Winter is coming back
More than a week ago the last scientists and our two AWI colleagues, Dirk and Eberhard, left the station to make their way home.
On the same day, an Argentinean delegation around Dr. Mariano A. Memolli arrived, to inaugurate the new Argentinean laboratory building. On March 19th early in the morning, Dr. Mariano A. Memolli (director of the Dirección Nacional del Antártico in Buenos Aires), Tcnl. Alejandro Berto (chief of Jubany-Carlini Station) and Dr. Damian Lopez (overwinterer) dedicated this new building during a small ceremony. Since then it has become quiet and calm in and around the station. Only the overwintering team, Paulo and I are left.
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During the stay at Dallmann laboratory I continued my studies of metal assimilation in the bivalve Laternula elliptica, especially in reference to geochemical element sources. I sampled several stations in Potter Cove, at which Susann had earlier taken cores for sediment and porewater analyses. Although the weather conditions and turbidity strongly restricted the work of the Argentinean divers, we finally finished sampling at all locations successfully. The determination of the influence of sediment and porewater is improved by the strong spatial correlation between animal and environmental samplings. My work was also in close cooperation with Carlo and Ulises (from the Argentine Antarctic Institute, IAA), who took Laternula and sediment samples from the same locations for the investigation of anthropogenic impact. I would like to thank my colleagues for the nice time on the boat, in the lab and during our discussions.
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Today, the last day here, is again sunny and (relatively) warm. Luckily, the last days were similar, without any sign of the upcoming winter. This made it much easier to finish all our work in Potter Cove and in the laboratories – including e.g. cleaning the lab containers, taking stock of the chemical storage and finishing the cargo. Tomorrow the MS Polar Pioneer will pick Paulo and me up and brings us to the Malvinas (Falkland Islands), where the long journey continues.
I stayed here for one and a half months. I arrived at Jubany and now I am leaving Carlini (related to the change of the names, please read the blog of María Liliana Quartino). Now Dallmann laboratory is ready to go to winter sleep.
Short documentations of the opening of the Argentinean lab you will find on
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6NQHU_43eA&feature=share and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tlOy_d-WA0&feature=youtu.be.