My first full day in New Hampshire (July 23)

Joined: 23 Mar 2004 Posts: 72

Boy, does this bring back memories! Here I am, doing daily journal updates again. Yesterday, I began the next leg of this awesome adventure I have been on. I have joined a large group of researchers, including Jack Dibb and Nicola Blake, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. This time, though, since it is not such an extreme trip, I was able to bring my husband along.

We got into Manchester airport yesterday afternoon. After getting our rental car and checking in to our hotel, we spent a few hours checking out the downtown Portsmouth area. It is a nice place, with lots of little shops and restaurants. It is very close to the bay, and in the bay they have these cool bridges that go up and down every half hour to let the bigger ships go through!

This morning, I met Nicola for breakfast and then she took me to Pease International Airport where Jack was working. Yesterday he spent the day in the air collecting samples, and he got up early to processes those samples today. He is looking for aerosols in the air samples.

While Jack was finishing up his samples, Nicola took me out to see the research plane. This plane is a mobile lab, where samples can be collected and processed in the air. I am hoping that during this visit I will get to see the inside of the plane. Jack thinks this is probable, although I won’t be able to fly in it because there is a long list of people who want to be involved.

Jack still had some work to finish up, so I went with Nicola to the local community college where the researchers are using as their home base for the duration of this project. I was able to sit in on a planning meeting, where some of the researchers were discussing the next flight. It was interesting to hear all of the things that go into getting research flights off the ground. Everyone has to agree on what areas are of the most interest, as well as taking many weather factors into account. On a big plane like the DC-8, there are more than 20 different research groups that have input on the flight paths. You can imagine that there has to be plenty of good communication and some give and take by all to come up with something that works for everyone.

Next, we went to tour the NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) ship called the Ron Brown. It is a HUGE ship that is really a mobile lab for many of the researchers. We had a great tour, starting with the main laboratory where researchers analyze the data they collected with their instruments. One unique thing I noticed was that all of the computers were tied or bungeed to the table so that in rough seas they wouldn’t fall over, and there are roll bars all the way around so that they don’t fall off the table!

We checked out all of the different rooms on the ship where the researcher’s instruments were located, and ended with a tour of the sleeping quarters. Researchers and the ship’s crew are out at sea for at least a couple of weeks at a time, and sleep in small dorm-like quarters. Touring this ship made me think of Summit. Being out on the Ron Brown for weeks at a time would really seclude its passengers from the rest of the world- just like Summit! Also, because of that seclusion, the others on board will become good friends for the time that they are there.

In the evening, we went to a clambake for all of the researchers. We got a good idea of how big this project was at this event, as there were almost 100 people from all over the United States there. We had clams, lobster, corn on the cob, and clam chowder for dinner. By now you already probably know about my many food issues, and are wondering what on earth I did! I TRIED the lobster. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be . I just couldn’t make myself brave the clams or clam chowder yet, though. We still have three days left, so who knows…. Maybe I’ll get braver by then!!!