Antarctica: From Weddell Sea to Lemaire Channel

Drake Passage (Beaufort 9)

On the Drake Passage in a gale with 25-foot (8-meter) seas.

Iceberg in Choppy Seas

An iceberg in the Drake Passage the morning after a gale.

Birds and a Berg

Cape Petrels fly in front of a tabular iceberg in the Weddell Sea. For scale, the photograph was taken from approximately 40 feet (12 meters) above the water.

Adélie Penguis on a Bergy Bit

Safe from seals, Adélie penguins rest on a small iceberg (a "bergy bit") in the Weddell Sea.

Icebergs in the Morning Light

The early morning light strikes icebergs in the Weddell Sea off the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula.

A Table Beneath the Clouds

A tabular iceberg in the Weddell Sea.

A Crowd of Icebergs

Icebergs pushed together by wind in the Weddell Sea.

A Refuge at Sea

Adélie penguins on an iceberg in the Weddell Sea.

Sedimentary Snow

A tabular iceberg. Generated by glaciers, icebergs are compressed layers of snow that accumulated over hundreds of years or more. Like tree rings, the striations indicate sequential accretions over that period.

Sea Ice and Icebergs

Sea ice and icebergs in the Weddell Sea.

Sea Ice with Fresh Snow on Top.

Sea ice in the Weddell Sea during a spring snow storm.

Going with the Floe

A Weddell Sea atop sea ice in teh Weddell Sea.

Icebergs and Sea Ice

Icebergs loom over sea ice in the Weddell Sea.

Emperors at the Foot of a Giant

A massive glacier face rises behind Emperor penguins on sea ice in the Weddell Sea.

Adélies on the Move

A group of Adélie penguins walking and sliding ("tobogganing") on sea ice in the Weddell Sea, with a group of Emperor penguins behind. The brownish sea ice was probably shore fast ice earlier, so ground into the sea floor, where it would have picked up discoloring minerals.

After You

A group of Adélie penguins dive from sea ice into the Weddell Sea.

Chilling

Two members of the northern most colony of Emperor penguins stand on sea ice in the Weddell Sea during heavy spring snow.

Tipsy

An Emperor penguin waddles past two others on the sea ice during a spring snow storm in the Weddell Sea.

Parallelogram (Sea Ice Version)

A piece of sea ice floats in the Weddell Sea during a spring snow storm. Global warming has reduced the extent of sea ice.

Slushy Sea

The Weddell Sea turns white as a heavy spring snow falls into sub-freezing sea water.

The Table Is Set

A tabular iceberg in the Weddell Sea.

Icy Triptych

Three columns emanate from a single submerged iceberg in the Weddell Sea.

White and Blue

Sea water laps at the face of an iceberg in the Weddell Sea.

Brown Bluff

At the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, Brown Bluff is the eroded remnants of a "tuya," a steep, flat-topped volcano that forms when lava erupts quickly through an ice sheet.