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650nm North of the Azores, 700nm west of Ireland, 1000 nm east of Newfoundland. Wind F8, gusting F10, swell 6-7m. Sea temperature 12.3C, Air, 7C.
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| Bow of Celtic Explorer hitting a trough |
We awoke this morning to a similar sea to yesterday. The hydrophone wasn't put in the water given the rough conditions, however visual surveys for cetaceans and seabirds were carried out from the bridge. A single pod of 6 pilot whales was seen over a seamount. Kittiwakes and puffins were observed by Emily. While the conditions were not conducive to seawatching, the overall impression is that there is not much megafauna in this area. Some marks were seen at 150m on the EK60 and the plankton layer is extensive and can be seen undergoing the largest migration on earth (in terms of biomass) every day as darkness falls.
We are entering the Mid Atlantic Ridge area and spent the day crossing over steep-sided sea-mounts in the Faraday Fracture Zone. Hopefully we will pass the Faraday Sea Mount during daylight hours as we are keen to carry out observations as the sea floor jumps from 3000m to just 600m, forcing up-welling which gives a boost in productivity and hence in the abundance of predators such as birds and cetaceans.
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