April 26, 2004

Expeditions to Antarctica chronicled

Weddell seals haul out of the water to catch a few summer rays while lying on top of the ice. Weddell seals are the only wild mammals capable of surviving Antarctic winters. Photos: Copyright Terrie Williams To find a good field site for studying Weddell seals, the research team drove over large expanses of the frozen McMurdo Sound in a track vehicle called a Spryte, periodically stopping to drill into the ice and measure its thickness. A Weddell seal pup peers over its mother's back. A Weddell seal mother and pup rest on the ice. A researcher on a snowmobile is in the background.

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