Dear All,

This is our first, and may be our last, email report until the cruise
is over. Despite valiant efforts by many people to pursue multiple
approaches, it appears that the Inmarsat antenna used for email will
not be functioning for this leg. Our last hope is for the late arrival
of a 1 cm component, but we aren't sure it will work or that that is
the problem. Our email now comes via the ship-to- shore phone. Despite
the disappointment, we're taking it in stride on this end and attitudes
are still upbeat. We have lived without email before and we can do it
again, so I send greetings to all out there on behalf of all down here
- especially Valentines greetings for loved ones.

Survey 2 gear was offloaded within hours of arrival in Lyttleton and by
the next morning most Process 2 gear had been loaded by Jon Alberts and
Dave Morehouse of ASA and Res Techs Tammy Koonce and Gene Pallard plus
others.  They made setup for this leg much easier. We have almost
everything we need, and are anxious to head south to see if the
WILDFIRE described by Ken Coales during survey 2 is spreading
southward.  Ken said that the surface expression of the APFZ doesn't
show up in surface waters anymore, but the silicate gradient at 100 m
is very strong.  The bloom continues to move south and was last crossed
at about 65 South.  Surface silicate values shoot way up as the bloom
is crossed and chlorophyll fluorescence and beam attenuation increase
while pCO2 decreases. We should have no trouble reaching the trap
mooring at 66 South as waters are often open to the Ross Sea at this
time of year. We won't go that far, but plan to have a long station
south of the front.

So keep the home fires burning and a light in the window. Even though
you may not hear much from us in the next month, we'll be working away
and we shall return.  It has been unseasonably warm and dry in New
Zealand in recent weeks - El Nino?

Cheers,

Wilf Gardner