Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009 – ship log
On the ship with Zair Burris (Bunker Hill, Blossom Gulch and Madison Schools)
animals brought back in the biobox
If you have ever been on a boat before, its rocking back and forth is great when you’re trying to fall asleep, but when you’re just walking around on deck it can be quite the challenge (especially with buckets in hand). I lose my balance in the middle of a step and start falling one way, but just at the last moment, the boat rocks the other way, and I’m saved for an instant before I start falling the opposite direction. I’m not the only one or thing that is in danger of falling over because of the ships’ rocking- everything in a room tilts or slides or rolls away. That’s why almost everything is tied down (microscopes, chairs, coffee pots). I tried to open the refrigerator this morning and after tugging and tugging on the handle I realized it was latched shut so the door wouldn’t come flying open!
After the first submersible trip of the day left after breakfast, we all gathered in the lab to listen to a scientist talk about the very first equipment and subs used to go to the very bottom of the ocean. It was incredible! Divers used to actually swim out of the submersibles to collect animals (because there were no robotic arms on the subs back then) and so before they could come back up to the surface they would have to wait an ENTIRE DAY in the sub to depressurize! They didn’t even have a bathroom! I’m so glad the technology has gotten a lot better!
When we were on deck waiting for the submersible to come up I was looking over the side of the boat into the clear blue-green water and what did I see? Jellyfish! Every couple of seconds a Moon Jelly the size of a dinner plate would swim by me. I saw 45 before giving up trying to count them all- there were too many!
The CTD and Niskin Bottles
I also got the chance to help run the 800 pound CTD machine that records temperature, salinity, and takes water samples. I had to wear a hard hat and a life vest the whole time. The 24 bottles that collected the water samples were taller than me, so I had to climb onto the machine in order to open them up! We sent the machine down into the water on a metal rope, and in order to collect it when it popped back up to the surface I had to catch it with a long pole that had a hook on the end. Imagine trying to get a hook around the end of a pipe when you’re on a ship that’s rocking back and forth (let’s just say I didn’t succeed on the first try!)
Large spider crab
Finally, the sub came up! Both submersible missions today were to mud volcanoes where we wanted to collect mussels, snails, and sea stars. At the very front of the submersible is a big clear tank where large animals collected with the robotic arm are placed. Today it was filled with a gigantic orange female crab (it was carrying eggs under its tail) that was scurrying back and forth waving its’ pincers. It was so big and dangerous that the scientists collecting it were afraid to put any other animals in with it for fear that they would be attacked!
Giant isopod
By far the coolest thing ever, though, was the GIANT ISOPOD! With shiny eyes, black claws, and a body the size of a basketball it was both fascinating and frightening! Giant isopods are really fast swimmers- the first three we tried to catch escaped (we ended up using a vaccum hose to suck one into a bucket)! One of the other scientists on the ship has been saving leftover meat to use as bait for trapping more of them!
I’m heading to bed now. Hopefully the ship’s rocking will lull me quickly to sleep!