Reporter's Notebook: New Antarctic Summer Warmer, Wetter, Tourist-Heavy

Feb. 4, 2008 — -- After nearly two-and-a-half weeks of beautiful, blue-sky weather — very unusual in Antarctica — we finally paid a price with seven straight days of rain, which is also very unusual here.

The summertime wetness dampened our efforts and our mood. We camped beneath Sharp Peak in the Fish Islands, hoping to climb its 4,000-foot peak, but were thwarted by deep, slushy snow. Our final days in the kayaks were soggy and cold. The wildlife, particularly the month-old penguin chicks we saw at virtually every stop, were at great risk too, thanks to the rain. Covered only by downy fur, the rain soaked them through; if — or when — the weather snaps back to cold, many of them could freeze and die.

During one 24-hour period we experienced only torrential downpours, which every scientist we met along our route said was the most sustained rain they'd ever seen in the area. While scientific accounts continue to document the changing climate down south, which manifests in melting glaciers and decreasing amount of ice coverage, our anecdotal experience is that summertime in Antarctica is becoming something new: warmer and wetter.

The other thing I saw more of in January than ever before in my experience along the Peninsula was a relatively new breed of Antarctic biped: humans. Each year the number of tourists visiting Antarctica grows; this year it's anticipated 40,000 will visit by cruise boats ranging in size from 100 passengers to monstrous, 3,000-passenger vessels with swimming pools and casinos.

Voluntary guidelines limit the number of people who can actually put feet on Antarctic ice, which is a good thing. The bigger risk is that one of these big boats will have an accident, sink and throw thousands of passengers into the cold Southern Ocean. The possibility of that happening in the next few years seems no longer to be an if, but a when.

After 30 days exploring the peninsula, we are obligated to head back north, toward the southernmost tip of Chile. The crossing of the notorious Drake Passage takes more than four days of continuous sailing through some of the roughest seas on the planet.