July 16, 2006 Options

[Betty_Carvellas]

July 16, 2006

I'm using today's journal to post some of the extra pictures that will actually go with the journal for the 17th. The reason I'm doing that is because I got up at 5:30 AM for the start of our last 7 stations. We're hoping to be done by tomorrow morning around 1:00, but that's always up for grabs. By tomorrow's journal I'll be able to tell you just how long it all took. The thing is that these stations are close together, and there's not any real time for sleep. We just keep going. Fortunately the weather has been cooperating; the sun is almost out and the seas are pretty calm. We are actually headed for some ice soon, but there's no sign of it yet. Check out the picture that Denis Lambert, Ice Observer, was kind enough to pass along to me. You'll see Pt. Barrow in the top left and all the ice that's surrounding it. We actually have more moorings to put in and retrieve, so we're hoping for a bit of open water by the time we get to the site. Have fun checking out the pictures and an explanation of all of Jackie's work will follow for tomorrow.


The ice observer on board, Denis Lambert, passed along this aerial photo of the ice off Pt. Barrow, Alaska, where the ship is headed. You can see Pt. Barrow in the top left of the photo.


At each station we send the van Veen down 5 times to grab mud from the bottom. You can tell that it's coming up in this picture because it's closed.

Photo by: Jackie Callen


When the first mud grab comes up, we take small samples off the top
for analysis. Often it's Rebecca Pirtle-Levy taking the samples as she is
in this picture.

Photo by: Koji Shimada


After the van Veen comes on deck, we dump the mud into a bucket. Here Jackie is holding the van Veen while I wash it out before sending it back down for another mud grab.

Photo by: Koji Shimada


Once the mud has been dumped from the van Veen grab, we dump it into sieve boxes and work with hoses to get all the mud out and collect the animals.

Photo by: Koji Shimada


In this picture, I've sieved all the mud and tilted the box on end so I can get the animals out.

Photo by: Jackie Callen


Sieving mud is more fun than it sounds, and we often get others who want to help out. Here we are with Barb Wilson, ship's logistics officer, who came out and helped through two stations. Left to right in the picture - me, Barb Wilson, Rebecca Pirtle-Levy.

Photo by: Jackie Callen


We always find these sand dollars at this particular station, and we take extra grabs in order to save sand dollars for the crew.

Photo by: Steve Kennedy