Where are we headed?

Antarctica, the Drake Passage and the Bransfield Strait, site of the expedition's hydrophone project. The team is attempting to recover and re-deploy hydrophones it deployed last year in the Bransfield Strait and Drake Passage. Using data recorded by the hydrophones, scientists hope to detect otherwise unobserved seafloor volcanic activity, monitor/track the sounds of ice break-up and the tremor produced by the movement of large icebergs, and monitor the distribution of large baleen whales in the area.



Deception Island: During last year's voyage, bad weather kept the team from approaching the island. This year, they will once again attempt to perform the first-ever ROV survey (submersible camera with propellers) of the underwater hydrothermal systems in the island's submerged caldera, in hopes of learning more about the ecology of its hydrothermal vents.

(Maps courtesy of Robert Dziak)