At Sea
The seas of the Antarctic change their face hour by hour. Today only a light chop surrounds our vessel as we make our way north across the Drake passage. Pearly fog comes and goes, and the water’s color shifts from steel to grey-green. Closer to the shores of the Peninsula, the shallows can be crystal clear or shimmering turquoise blue, roofed with brash ice like a cobblestone plaza or wrapped around the hidden depths of icebergs in a misty green veil.
Above the tide we find ourselves in a mostly monochrome world. Black and white penguins nest on black and white rocks, neighbors to black and white shags, white sheathbills and, in an assertive burst of color, dark brown skuas. Of course, there are beautiful tones to discover here and there, like precious stones winking up from among drab beach pebbles. The orange bill and pink feet of a Gentoo, the cerulean eye of a shag, the glorious purple of a sunset spreading across the sky: set amongst the black and white of rock and ice, these bright bits of color are precious and wonderful.
Beneath those crystal, blue and steely seas lies another world again, one of amazing rainbow hues. Only a little natural light penetrates this realm, and in this feeble glow all is blue and black. Full spectrum illumination changes everything, revealing the true colors and astounding beauty of many Antarctic marine creatures. Ruby red shrimp parade across sunny yellow sponges on rock walls washed with bright pink coralline algae, encrusted with scarlet ascidians and festooned with golden corals. Sea stars, pink, yellow, orange and white, are a spectrum all their own.
Very little of this color plays an active role in the ecology of the animals displaying it. Instead, these are the colors of secondary metabolites that are active in the defense and health of the organisms, protecting immobile creatures like sponges and anemones from predation and disease. Surely this makes it all the more amazing that when we explore this hidden world it lights up to our senses like an alien art gallery.
In this way the rainbow in the sea is a perfect part of the Antarctic world. Color is precious here, rare on land, concealed in the freezing waters. In both it lies waiting to be discovered, a reward for exploring eyes.
The seas of the Antarctic change their face hour by hour. Today only a light chop surrounds our vessel as we make our way north across the Drake passage. Pearly fog comes and goes, and the water’s color shifts from steel to grey-green. Closer to the shores of the Peninsula, the shallows can be crystal clear or shimmering turquoise blue, roofed with brash ice like a cobblestone plaza or wrapped around the hidden depths of icebergs in a misty green veil.
Above the tide we find ourselves in a mostly monochrome world. Black and white penguins nest on black and white rocks, neighbors to black and white shags, white sheathbills and, in an assertive burst of color, dark brown skuas. Of course, there are beautiful tones to discover here and there, like precious stones winking up from among drab beach pebbles. The orange bill and pink feet of a Gentoo, the cerulean eye of a shag, the glorious purple of a sunset spreading across the sky: set amongst the black and white of rock and ice, these bright bits of color are precious and wonderful.
Beneath those crystal, blue and steely seas lies another world again, one of amazing rainbow hues. Only a little natural light penetrates this realm, and in this feeble glow all is blue and black. Full spectrum illumination changes everything, revealing the true colors and astounding beauty of many Antarctic marine creatures. Ruby red shrimp parade across sunny yellow sponges on rock walls washed with bright pink coralline algae, encrusted with scarlet ascidians and festooned with golden corals. Sea stars, pink, yellow, orange and white, are a spectrum all their own.
Very little of this color plays an active role in the ecology of the animals displaying it. Instead, these are the colors of secondary metabolites that are active in the defense and health of the organisms, protecting immobile creatures like sponges and anemones from predation and disease. Surely this makes it all the more amazing that when we explore this hidden world it lights up to our senses like an alien art gallery.
In this way the rainbow in the sea is a perfect part of the Antarctic world. Color is precious here, rare on land, concealed in the freezing waters. In both it lies waiting to be discovered, a reward for exploring eyes.
