tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48705597063045019712024-02-21T07:37:52.978-08:00The Arctic Winter CruiseNovember 7 to December 20, 2011WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-31559381049468253122011-12-18T10:11:00.000-08:002011-12-18T10:11:28.049-08:00The end of it all<div class="MsoNormal">We docked at a little after 1400 yesterday. <span> </span>The end of a cruise is always sad but at the same time welcome.<span> </span>Cruises are exhausting, so much energy is expended taking advantage of every available opportunity and sample.<span> </span>Now we must re-enter the real world.<span> </span>There will be too many people, I already know that.<span> </span>Airports are particularly difficult.<span> </span>Driving a car is going to be different.<span> </span>And the excitement of bringing up a sample to see what we caught, well, we will miss that too.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">This has been a very successful cruise, despite the weather in the Bering Sea.<span> </span>The work in the Chukchi Sea was particularly notable.<span> </span>We reached and worked at every planned station north of the Bering Strait.<span> </span>This despite challenges imposed by the extreme cold.<span> </span>Everyone pitched in to come up with solutions to mitigate those challenges so that we could use our instruments and collect our samples.<span> </span>The work in the Bering Sea was hampered by the sheer intensity and frequency of winter storms that raged through that Sea.<span> </span>When we could work there, we did so very well.<span> </span>We have collected new and exciting data, in regions where no one has been able to work before.<span> </span>Ahead of us lies a period of analysis and synthesis to put together the story.<span> </span>This has been a fantastic opportunity, an opportunity of a lifetime for me.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Part of what made this cruise so successful is the wonderful cooperation and collaboration of the science party and of the Healy crew.<span> </span>Many thanks to all for a great job.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me (Chief Scientist) with CMDR Laura King, the first female EO (Engineering Officer or Chief Engineer) of Healy and CAPT Beverly Havlik, the first female Captain of Healy.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span></span>The top drawer of the Chief Scientist’s desk on Healy, with the cards of Chief Scientists who have come before me.<span> </span>Just to put it all into perspective.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of us on the helicopter deck. It was very cold that day.</td></tr>
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</div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-48292656986586500652011-12-17T11:25:00.000-08:002011-12-17T11:25:52.339-08:00Almost home<div class="MsoNormal">We sailed into Dutch Harbor this afternoon, dropping anchor in Summer Bay at about 1600.<span> </span>We can see the lights of the town and the docks in the distance.<span> </span>The Aleutians surround us, with constantly changing curtains of light and cloud.<span> </span>The cruise is almost over, tomorrow we will dock in Dutch.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Light over the Aleutians on our way to Dutch.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Going over information prior to anchoring at Dutch.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">In the meantime, we are busy finishing our packing and cleaning our rooms and lab and living spaces.<span> </span>And…one of the most important activities of the cruise….we cooked dinner tonight for the entire crew of the ship.<span> </span>It is a tradition that science will cook on one of the Saturday nights of the cruise, on Morale Night when a group on the ship cooks and gives the galley crew a break.<span> </span>Since we are docking on Saturday, we cooked on Friday night instead.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dave the Cookie Chef at Work</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phil rolls out dough for yeast rolls</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">The effort began on Thursday night with the construction of the vegetarian chili and the baking of Dave’s Chocolate Chip Cookies.<span> </span>On Friday morning the “sponge” for the rolls was started.<span> </span>And on Friday afternoon we moved in to cook the rest.<span> </span>Lemon squares, cole slaw from scratch, roast pork loin, baked salmon, spinach with butter and garlic, baked brussel sprouts, and brown rice. After it was all cooked, science served up dinner, standing behind the counter and receiving the plates to serve.<span> </span>Hats were worn, as required in the galley.<span> </span>Dishes and pots were scrubbed, and the mess deck floor was washed after the meal was over.<span> </span>A grand time was had by all!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Donna was part of the team that made the chili</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scientists lined up to serve dinner to the crew.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first customer for dinner.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-DL6GTLEpwDEquY7Es-RYJ05aPZfLCd9MqmQpT4zQDeF2rBGNcsipSbprr7_PxJtqEsbxwGvXOKNB7p_GNH3hiCTeI34V9XzBSdssd0yZCi9WSG9QQGrXyXjAAwBiXCO2U_QjNwWoDw/s1600/MovieStars.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS-DL6GTLEpwDEquY7Es-RYJ05aPZfLCd9MqmQpT4zQDeF2rBGNcsipSbprr7_PxJtqEsbxwGvXOKNB7p_GNH3hiCTeI34V9XzBSdssd0yZCi9WSG9QQGrXyXjAAwBiXCO2U_QjNwWoDw/s320/MovieStars.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The crew is making a movie for fun. These two crew members are playing the “leads”.</td></tr>
