Flight of the Palmer Bomber…Take two

With morale running a little stagnant, we needed something good to happen before NSF (national Science Foundation) deemed us misfits of science, with the talent to lose and break things.  We steamed placidly to the new berg, named A43K (a courtesy of some folks who look as satellite images for a living).  We're arrive with the weather cooperating and the berg stretching out as far as we can see (well, as far as I can see) from the bridge.  The day was clear, the wind was non-existent, and the waters were calm.  It was the perfect day for the airforce to take flight. 

The mission:  bomb the iceberg with a gps tag.  Land back on the boat.

With the countdown running, the peanut gallery gathered on the designated observation deck, on the 05, aft of the bridge.  Many were on hand and excitement was in the air.  Palmer Bomber, you are a go.  Good hunting.  Everyone held the collective breathes as the plane took off and soared into the Antarctic sky with more grace than the previous attempt. 

Soaring like the petrols around the boat, the Palmer Bomber graced the sky above the waters, the boat, and finally the berg (target acquired).  It circled a few times and approached the berg to execute the mission.  From the deck, we can see a tiny dot drop from the plane and land on the berg.  Mission accomplished.  Palmer Bomber, this is mission control.   You are cleared for home.

The resounding success of this flight was enough to put a smile on everyone's faces.  The video captured from the flight was reviewed at the day's science meeting.  The view of the top of the berg was breathtaking.  It was as flat as the last one and covered with fresh snow (it snowed last night).  We even got footage of the drop.  It was a happy day for all of us.

On another note, the engineers of MBARI are literally building another rov (from spare parts) and will be ready to deploy tomorrow.  After the devastating loss of the original rov, they are all doing an awesome job of rebuilding an rov so we (the biologist) can take a closer look at the berg.  They are amazing!

 

Till the next eventful day….