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| Brown Bluff is a tufa - land formed by a volcano erupting underneath an ice sheet |
Wednesday, November 15 - Brown Bluff, Antarctic Peninsula
We had a great time out kayaking today. Now, we’re having dinner early tonight, so that we can go out on a Zodiac ride and excursion when we arrive at Brown Bluff. Brown Bluff is an impressive formation of granite that formed from a volcanic eruption underneath an ice sheet.
After dinner, Zodiacs departed to the beach at Brown Bluff to see the Adelie and gentoo penguins. I stayed behind and took a nice hot shower, Mike went out of the Zodiac to see the critters. He was back by about 8:45 PM - said it was good viewing; one Adelie walked right in front of him so that he had to stop and let it pass by. But it was cold.
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| More views of the cliffs of Brown Bluff |
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| Brown Bluff's beach, covered with Adelie and gentoo penguins |
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| On the beach at Brown Bluff |
From our daily briefing, a little more detail: “Brown Bluff is a tufa located at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. It formed in the past 1 million years, erupting sub-glacially within an englacial lake. The volcano's original diameter is thought to have been about 12-15 kilometers (7.5-9mi), and probably formed from a single vent. Brown Bluff is subdivided into four stages: pillow volcano, tufa cone, slope failure and hyaloclastite delta; and into five structural units. The volcano is named "Brown Bluff" because of its steep slopes and its brown-to-black hyaloclastite. Aside from beautiful geologic features, this site also features nesting gentoo and Adelie penguins.”
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| Cruising at twilight to the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula |
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| Gentoo penguins on this grounded iceberg |
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| Esperanza base, a year round Argentine research station at the tip of the Antarctic peninsula |
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