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</div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-54213544763475076432011-12-16T00:55:00.000-08:002011-12-16T00:55:46.579-08:00And the Bering Sea Roars<div class="MsoNormal">I didn’t quite expect the Bering Sea to be quite this nasty in December.<span> </span>Bad yes, but perhaps a few hours to sneak in a few samples before roaring in again with another storm.<span> </span>No such luck, the storms are just rolling in like freight trains.<span> </span>We had the worst yet last night, with winds of 50-60 knots.<span> </span>The “house” of the ship (the tall structure in the front where the living quarters and the bridge are located) was almost shaking.<span> </span>Even inside, I could feel the tension as the winds buffeted the ship.<span> </span>We sailed into the wind.<span> </span>Most of the time we pitched fairly gently but occasionally we would come down on a wave with a thud and crash and the spray would rise from the bow, plastering the front of the ship.<span> </span>Once again, we took water on the fantail.<span> </span>This time we were not so lucky as before, the aft staging area door took a bad hit, breaking in the bottom 4 or so feet and flooding the compartment with water.<span> </span>We were very lucky, we did not lose any science gear.<span> </span>The red toolbox that amazingly washed off the top of a 4’ metal cabinet was found on the deck, intact.<span> </span>The front arm on the frame on our VPR, which was tied in and sustained the torrent of water, was bent 90 degrees and had to be sawed off in order to pack the instrument back into the shipping crate (the VPR itself is fine).<span> </span>All in all, a dramatic reminder of the strength of the sea.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wind records from four amenometers.<span> </span>Depending on the orientation of the ship, the four sensors may or may not agree.<span> </span>For most of this record, the red one seems to be showing lower winds than the others.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(L) The broken door in aft staging.<span> </span>Note the watertight door to the right that is about the size of a regular door.<span> </span>(R) Phil saws off the bent piece of the VPR frame while Joel braces the frame.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">We are nearing Dutch Harbor, our final destination.<span> </span>We are in a packing frenzy in the labs, washing everything, organizing, finding crates. <span> </span>In addition to packing, we have to clean the labs and our living spaces. We plan to sample again tomorrow morning to catch more of the elusive copepods, a final fishing before we take apart the last net.<span> </span>Although our sampling in the Bering Sea has been difficult, we still hope to collect some animals from the southern part of the Sea. <span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4hauds5jEr4O4Igm-wK6wqX8fjCaG9QT4NcltBiWyVjTXTMX2S07P324R85YuCJKcvfF2vcmhrC3ZAzhlGXeQ0EjkMK1DuxRnZLF1zlgul6cmq4dYOLaHJhsEsdpEju_eRC3nIoZ6W0/s1600/SteveinLibrary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_4hauds5jEr4O4Igm-wK6wqX8fjCaG9QT4NcltBiWyVjTXTMX2S07P324R85YuCJKcvfF2vcmhrC3ZAzhlGXeQ0EjkMK1DuxRnZLF1zlgul6cmq4dYOLaHJhsEsdpEju_eRC3nIoZ6W0/s320/SteveinLibrary.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve relaxes after his shift in the science lounge/library.<span> </span>In addition to a beanbag chair, we also have comfortable chairs and a flat screen TV with DVD, limited cable, and movies that the ship shows every night.<span> </span>We also have many paperback books and three large tables on which to work.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE23mCnoR6LX3fDveaUaKrli92OZK6GRgtcJDPLC9LAADuvS62ec20JE3qHWew_6ozUMv9MS4B1q7OEGsoAn1kGcRupihBJe1avgPLMIK9yiX7JJBZ8CYRSCtEUqy1eK4ulZdccgrqqDA/s1600/BobandKristina_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE23mCnoR6LX3fDveaUaKrli92OZK6GRgtcJDPLC9LAADuvS62ec20JE3qHWew_6ozUMv9MS4B1q7OEGsoAn1kGcRupihBJe1avgPLMIK9yiX7JJBZ8CYRSCtEUqy1eK4ulZdccgrqqDA/s320/BobandKristina_small.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span> </span>Bob and Kristina on deck in their cold weather gear.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX5HJxR8Tk0bwxs3DQr022gYSA79s7GF0fzgB-7BGX-ZiiClYyf9yTBSC5HfDGBevYaToEvkenL9RG8jb7nkRwpuYtMPQvXccBNLSFOuOV-CTvlq4ngj4qFBvNJbWqo_1PupNGvif5E40/s1600/ChadShinesBoots.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgX5HJxR8Tk0bwxs3DQr022gYSA79s7GF0fzgB-7BGX-ZiiClYyf9yTBSC5HfDGBevYaToEvkenL9RG8jb7nkRwpuYtMPQvXccBNLSFOuOV-CTvlq4ngj4qFBvNJbWqo_1PupNGvif5E40/s320/ChadShinesBoots.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chad shining his boots. As a member of the Navy, Chad wears his uniform every day and keeping his boots in good shape is important.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgph_ezK09GzUMzUNRY9QL_jhsFz-sMAVPmexIt6NuGvm6NBK0wTJ-DXUJg35SI0R4zTYzirC1InqwzzmBTL6jlgvgkCIZa7ozkz0sruot82dbMFJrWiN4VZgcuVbbvr38Dzlg9EFad_Vc/s1600/FrankFixesE_Stops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgph_ezK09GzUMzUNRY9QL_jhsFz-sMAVPmexIt6NuGvm6NBK0wTJ-DXUJg35SI0R4zTYzirC1InqwzzmBTL6jlgvgkCIZa7ozkz0sruot82dbMFJrWiN4VZgcuVbbvr38Dzlg9EFad_Vc/s320/FrankFixesE_Stops.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Senior Chief Frank Donze fixing the winch controls.<span> </span>Thanks Frank!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-XszHJaHf8oCX5tdL0b0h1HQ91aeijJvSO1dmj8azG-pnzRUhcdFolwD70eQ1y2dUmOi_c9ipXDqGkagpQh6XTXuUA0OKZr0N5S9e6rRxQaaqyNhSMPazPt2_Zy7HqgIYSxPshk3tj78/s1600/JoelandKrill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-XszHJaHf8oCX5tdL0b0h1HQ91aeijJvSO1dmj8azG-pnzRUhcdFolwD70eQ1y2dUmOi_c9ipXDqGkagpQh6XTXuUA0OKZr0N5S9e6rRxQaaqyNhSMPazPt2_Zy7HqgIYSxPshk3tj78/s400/JoelandKrill.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joel takes a turn at picking krill from a recent sample.<span> </span>The krill are in the beaker to the right, note the “sesame seed” eyeballs.</td></tr>
