The 2019 Weddell seal population study Antarctica field team is now at McMurdo Station and working hard to complete safety training and prepare equipment for the upcoming field work on the sea ice, reports this season's field crew leader Shane Petch.
Below is the 2019 field team, from left to right: Holly Lance, Heather Brown, Victor Villalobos, Kit Cunningham, Shane Petch, and Brandon Davis. This photo was taken outside the U.S. Antarctica (New Zealand) headquarters in Christchurch, New Zealand shortly before their flight to McMurdo Station, Antarctica.
Once at McMurdo Station the field team lost no time in preparing their gear and supplies for the Weddell seal pupping season ahead. In the photos below members of the crew assemble the new small tags that will be used to identify the new pups born this season in the Erebus Bay study area.
Numerous safety and education courses will be completed by the research team members before they head out onto the sea ice, including sea ice safety and environmental training, as well as snowmobile and Pisten Bully operation and maintenance training.
Once training is complete, the team will begin investigating and flagging safe routes to the numerous Weddell seal pupping colonies spread throughout the Erebus Bay study area. They will also work to prepare and provision the wooden sea ice huts that will soon be pulled out onto the sea ice and set in place for the season to serve as the remote sea ice base camp for the entire team. More on this in future posts.
This looks to be a great season ahead!
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