As the blue screens get velcroed into place over the windows,
night falls at McMurdo Station.

Robert Dudley hauls in the plankton net
through the ice hole at hut #4.

An excursion to hut #3:

Teri at the controls of the Spryte.

It's almost a white-out at this moment.

Arrival at the hut.

While working in the hut, a Weddell seal
decided to visit for some air.

Loading the catch.

An excursion to the Penguin Ranch:

The penguin Ranch is located about an hour by Spryte out on the ice.
Created by Paul and Kathy Ponganis, it consists of huts, corrals
for the penguins, and several ice holes. By locating these holes far form any other
point of access, they insure the return of the penguins after diving.
They equip some of the animals with various recording instruments, including a
video camera, and are thus able to monitor their behavior during dives. They
have also sunk a steel cylinder into the water, so that you can descend about
10 feet below the ice and observe the penguins in the water. Here are a few photos of the Emperor penguins on the ice.

They like to slide whenever possible.

Unfortunately the photos taken beneath the ice didn't work because of ice buildup on the windows. Dudley saw a penguin eating a fish.

Our reason for coming here was to go pteropod fishing
at a remote site over deep water:

That's me in the center.

Some of the huts of the Ranch in the background.