Penguin
Science Gallery of Pictures, page 6
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| These Adelie chicks are 19 days old and being in the nest under the parent is no longer an option. They are too big and can keep themselves warm from now on. The parent is still nearby to guard them, and will continue to feed them, but the nest is too small for all three. | This chick is also 19 days old and almost as tall as the adult. It will stand on it's toes and beg for food by tapping at the parent's beak. |
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| This expanse is the Ross Sea ice (frozen sea water that is created in the winter and retreats in the summer). The penguins must walk over this to get to open water everytime they want to feed. In Oct they had to walk 10km (over 6 mi), now, in Dec, the ice edge is retreating and the walk is only 2 km. Soon open water will be at the doorstep of the colony at Cape Royds, and they will not have to walk far at all. | As summer progresses, large cracks form in the sheet of ice locked in place by the land. The winds and waves create ice floes from the larger ice sheets bringing open water closer to the colony. Seals and whales take advantage of these cracks and move further into the area to feed. |
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| Crabeater seals who are resting on the ice near open water. These are not penguin eaters. | These Orca (Killer whales) are swimming in one of the cracks you see in the above picture. They use the cracks for air as they search for food (large fish near the bottom of the ocean) in the area. |
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| One of the cracks in the ice with a reflection of Mt Erebus in the still water. The temperature of this ocean water is -1.6oC, colder than the freezing point of fresh water because of the salt content. | An iceberg grounded at the edge of the sea ice. The sea ice is about a meter thick and the water is over 400 meters deep. Over 80% of the iceberg is under the water. This is a huge chunk of fresh water ice that has broken off from an ice shelf, which is part of a glacier. The ice at eye level of our cameraman fell as snow a few thousand years ago. |