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</div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-28776820656663827942011-12-14T09:43:00.000-08:002011-12-14T09:43:22.220-08:00Crashing Waves<div class="MsoNormal">Another day, another storm. The Bering Sea is relentless! We managed to sneak in three stations yesterday afternoon and early this morning but then the weather deteriorated and our sampling operations were shut down again. This time we were out in the open, far from the safe shelter of the sea ice or even an island. The pitching and rolling began while many of us were still sleeping, turning a normally comfortable sleep into a fight to remain in position on the bed. As the day dawned, conditions worsened. Healy is a wonderful ship in a storm, she rides well and moves with a ponderousness that I find comfortable. However, we had waves breaking on the bow and then, in the afternoon, waves washing onto the fantail. No small feat considering that the edge of the fantail is about 18’ above the water line! The afternoon was no picnic for the ship drivers and Captain, as waves crashed on board at both ends of the ship, spreading foamy seawater in swirls across the decks. We were safe on board but no one would venture out lightly!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JjIPBpChG82q8SmhY-4bIcC43TBKeXP2-voejdOpTLUOy4zE-gfPMrI7NBevwQ_7rT6b410zaaS-q_vjtQn5YkZKUJ2UFezTDni3ADDAv1MOLSxg_WVrLJZmitHxk5i1q9Eykj9EzxQ/s1600/BreakingWavesJan13Composite.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2JjIPBpChG82q8SmhY-4bIcC43TBKeXP2-voejdOpTLUOy4zE-gfPMrI7NBevwQ_7rT6b410zaaS-q_vjtQn5YkZKUJ2UFezTDni3ADDAv1MOLSxg_WVrLJZmitHxk5i1q9Eykj9EzxQ/s640/BreakingWavesJan13Composite.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A wave breaks over the fantail and then spreads across the deck. This is particularly impressive because the deck at the stern usually is about 18 ft. above the water line. Note the height of the wave behind the A-frame. The winch on deck in front of the towing bit (the yellow structure in the front of the photo) is about 5' tall.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFvBMCiKY-fHWWHGIoI9fHxHlIErFcQPhzsCv8fwmUMseyOLVAAtcIKlZj2WNWn6u8v8pXngkLJso8e_C3g_Jnbb-Bn-Kt46T4l7YZeoAIZHEbOAfSe5GXvVzoZk8gQIqtfbhxYmJ5vg4/s1600/TiltingStern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFvBMCiKY-fHWWHGIoI9fHxHlIErFcQPhzsCv8fwmUMseyOLVAAtcIKlZj2WNWn6u8v8pXngkLJso8e_C3g_Jnbb-Bn-Kt46T4l7YZeoAIZHEbOAfSe5GXvVzoZk8gQIqtfbhxYmJ5vg4/s320/TiltingStern.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View from the aft conning station during a roll of the ship. Note the horizon relative to the deck of the ship. The aft conning station is from where the winches are operated and has wonderful window views.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">We are running out of time here in the Bering Sea. We are due in Dutch Harbor on Saturday at 1400. The weather is not looking promising for doing more stations. After this storm passes by, we may have a lull during which time we will sample. But there is another, even more menacing storm building to the south that will no doubt shut us down again. Now we start to strategically plan our exit. We know that we won’t use the fluorometer again, so we can start to pack it up. We know that we won’t use the Multinet again, so it is packed. All part of a campaign to clean, list, and pack. The amount of stuff we have brought is monumental and now it must all go back into the packing crates again.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih3i0_IgtuebZ4RimUXRbQXyHdx71zlccB46CZIy-1LP7_aTpyDO76mRwVaGPF1pGg7aINvi7xFsWzJ4I2qdNN1qJFb9cZ46yVal3Y78O7MZntv9i7QgwMa_hWPnJ2CIW8LINobWtnw-g/s1600/WashingWindows.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih3i0_IgtuebZ4RimUXRbQXyHdx71zlccB46CZIy-1LP7_aTpyDO76mRwVaGPF1pGg7aINvi7xFsWzJ4I2qdNN1qJFb9cZ46yVal3Y78O7MZntv9i7QgwMa_hWPnJ2CIW8LINobWtnw-g/s320/WashingWindows.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The windows on the bridge need frequent washing from all of the sea spray.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9Cs1dDFQ-0VsdMqeRPQnF8tLLwEg-r3Oe8XySoYCuJ7JaGIhHUefg9hCnx1pdBrZFuJNhyphenhyphen8hNThUCsVRm6iO-zdekO_CwPCkj_UVrMHi-S4wOvgAG827zg7BbcU4QW3TTV4INhstXqg/s1600/EvanonBridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiW9Cs1dDFQ-0VsdMqeRPQnF8tLLwEg-r3Oe8XySoYCuJ7JaGIhHUefg9hCnx1pdBrZFuJNhyphenhyphen8hNThUCsVRm6iO-zdekO_CwPCkj_UVrMHi-S4wOvgAG827zg7BbcU4QW3TTV4INhstXqg/s320/EvanonBridge.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">LTJG Evan Steckle on the bridge of Healy. Evan was the OOD (Officer of the Deck) yesterday afternoon. This photo was taken on a more relaxed day. The controls of the ship are behind Evan. In addition to his duties on the bridge, Evan is the Marine Science Officer.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVC2YU17HvnssC0jD-04k75EoGPXymYLznEUJdia1l2T8x6Q2ZIm4Mvq8CEG3SrVMbAugPQIiickrfjxyKuPYzm1geE2nTX5LxPZpqm-Z-J2mI-id3LtfZju42UgqFKrtFvxQ5Jbc58I8/s1600/Chantelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVC2YU17HvnssC0jD-04k75EoGPXymYLznEUJdia1l2T8x6Q2ZIm4Mvq8CEG3SrVMbAugPQIiickrfjxyKuPYzm1geE2nTX5LxPZpqm-Z-J2mI-id3LtfZju42UgqFKrtFvxQ5Jbc58I8/s320/Chantelle.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chantelle on the bridge, readying her "helmet cam" (a video camera on her helmet) to go out and film the storm. I am not sure why she was so excited, it was nasty outside! </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">Yesterday morning the moon shone brightly over a calm expanse of frazzle ice (young ice in very small pieces) as we transited to the south to where we wanted to work. A stark contrast to the angry Bering Sea of today. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7z1G21tCJRWu2tV20CSwKo09fePqkEm7glcP8hTp38zB_-xHHYDOROSDRQApWHcS_-O_BKZbd5SIeiEqpw7GAUBszNKmQ0dfDP2bhmQER_XEGrDA61VHN1qLhqTNJrONm5yEvkAuoUsA/s1600/MoonoverFrazzle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7z1G21tCJRWu2tV20CSwKo09fePqkEm7glcP8hTp38zB_-xHHYDOROSDRQApWHcS_-O_BKZbd5SIeiEqpw7GAUBszNKmQ0dfDP2bhmQER_XEGrDA61VHN1qLhqTNJrONm5yEvkAuoUsA/s320/MoonoverFrazzle.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moon over a sea of frazzle ice, morning of Dec. 12 near Nunivak Island. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-82929820506868472762011-12-12T00:16:00.000-08:002011-12-12T00:16:21.562-08:00Blue Lights<div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We spent yesterday sheltered in the ice, at a place called “refuge”.<span> </span>We moved here two nights ago to enjoy the calm afforded by the sea ice as the latest Bering Sea storm raged over us.<span> </span>Today the weather has moderated and we sampled across a line of stations that extended towards the Yukon River Delta.