This morning I was considering alternative careers, I haven't been able to write for a few days as things have been going badly and I've been so disheartened with working so hard and not getting anywhere, but then all of sudden a seal was spotted so the ship was stopped and I was able to get out onto the ice and make some cores. The cores went well, a few passing emperor penguins stopped to see what the fuss was about and life suddenly doesn't seem so bad....and then following a pep talk by Claire at UEA, success with the instrument this afternoon, everything's now running well, hurrah!
Brain making a core whilst the penguins have a look at the ship
The Weddell seals aren't too difficult to tag, Patrick can get pretty close before they can be bothered to move, when they do they look so unelegant with their big slimy bodies humping acros the ice. But up close they're quite beautiful, their eyes are enormous and they look so bewildered by the approaching scientists!
The ship parked up by a big ice floe. We are lifted out of the ship and on to the ice in a basket, which is pretty cool :)Now we've crossed the Antarctic Circle it's constantly light, and the colours across the ice at night when the sun is low in the sky are beautiful
The ice cliffs of Antarctica at night, I can't do it justice with my camera, despite being outside taking photos until my frozen finger was unable to take any more
You can just about make out the rainbow (or is that an icebow when it's ice crystals in the air causing the light to diffract?) which looked like it was coming out of the iceberg
I have a very strange perception of time, as I have no need to know what day of the week it is. It feels simultaneously like I've been on this ship for months, and that time is flying by and I'll soon not have enough time left to do the experiments I want to. Spirits are still high amongst the science team as most things progress well, and the crew are as friendly and helpful as ever (as long as I remember to shut the watertight doors!)
The ice cliffs of Antarctica at night, I can't do it justice with my camera, despite being outside taking photos until my frozen finger was unable to take any more 
You can just about make out the rainbow (or is that an icebow when it's ice crystals in the air causing the light to diffract?) which looked like it was coming out of the iceberg
I have a very strange perception of time, as I have no need to know what day of the week it is. It feels simultaneously like I've been on this ship for months, and that time is flying by and I'll soon not have enough time left to do the experiments I want to. Spirits are still high amongst the science team as most things progress well, and the crew are as friendly and helpful as ever (as long as I remember to shut the watertight doors!)