The Observation Tube

I’m getting a back-log of things I want to share with you, but I’ll never be able to share it all anyway.  Let’s start with today, and then maybe I can catch up on some things later.  Today (Sunday) was the second day of our Thanksgiving holiday.  Chapel was well attended today, and that in itself was to enough to make it a good day.  The weather today was very pleasant.  I know the thermometer said 18 and the wind chill felt like zero, but early in the afternoon, the wind was calm and the sun shone warm while   three friends and I went on a little site seeing tour.

First let me tell about the tube.  Scientists have dive huts at several places on the ice, so that divers can monitor the sea life in McMurdo Sound.  Near one of them, they installed an observation tube that allows a person to sit inside a glass chamber to observe the sea under the ice.  Just enough light comes through the four or five feet of ice to allow viewing of fish, and seals and whatever else might wander by.  When the scientists aren’t using it, ordinary people like us get to go down and see for ourselves—so we did.

The first challenge is climbing down a very narrow, twenty foot tube that barely accommodates a full grown man.  Once down in the chamber, it is fairly cozy and comfortable.  As my eyes adjust to the dark, I begin to see a mass of silvery little fish swimming everywhere.  Behind me, I can see the steep bank dropping off into the sea. 

My Friend, Father Kevin, and Me

Gotta Strip Down a Little to Fit

Then the challenge is to get back up into that narrow tube, since my legs don’t bend in the right places to be able to get my feet back on the ladder.  But with a few chin-up maneuvers, I manage to get back up the long tube to the top again.  My friends say, “Did you see the seal?” “No, what seal?”  “The one that popped up into that abandoned dive hole.”  The dive hut had been moved, leaving an open hole that the seal used as a breathing hole.  The seal must have been too black for me to notice in the dark water.  It did come back though, and I was able to get some pictures, as you can see.

Looking North Toward Cape Evens

Looking South West