<span> </span>The goal was to see the impact of the freshwater from the river on the biological and physical properties of the adjacent ocean.<span> </span>The salinity became fresher as we moved east, as should occur with an influx of fresh water.<span> </span>The water became increasingly turbid and the sea ice very dirty with embedded sediment.<span> </span>Our plankton nets started to bring up dirt, in addition to phytoplankton and then, at the station closest to the river delta, what looked like material of terrigenous origin, coming from land plants.<span> </span>At the last station, I abandoned the use of the Video Plankton Recorder since it cannot see very well through suspended sediment.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL3tPAlUMZjJ2sDgtEOgsIt4EU54w_4bH2fpKdzR5P-YBrvnRdtSt6MSugk-VNr7sbBfmcTdHyXOXG4Umze-3bG3_Uxn40Izp7-u_-cWJhyphenhyphenDh0wlFKyFMMtTGEMdjmwfbtqIkaVUMsVoE/s1600/VPRphotos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL3tPAlUMZjJ2sDgtEOgsIt4EU54w_4bH2fpKdzR5P-YBrvnRdtSt6MSugk-VNr7sbBfmcTdHyXOXG4Umze-3bG3_Uxn40Izp7-u_-cWJhyphenhyphenDh0wlFKyFMMtTGEMdjmwfbtqIkaVUMsVoE/s640/VPRphotos.jpg" width="640" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Two photographs of the Video Plankton Recorder. On the left, the instrument is lowered into the water. On the right, the instrument is seen just before coming out of the water. Note the faint light of the strobe shining between the two black “arms </span> </span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The Video Plankton Recorder is an underwater microscope that uses a camera and strobe to take photographs of plankton “in-situ”, in their natural habitat.<span> </span>Depth is also recorded so that we can calculate the concentration of each plankton type with depth in the water.<span> </span>The light from the VPR is a cool blue as it flashes, descending down into the inscrutable sea to yield photos of remarkable clarity and detail.<span> </span>Rather than seeing the plankton lying in a dish under the microscope, one can see them as they swim in the water.<span> </span>A fascinating glimpse into the underwater world of the plankton. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu5zZDM5L22hBJekZWePVZOLGhDC1EWkcJ2Eqg0XsqszBzP5Ar5QxQxlhneEnHo1phLOOA2LM9yVJgu-2vaF-kC0Idj0Kbetr55NnivKmhdq88Mddt6oH4W__P6mMDpdBWa8FL_41gDWM/s1600/vprphotocollage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu5zZDM5L22hBJekZWePVZOLGhDC1EWkcJ2Eqg0XsqszBzP5Ar5QxQxlhneEnHo1phLOOA2LM9yVJgu-2vaF-kC0Idj0Kbetr55NnivKmhdq88Mddt6oH4W__P6mMDpdBWa8FL_41gDWM/s320/vprphotocollage.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">F<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">our plankton seen by the VPR.<span> </span>Note, the photos are not to scale. Top left: A euphausiid, or krill.<span> </span><span> </span>Top right:<span> </span>A Calanus copepod.<span> </span>Bottom left:<span> </span>A chaetognath, or arrow worm, voracious predators of copepods.<span> </span>Bottom right;<span> </span>Another voracious predator of both copepods and krill, a ctenophore.</span><span> </span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">All is not work here on Healy. Last night was Saturday night, the big night “out” so to speak.<span> </span>As a Saturday night morale event, there was a “rave” in the helicopter hanger complete with blue lights, light sticks, and “smoke”.<span> </span>The place was transformed from a utilitarian barn to a misty world of blue light, flashing glow sticks and throbbing music.<span> </span>It was quite a shock to the sensations but refreshing.<span> </span>After a few hours, the smoke was cleared, the normal lights restored, and a semblance of order re-established.<span> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJ-LJo8jxlsIyMWF5nofiDi4hZuQA6wMNLPYskEmTO3nBkgDnF2JdikDK-nMrE9aXjJogk7NjW3kFBdG2O0QD70fxRUtjN3l7J9vJ2bpd4bztdJ90PwCXGH7ntMl_5B6stMl74Zsa-ZI/s1600/KristaatRave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSJ-LJo8jxlsIyMWF5nofiDi4hZuQA6wMNLPYskEmTO3nBkgDnF2JdikDK-nMrE9aXjJogk7NjW3kFBdG2O0QD70fxRUtjN3l7J9vJ2bpd4bztdJ90PwCXGH7ntMl_5B6stMl74Zsa-ZI/s320/KristaatRave.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Krista spinning glow sticks. </span></td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We are moving south now, heading towards Nunivak Island and the locations where we had planned to sample three days ago but were foiled by the storm.<span> </span>There is another big storm on the horizon, threatening with 50 knot winds on Tuesday.<span> </span>We are hoping to sneak in a few more stations before this monster catches up with us.<span> </span>For now, the ride is gentle, with a few bumps as Healy pushes aside the soft sea ice.<span> </span>Time is running out, we return to Dutch Harbor on Dec. 17.<span> </span>But the weather is what it is.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3evKZjEYR-qecePnn2W-xUVHKorPllJomqlED64ATlA16iUEb9sIZRsRoArNAMH_sb0qNOw0mbR2VkTgMojWBs3uKsMlHmKTUQP9UuqMv6jLbNQjbKe5GSMr_jl_q-0TmzMhYmtBwSg/s1600/CaptainHavlikatRave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ3evKZjEYR-qecePnn2W-xUVHKorPllJomqlED64ATlA16iUEb9sIZRsRoArNAMH_sb0qNOw0mbR2VkTgMojWBs3uKsMlHmKTUQP9UuqMv6jLbNQjbKe5GSMr_jl_q-0TmzMhYmtBwSg/s320/CaptainHavlikatRave.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Captain Havlik enjoyed the rave.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8X4bBtOn75974eE0pGSiYoelcd0ddL3nVE3Fr-_3Uxv4WZQv-8WSeNRAZ6VchYk91vmnrWxykbKAbJA7SEemGihhNGiTIy4sld-cdiJib33QdaXk9EOHRal1nZBmNDDByI0gxDMG1nmI/s1600/buoyatRave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8X4bBtOn75974eE0pGSiYoelcd0ddL3nVE3Fr-_3Uxv4WZQv-8WSeNRAZ6VchYk91vmnrWxykbKAbJA7SEemGihhNGiTIy4sld-cdiJib33QdaXk9EOHRal1nZBmNDDByI0gxDMG1nmI/s320/buoyatRave.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span></span><span style="font-size: small;">An oceanographic buoy was part of the surreal canvas of the rave</span>.</td></tr>
