January 1, 2023

First Views of Antarctica

We arrived early morning on January 1st for a thrilling start to 2023! Our adventure took place along the Antarctica Peninsula. The peninsula is made up of islands, which are connected to each other and the continent under the ocean. As we arrived in the waters surrounding Antarctica, we sailed between Brabant Island and Anvers Island. Since our cabin was on the Port (left) side, our first views were of Brabant Island.

Local Map

This shows a portion of our path from the Drake Passage to the Antarctica Peninsula.

First views of Brabant Island.

Picture taken from our cabin.

First views of Brabant Island.

Video taken from our cabin.

First views of Brabant Island.

Picture taken from the deck.

First views of Anvers Island.

Picture taken from the deck.

First views of Anvers Island.

Picture taken from the deck.

First views of Antarctica.

Picture taken from the deck.

First views of Antarctica.

Blue ice forms when air bubbles are squeezed out of compressed snow and firn layers, which are layers of partially-compacted snow left over from previous seasons. Glacier ice is blue because the red (long wavelengths) part of white light is absorbed by ice and the blue (short wavelengths) light is transmitted and scattered. The longer the path light travels in ice, the more blue it appears. (Definitions and blue ice information is from the USGS and Antarcticglaciers.com web sites. )

Picture taken from the deck using the telephoto lens.