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There has been a lot of iceberg-posts recently, but this may be the last. The crew and the scientists on board the Norwegian research vessel “G.O.Sars” have now finished the survey. Sailing in the Antarctic ocean was an unique adventure for everyone who participated. Rare birds, whales and icebergs where stored in their minds and on memory cards. After passing the (now famous) marbled iceberg, the crew saw a large iceberg in the horizon. Photos: Leif Nøttestad.

It was a large tabular iceberg. A tabular iceberg (or tabletop iceberg) is an iceberg, with a flat, table-like surface. The one seen on this post is probably 400-500 meters long. Though it is large, it is far from the largest tabular iceberg seen in the Antarctic Ocean.

It is hard to estimate the seize of such an iceberg when seen from a distance. It is like a floating island (here seen with a wandering albatross in the foreground). Knowing that only one-tenth of the volume of an iceberg is above water, it is hard to comprehend the amount of ice stored in this iceberg.

While some icebergs are large and impressive, others are small. Like works of art they decorate the surface in the Antarctic Ocean…

Photo: Øyvind Tangen

The post about the “marbled iceberg” got a lot of attention. Here is a new post about an icebergs in the Antarctic Ocean. This time the focus is on a striped iceberg. At first I thought that a part of the iceberg was split, but the dark blue stripe is actually a part of the iceberg.

A closer look at the photo (see below) shows that the dark stripe seems to be made of frozen water.

I guess that the dark stripe must have been horizontal when it was made. Below you can see a picture of another iceberg with a dark stripe. Photos: Øyvind Tangen.

Here is a post with no fish or fishing. The Norwegian research vessel “G.O.Sars” is now on a survey in the Antarctic Ocean. The vessel started the survey in Cape Town and then headed south. After days of sailing in the same flat and wet “landscape”, something special was observed. The crew spotted an iceberg, but it did not look like an ordinary iceberg.

The iceberg seemed to be marbled. The iceberg had dark stripes or layers in between. Is it made by ice crystals with different density, or ice with different density of salt? Are the dark layers made of ice with ash; proof of volcanic activity thousand of years ago? Maybe some readers know the answer? The photos were taken by Øyvind Tangen two days ago.

In late March 2003 the Norwegian research vessel Johan Hjort left Bergen (Norway), heading west. Its mission was to examine the blue withing stock on the spawning grounds west of Ireland.

After 7 days of sailing the crew started talking about a strange sound outside. Engines, pumps, fans and wind made a lot of noise, but one sound did not fit in. Three men started searching outside, and on the second floor they found “the sound”. A cat was hiding in a corner behind a winch drum. The poor cat was thin, wet, cold and dirty. The men gave the cat a shower, washing off oil and dirt from its fur.

The crew gave the cat everything a scared and hungry cat could want. After washing up, drying and eating, the cat slept…. and slept..

When the cat was found the vessel was far out in the Atlantic ocean – not far from the rocky islet Rock All – west of Ireland. The cat was therefore called Rockey. The story was soon known in Bergen, and it did not take long to find the owner of the cat. The cats’ real name was Sebastian and he had (of course) been missing for over a week. The cat still had to wait three more weeks before he could meet his owner.

The cat was never alone on the research vessel. Rockey got all the attention he could dream of, and it is not bad being a friend of the chef. A couple of times Rockey got to see the crew and the scientists working outside. Below you can see Rockey on a trawl bag filled with blue withing – an endless supply of food for a cat.

Rockey did not like the noise outside. He preferred being indoors; eating fillets, sleeping and being the main attraction on board. He had his own bed on board, but Rockey preferred the sofa – or a lap.

Rockey returned safely to Bergen, and it was a moving moment when he finally met his owner. This was the last time Rockey explored boats in the harbor. All photos: Øyvind Tangen (The Norwegian Institute of Marine Research).