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</div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-21829818220507428382011-12-09T22:59:00.000-08:002011-12-09T22:59:18.320-08:00Racing the Storm<div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We’re racing a storm across the Bering Sea, going 15 knots between stations to try to get as many done as possible before the storm catches us from behind.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fifteen knots feels really fast, Healy shudders a little bit as she goes.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The wake is white and green, and as the sea is building, the bow is increasingly sprayed with sheets of white spray.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">There is a sense of urgency to our going, knowing that we are going to run out of time before we can finish this line.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Bering Sea has turned out to be just as bad as reputed.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One storm after another rolls through, from southwest to northeast. Our strategy is to position ourselves to be close to where we want to work when conditions permit after the storm passes and then to strike and sample as fast as we can.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We were weathered out the last time I wrote but then got in about a day of sampling before the next storm hit.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That time we were weathered out for about two days, during which time we moved to the far west, along the shelf-break and the Russian border.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We were calculating that we could fit in some sampling in between the last storm and the next.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And the gamble paid off, we sampled at seven locations across the shelf.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9_LBX5rg6SySYtjsfTSZoSs4AjwMbf4SDtnHVXoaS_yDLdbxHQqgQki9px-5AgES_iR2Sn0JgM0iYRZ8zK0z64Qo9QyQUhTis-BjucCEaN8l7xhYK0N_KPW7C7XfdhtJne62RXe29kU/s1600/KristaandKurtDeployCTD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD9_LBX5rg6SySYtjsfTSZoSs4AjwMbf4SDtnHVXoaS_yDLdbxHQqgQki9px-5AgES_iR2Sn0JgM0iYRZ8zK0z64Qo9QyQUhTis-BjucCEaN8l7xhYK0N_KPW7C7XfdhtJne62RXe29kU/s320/KristaandKurtDeployCTD.jpg" width="320" /></span></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Krista (l) and MSTC Kurt Stewart (r)</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">recover the CTD earlier today when the seas were still relatively benevolent.</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Last night we sampled at a deep station, off of the shelf. Here the oxygen content in the water dropped off dramatically at depth, becoming of such low concentration that it was anoxic, or virtually devoid of oxygen.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This was pretty exciting since we had not expected to see this.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It made up for the multiple ripped nets we sustained working there. We think that the pitching of the ship was great enough that it ripped out the nets as the water surged through on the up-swing.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Nonetheless, we have copepods and krill on the plankton wheel, going around and around and hopefully munching away on the phytoplankton and microzooplankton in their bottles.</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDcAZ2qbJhxPzmWRV2TbtnrquUhjiOVKifXxdYVb9GbqeQ34ip8ua8xqVhWKGvt3XcTkAqe_NuJb0Fi2mI0_jOUcdmnDo0OIoWczkQXNr7y7T8hTx0xpyesyxmbF-uAc7yMYwSzbMDOQ/s1600/Oxygens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRDcAZ2qbJhxPzmWRV2TbtnrquUhjiOVKifXxdYVb9GbqeQ34ip8ua8xqVhWKGvt3XcTkAqe_NuJb0Fi2mI0_jOUcdmnDo0OIoWczkQXNr7y7T8hTx0xpyesyxmbF-uAc7yMYwSzbMDOQ/s320/Oxygens.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Samples collected to determine oxygen concentration in seawater.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Immediately after the CTD/Rosette comes on board, water is drawn from the Niskins and chemicals are added to bind the oxygen and precipitate it as a solid. The more oxygen in the water, the more solid.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The sample on the right is typical of what we have been seeing.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The three on the left are what we saw in water collected in the oxygen minimum zone.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Quite a contrast!</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzdPWTbtLNGphwM5mNeu2h8H1qOpSnPOp1TYQGdPE5JwiiAXIlrZCONGMmlTLUqM1Oo8jbaWUooUexHcR7sDghHuhdrqJnm6BcMOfbIXkQNmM0nJH2XCOf-0u3-W4HI256ExEVn6Qx_U/s1600/BeringSeaStations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzdPWTbtLNGphwM5mNeu2h8H1qOpSnPOp1TYQGdPE5JwiiAXIlrZCONGMmlTLUqM1Oo8jbaWUooUexHcR7sDghHuhdrqJnm6BcMOfbIXkQNmM0nJH2XCOf-0u3-W4HI256ExEVn6Qx_U/s400/BeringSeaStations.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: small;"><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Locations where we have sampled so far in the Bering Sea.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We sampled the line across the top before the first storm, the line down the middle before the second storm, and the line across from W to E before the present storm.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now there is another monster storm breathing down our back, threatening to stop us from working once again.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is a big storm, occupying much of the Bering Sea and with very high winds and substantial waves forecast.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We have moved far enough to the east that the ice edge is once again within striking distance</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">(~150 miles) and we plan to move there to take shelter in the lower waves once we can no longer work.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicISjeKmi-HiCAzyeJGa-c8woqobHnKpChPWkNwhE6fzDlSea50dXdWkA-YDYQ28nRl5kr6ACTrco0GoeQy_9M9tQ5qm9_IVUcLhN9NnS4FgrNOA0bzXJHaYzOO83-9BW68ckCv-PCnY/s1600/WavesonBow12_9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgicISjeKmi-HiCAzyeJGa-c8woqobHnKpChPWkNwhE6fzDlSea50dXdWkA-YDYQ28nRl5kr6ACTrco0GoeQy_9M9tQ5qm9_IVUcLhN9NnS4FgrNOA0bzXJHaYzOO83-9BW68ckCv-PCnY/s320/WavesonBow12_9.