Our cruise for the NSF and NOAA-sponsored US Global Ocean Carbon and Repeat Hydrography Program will cross the far-south Pacific sector of the Antarctic region on the US Antarctic Program (USAP) icebreaking research ship Nathaniel B. Palmer. We are scheduled for a 60-70 day voyage from the USAP McMurdo base to Punta Arenas, Chile. This cruise is unique for the program in that it is being carried out from a USAP ship operated by a commercial operator, Edison-Chouest Offshore (ECO) (under charter to the US National Science Foundation), with pre-cruise planning, shipping, logistics, and on-board science support from a second company, Raytheon Polar Services Corporation (RPSC) (via contract with the US National Science Foundation).

Our science team assembled in Christchurch, New Zealand, where we attended a pre-ice-flight briefing and cold weather clothing issue, and on 14 February flew to the ice sheet runway near Ross Island via a US Air Force C-17 transport. Although cancelled flights and "boomerangs" (flights turned back by weather or equipment problems) are frequent, our flight went without incident. The science team was excited to be in Antarctica and had two days to enjoy the unique amenities, scenery, and recreational opportunities at the base, including a guided tour to Robert F. Scott's 1902 "Discovery Hut" at Hut Point on Ross Island.

We soon discovered that much of the S04P "do not freeze" cargo was for reasons not yet explained sitting outdoors in sub-freezing conditions at McMurdo, despite our use of the proper procedures, forms, and labels required for "do not freeze" cargo items. In the end the chief scientific damage was to the Argo float program, which was cancelled with all 17 floats shipped back to the USA. By what appears to be a blind stroke of good fortune, the one "do not freeze" cargo container which had been kept above freezing contained the salinity and carbon seawater standards - with the loss of either the expedition would have been cancelled. Some other cargo had been water damaged at some point during transit, then was damaged by mold, then frozen, but the direct losses to the science programs from that damage were minimal.

The science team boarded the ship midday on 17 February and soon set to unloading scientific cargo from the 5 20-foot container vans and setting up the CO2 lab van (a trace metal lab van was already at the ship from the previous leg). All RPSC staff on the ship (staff from the previous cruise plus staff from the S04P cruise) plus all ECO personnel were friendly and extremely helpful. Lab set-ups went very well, again with RPSC and ECO personnel efficiently providing assistance. Because the ship was refueled upon its arrival, cargo loading and lab set-ups were delayed, making it necessary to delay the ship's departure one day from the plan.

RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer departed McMurdo Base at noon local time on 20 February 2011 in good weather, into McMurdo region waters nearly free of sea ice. The planned transit to the first station on the S04P line was estimated to be approximately two days, barring stops. On the 21st the science team held two test/training rosette casts with the large 36-place rosette. Only minor problems were encountered, all fixed in short order. The evening of the 21st the trace metal team carried out a trace metal cast of opportunity, making up a station from the previous cruise lost to weather.

During the 22nd, as the ship neared the location of the first S04P station off Cape Adare, winds rose well past 30 knots, then 40 knots. It was thus necessary to wait until 1000 local time on 23 February to begin the S04P transect stations.

After nearly two weeks of travel from the US, cruise preparation at McMurdo, and transit to the northwestern Ross Sea, it was a joy to begin work. Weather conditions have been good, and we have almost completed the portion of our transect across the Ross Sea deep outflow with virtually no problems ... an outstanding beginning.

Food on board is excellent, relationships between all on board friendly and productive, the ship itself lovingly-maintained for productive research and pleasant life on board. Some of our colleagues and hundreds of RPSC personnel being flown out of McMurdo (as it switches from 1000-person summer staffing to a 200-person winter complement) were caught in Christchurch by the latest earthquake. We have heard that the people we worked with on board are safe, though many were separated from their belongings, passports, and so forth, and face many difficulties along with those endured by the residents of that lovely small city. Our thoughts are truly with them.

RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer at the McMurdo ice pier, with the Scott "Discovery Hut" in the foreground and much of the McMurdo base in the background.