all are well.