Today was truly an expedition day aboard the M/V Endeavour. Wind and fog closed out our first landing spot (on Barents Island), a polar bear closed out our second landing spot (on Edge Island), wind closed out our third landing spot (also on Edge Island) and we came to rest in the lee of a protective spit at the entrance to a lovely harbor, Haubenichtbukta, on the southwest side of Edge Island. Although the wind was still strong in the harbor, the seas were calm and we had a wonderful walk among the mosses, lichens and wildflowers. It was a photographer’s heaven with vast backdrops, colorful flowers and the periodic reindeer antler to give that classic Arctic flavor to their photos.
Meanwhile our Undersea Specialist was scuba diving under the waves in the 29 degree water to video the fascinating arctic underwater life for us. Amidst the kelp forest he found a beautiful, white nudibranch which is a snail without a shell, but ever so much prettier than your basic slug. On a sandy bottom nearby he found another snail (gastropod), a beautiful whelk. Whelks are known to be vicious predators, able to locate food up to 30 meters upcurrent. It takes them several days to slither the 30 meters along the bottom, and, if the prey be a shellfish, another 8 hours to drill through the shell and devour the contents.
Meanwhile our Undersea Specialist was scuba diving under the waves in the 29 degree water to video the fascinating arctic underwater life for us. Amidst the kelp forest he found a beautiful, white nudibranch which is a snail without a shell, but ever so much prettier than your basic slug. On a sandy bottom nearby he found another snail (gastropod), a beautiful whelk. Whelks are known to be vicious predators, able to locate food up to 30 meters upcurrent. It takes them several days to slither the 30 meters along the bottom, and, if the prey be a shellfish, another 8 hours to drill through the shell and devour the contents.