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">A wave breaks and sprays the bow as we move at 15 knots and as the seas start to build in front of the storm. Note that the bow is now essentially free of snow and ice, since we have been working in the Bering Sea where air temperatures are warmer than in the Chukchi Sea.</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDoidZ86iju2ZGYKcGYsNS27WrTRQFRe12oadPYSw3sjsLGTizLW6psOpkJ6DFzVdbu0NfsclU30ZDyRqnYZJtqDFJUZpUH3q1K4Sr8cJnpgAB61N9CWBl74PI0h155r7R1MXiC-QF5A/s1600/BuildingWaves.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzDoidZ86iju2ZGYKcGYsNS27WrTRQFRe12oadPYSw3sjsLGTizLW6psOpkJ6DFzVdbu0NfsclU30ZDyRqnYZJtqDFJUZpUH3q1K4Sr8cJnpgAB61N9CWBl74PI0h155r7R1MXiC-QF5A/s320/BuildingWaves.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The waves building as the storm catches up to us. This photo was taken looking aft along the starboard side of the ship.</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In the meantime, life on board continues.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Today was drill day, when the CG practices responding to a disaster so that if something was to actually happen, they would be ready.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Today’s drill was a leak sprung in cargo hold 3, the one just below the lab where the science gear is stored.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I never realized that there are really huge wooden “plugs” that are ready to be jammed into a hole.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQgd0XHlcKyNEmU-BPQypU3UM9chZAzlU5FwDkDCNA6PrT8VvC9kcURqyM_8QuBU5nMemFjH2jeqwNzv6etI4O89IYtPCm4S7i-3C51vXOkzlqgHY4vVM7NrMp_aKQmRgs_7io6Wf6cg/s1600/Drill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvQgd0XHlcKyNEmU-BPQypU3UM9chZAzlU5FwDkDCNA6PrT8VvC9kcURqyM_8QuBU5nMemFjH2jeqwNzv6etI4O89IYtPCm4S7i-3C51vXOkzlqgHY4vVM7NrMp_aKQmRgs_7io6Wf6cg/s320/Drill.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Members of the Healy Crew in their gear practicing response to a leak in the hold during today’s drill.</span></span></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As I write later today, the storm has caught us.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We were unable to sample at the last station and now are beating a hasty retreat to the NE and the ice edge.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sometimes being strategic and hiding is really the wisest course of action! </span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We have tied everything down in case the ship rolls and pitches enough to dislodge things.</span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We are ready for another Bering Sea Monster.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpCKc9RTPVVh2DVHF_sV_DUrrKz4jQZ7HszTqqwf3KcwOssrF0YKPiXPiVn6Df2oNbrwzS85Hr1fQXXnKf6QzUc76RvAgD-g1hC10qaOSMSj1u_ber9o4FhAEpfBMiS6fgWFRLzifuTZs/s1600/KristaPicksCtenos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpCKc9RTPVVh2DVHF_sV_DUrrKz4jQZ7HszTqqwf3KcwOssrF0YKPiXPiVn6Df2oNbrwzS85Hr1fQXXnKf6QzUc76RvAgD-g1hC10qaOSMSj1u_ber9o4FhAEpfBMiS6fgWFRLzifuTZs/s320/KristaPicksCtenos.jpg" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Krista picks some ctenophores out of a beaker to be used in an experiment. Ctenophores, or comb jellies, are the smallish jellies that we often see at the beach.</span></span><span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"> </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">They are voracious predators on copepods and krill.</span></span></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKD2PwSMDoD1MXecgp6IQOdlsI9PJOnzKM6y5EbQQvM4_KrqrJGJ25bCE3pJLY2ITU2-ODjqGFyEDRcIPzLfQChaTIBqjpaQI6CbV9y_B1c0olk67nppiaBiUxF8JZHAHqWcz0t2LJ9NI/s1600/DonnawCtenos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKD2PwSMDoD1MXecgp6IQOdlsI9PJOnzKM6y5EbQQvM4_KrqrJGJ25bCE3pJLY2ITU2-ODjqGFyEDRcIPzLfQChaTIBqjpaQI6CbV9y_B1c0olk67nppiaBiUxF8JZHAHqWcz0t2LJ9NI/s320/DonnawCtenos.jpg" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Donna holds the beaker full of ctenophores. You can see one of them just above the white streak across the beaker.</span></td></tr>
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</span></div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-46434448233450479542011-12-04T22:42:00.000-08:002011-12-04T22:45:10.734-08:00The Bering Sea Lashes Out<div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The Bering Sea is gnashing its teeth and flailing around. Clearly it took offense at our attempts to wrest the secrets of plankton overwintering from its icy depths. We have been unable to work for a day and a half now because of bad weather. Two nights ago, we were working across a line of stations that lie to the south of Saint Lawrence Island. We knew that a low pressure system was going to come in but we thought we had time to finish the line. No such luck. At around 3 AM the winds were blowing 40 but Healy was able to hold station and the team conducted a CTD cast, Bongo ring net tow, and Video Plankton Recorder cast. By 430 AM the winds had increased to 50 knots. The intrepid team suited up to tackle the next station but didn’t get much further than the door before realizing that they were prone to being blown off of the deck. Wisely, they withdrew and admitted defeat. We then turned to the east to reach the shelter of sea ice where the waves and swell would be dampened. As we moved east, the winds increased, with gusts of up to 70 knots. The ship pitched, flinging spray on the bow and upper levels of the “house”. In my room, the spray hitting the front of the ship sounded like wet plaster slinging across a wall. In between the smacks of plaster, I could hear frozen bits of snow needling the side of the ship like windblown sand. Luckily, the wind speeds dropped to 40 knots after a few insane hours of 60+. We reached the shelter of a tongue of ice extending across the northern Bering Sea and remained within the relative calm for over a day. Right now, we are moving slowly back towards the location where we had to abandon sampling. Winds have dropped to 30 knots and seas are moderating. We hope to be able to sample later tonight.</span></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThUBj3au2fom8prkLKqGsLXH5QbvB0N2giaoAwkRpcqxENheUsGVo8fZcwz0-FFhnBwvhl0USbALxEk_uxl2gZdg5es_yyaubr8fGEvIaAkeDS8HMYPvaihYlaDWE0gZTRLdpeoGXg6A/s1600/StormintheBering_Dec4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiThUBj3au2fom8prkLKqGsLXH5QbvB0N2giaoAwkRpcqxENheUsGVo8fZcwz0-FFhnBwvhl0USbALxEk_uxl2gZdg5es_yyaubr8fGEvIaAkeDS8HMYPvaihYlaDWE0gZTRLdpeoGXg6A/s320/StormintheBering_Dec4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">The view from the bridge this afternoon. Winds were about 40 knots at this time. Note the water streaming off the surface of the waves. Despite the high winds, Healy rode very well and was quite comfortable. </div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Two days ago we diverted to Nome, AK, for a personnel exchange. It was strange to see the lights of civilization after so many weeks at sea with no lights and no other ships. The ice was quite beautiful in that region but also very dynamic with a lot of movement and with the ice under a lot of pressure. As we lay quietly waiting offshore for the helicopter flight, the path that we had broken through the ice closed behind us. Ice from the two sides of the path continued to push together, crumpling and rising up in a ridge of jumbled, ice chunks. I could hear screeching as ice moved past the hull, somewhat akin to the sound of fingernails on a chalk board. Strange to hear, since we were not under locomotion and pushing against the ice, we were just sitting still. By 1330 the personnel transfer was successfully completed and we moved off to the south to sample the Bering Sea. </span></span></div><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTkJFpU2x2inXoTiqpFNKJ6EX39hLJVP4Qe-Pol2BmyJu70fII1kHHa6H-clZoUtnT6y0R6YQbiaFz8ARbEn1zWPmM-sjbuVBG6-TOaWplW5JrGOuxeGNr5IGvZyyuOACjcSlhpP5_PJs/s1600/NomeSunriseDec1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTkJFpU2x2inXoTiqpFNKJ6EX39hLJVP4Qe-Pol2BmyJu70fII1kHHa6H-clZoUtnT6y0R6YQbiaFz8ARbEn1zWPmM-sjbuVBG6-TOaWplW5JrGOuxeGNr5IGvZyyuOACjcSlhpP5_PJs/s320/NomeSunriseDec1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">The sunrise as we moved close to Nome, AK on Dec. 1. This was taken at about 10 AM.</div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUo3h_H3auIoP9ChYzMBqmTfDjxiF5lDqoZCt6YU3A7NJPwDhTDLEBjVIzMFFqI7yruTCcGx_hGvw9Z4R5oQtsjq3yXNGIcjlINSlJfSpKwoyK96CnbIlnyEMrRcZe4VtWJxAFVTSXN8/s1600/MoonOverIceDec1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifUo3h_H3auIoP9ChYzMBqmTfDjxiF5lDqoZCt6YU3A7NJPwDhTDLEBjVIzMFFqI7yruTCcGx_hGvw9Z4R5oQtsjq3yXNGIcjlINSlJfSpKwoyK96CnbIlnyEMrRcZe4VtWJxAFVTSXN8/s320/MoonOverIceDec1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"> The moon is visible over the sea ice in the waning light of the day as we move south from Nome towards the northern Bering Sea.</div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYT-QzV-UTsc724o-BJlZ37Unqb7V3_WYXcvcckzGXeG-NXlzI1Sur-kM1XzwdqweOxBZMHWkfTILEW0IeKBo0igVVPjKt3W2X3Epg-fUTgfMdRHmNHC0Oib7ZWsbP7ty3mix0MzkPNsg/s1600/ThinIceDec1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYT-QzV-UTsc724o-BJlZ37Unqb7V3_WYXcvcckzGXeG-NXlzI1Sur-kM1XzwdqweOxBZMHWkfTILEW0IeKBo0igVVPjKt3W2X3Epg-fUTgfMdRHmNHC0Oib7ZWsbP7ty3mix0MzkPNsg/s320/ThinIceDec1.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Very thin ice. The white chunks are about the size of my fist and were propelled across the surface of the sea ice by the ship, leaving scraping tracks.</div></td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">The low pressure systems just keep rolling through the Bering Sea, one after another. We are going to spend the rest of the cruise dodging bad weather, snatching precious sampling opportunities between bouts of laying low and riding it out. No one ever said that working in the Bering Sea in December was going to be easy!</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3z1YxMe_dmm9MlXm4lpdMUv0xCecG2VJQQvy8Qu0ThKioAFsVmYdyZMHkCRmkdLG4A3oBv8B8wn9qtARbuNwAXMpJezTmqIj7Rz5ETuMHy-W-EDP0cZV_H5vau8ysUUZey65ZyEcZRc/s1600/BobinColdRoom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg3z1YxMe_dmm9MlXm4lpdMUv0xCecG2VJQQvy8Qu0ThKioAFsVmYdyZMHkCRmkdLG4A3oBv8B8wn9qtARbuNwAXMpJezTmqIj7Rz5ETuMHy-W-EDP0cZV_H5vau8ysUUZey65ZyEcZRc/s320/BobinColdRoom.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Bob picks copepods in the “cold room”. We pick the animals from experiments out in this room that is kept at ambient temperature, in this case about -1C or just above the freezing point of seawater. Plankton are very temperature sensitive and we cannot warm them up or the will not be in good condition for the experiments.</div></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAW4Y5E1SipXrdV8zFjuSkyYndyLuHiQssMH09HUlzvKZob-B1mRfpFazFiu6j8Dookau7E3N3zVpmTGYw2BU2_XJA9sbCdiCPUlDYxR243GNk71h1J0DzTNwGODfk6H-KHcSAThwaKV0/s1600/JoelonBike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAW4Y5E1SipXrdV8zFjuSkyYndyLuHiQssMH09HUlzvKZob-B1mRfpFazFiu6j8Dookau7E3N3zVpmTGYw2BU2_XJA9sbCdiCPUlDYxR243GNk71h1J0DzTNwGODfk6H-KHcSAThwaKV0/s320/JoelonBike.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><div style="font: 12.0px 'Times New Roman'; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Joel rides his miles on his bike in the main lab. </div></td></tr>
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</div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-24816026496159021642011-12-01T00:11:00.000-08:002011-12-01T00:11:03.660-08:00Moving south with the ice<div class="MsoNormal">We have now bid farewell to the Chukchi Sea and are in the northern Bering, working north of Saint Lawrence Island.<span> </span>Most fantastically, the ice is coming with us!<span> </span>Winds have been from the north, bringing cold air south and also blowing the ice south so that we are still in ice.<span> </span>Right now the ship is rumbling and bouncing up and down as she cuts through the ice.<span> </span>The ice consists of pancakes cemented together with new ice.<span> </span>In the image from the “aloft con”, or “happy”, camera the ice is clearly visible in the flood and ice lights from the ship.<span> </span>We are heading to a station to the east of St. Lawrence Island and should arrive there at around 11 PM.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnRHP27TBHXA8OYZ5x2Ww7HYaerYaHoiFy4sPA6Kx3wqjDVu_bkrVPl0TKy3dN4AmaevCD7Mhyn1klVdExnxHdk9lUb-f3SSTudo8PKnyZzu7ww10d6zS28CsdK0Nyo2flPcPKBQBOMM/s1600/HappyCam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjnRHP27TBHXA8OYZ5x2Ww7HYaerYaHoiFy4sPA6Kx3wqjDVu_bkrVPl0TKy3dN4AmaevCD7Mhyn1klVdExnxHdk9lUb-f3SSTudo8PKnyZzu7ww10d6zS28CsdK0Nyo2flPcPKBQBOMM/s320/HappyCam.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of the bow of the ship and new ice in the flood and ice lights from the "happy cam"</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">Yesterday we worked across Bering Strait.<span> </span>We arrived at our first station as the sun was rising and lightening the sky, although we never actually saw the sun (too cloudy). <span> </span>Note also that we were there at about noon, showing how late in the day the sun actually rises here.<span> </span>We had a beautiful view of the Diomede Islands that are located in the center of Bering Strait, with Little Diomede on the US side and Big Diomede on the Russian Side.<span> </span>Little Diomede also is the home to a small community of about 100 people that clings to the southern tip of the rocky island.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRVbsC909L1CJ-dgIgZBHo0hWFeiCOdsTGGEgIEF4X0Z7-xDNgNor6SD_e0CYdoFHZNdecix6K6R7VphiKn-6Fwj5o_AUy5x-ip93C2clDditWocl8btDC06M5hql8RdbORnXrNWhIo0/s1600/LittleDiomede.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhRVbsC909L1CJ-dgIgZBHo0hWFeiCOdsTGGEgIEF4X0Z7-xDNgNor6SD_e0CYdoFHZNdecix6K6R7VphiKn-6Fwj5o_AUy5x-ip93C2clDditWocl8btDC06M5hql8RdbORnXrNWhIo0/s320/LittleDiomede.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little Diomede Island viewed across the new ice from our sampling location.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Today we sampled to the south of Bering Strait along the US-Russian border.<span> </span>Here we caught a fantastic number of krill!<span> </span>Bob, Celia, Donna, Kristina, Joel, Phil, and Chantelle all worked to sort out the krill and some Calanus copepods and set up a grazing experiment to see how much and what the animals are eating.<span> </span>So as I am writing this the experimental bottles are on the plankton wheel in the cold room, rotating slowly to keep the food in suspension and available to be filtered out by the small crustaceans.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPvSKXfDtHAbpKuHJblr73GdKwCtCe-MouQd8OtFIyj_T57ZLkBpI4nOj2MSQODdtufyvt3B7zqzreVkaOKnu3WIzwM__dDdrLCUiaOHk1_RijR2zx-aGkVbTJySae5vLwhnYQeyAjig/s1600/Krill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="317" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibPvSKXfDtHAbpKuHJblr73GdKwCtCe-MouQd8OtFIyj_T57ZLkBpI4nOj2MSQODdtufyvt3B7zqzreVkaOKnu3WIzwM__dDdrLCUiaOHk1_RijR2zx-aGkVbTJySae5vLwhnYQeyAjig/s320/Krill.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dish of krill viewed through a microscope. </td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">What are these animals going to eat, one might ask, in the dark and cold of early winter here in the Bering Sea?<span> </span>Well, there are low numbers of phytoplankton present as seen in the low quantity of chlorophyll or plant pigment in the water (measured by Dean and also by the fluorometers on the CTD rosette and in the system that measures temperature, salinity, and fluorescence constantly from the seawater) and seen by Sam in his system that photographs phytoplankton to see what types and how many of each type are present.<span> </span>So the crustaceans might be eating the scant phytoplankton.<span> </span>We expect also that there are smaller zooplankton, or microzooplankton, present that the larger copepods and krill can feed upon.<span> </span>After we do our experiments, we will count the numbers of microzooplankton in the bottles to see if the copepods and krill have been eating them.<span> </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHoX_Yd47nVerl9VHPWeVG6-JJv_U7bkl6bKW1AlKRCiX91CeiqH1RVrLUKdhMD7c2GATFYdWZ3FaVsogG3hv3z9Tc8K6V32euJYTiC5vYox4EovOMRP_m5g2RQO6sfLC8duP1eVBtxU/s1600/SamandDean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdHoX_Yd47nVerl9VHPWeVG6-JJv_U7bkl6bKW1AlKRCiX91CeiqH1RVrLUKdhMD7c2GATFYdWZ3FaVsogG3hv3z9Tc8K6V32euJYTiC5vYox4EovOMRP_m5g2RQO6sfLC8duP1eVBtxU/s320/SamandDean.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam and Dean watch the computer screen as Sam’s instrument catches images of phytoplankton from a sample. Sam and Dean both study phytoplankton.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLg_p3a9w55VezrWGdtNUj3z6EIeYL336mYzTl5McjkkVKaQtZIRhLuR4EIeKFpSud9z8MSKX3QvaE1L0UJ2_UCRb34gEunPRf5QBfg24KTj2uy2K24wyUmx24C2uLgWR40nKwg4fpU7U/s1600/phytoimages.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLg_p3a9w55VezrWGdtNUj3z6EIeYL336mYzTl5McjkkVKaQtZIRhLuR4EIeKFpSud9z8MSKX3QvaE1L0UJ2_UCRb34gEunPRf5QBfg24KTj2uy2K24wyUmx24C2uLgWR40nKwg4fpU7U/s320/phytoimages.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">An example of a phytoplankton image from Sam’s instrument.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">As we have moved south, the sun has risen again and now remains above the horizon for a few hours.<span> </span>A few weeks ago we entered the dark of Arctic winter; now we have emerged from that darkness and are once again enjoying the light.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4YG0vTk5I_ObeyiWmOzW9fEgMO0DIB_gdqQNy5imNBm3gxxkDiZHnWp-SkfRf0pSwpozHNbpfD0cEwW6gbuAUCCBqaEwNdVobHxMdp5R9qEOI9Erqf4TwmOUuEfBpT0QqfyOxeuR9l9I/s1600/SunonIceNov30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4YG0vTk5I_ObeyiWmOzW9fEgMO0DIB_gdqQNy5imNBm3gxxkDiZHnWp-SkfRf0pSwpozHNbpfD0cEwW6gbuAUCCBqaEwNdVobHxMdp5R9qEOI9Erqf4TwmOUuEfBpT0QqfyOxeuR9l9I/s320/SunonIceNov30.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">View of sea ice with sun today.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBsqCY98t168_HeGS324eJErDRmwc45mRtR0LHBChj7kO06k6J8PSGzvsJazPPtYWcQEaVzOPyWVtcRskO08a7THiAUEXxYDo80WChjOQeDFCjnTPwvkwtS4GGfcJ_2f_Pze4ZfKlSwQ/s1600/CTDandIce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBsqCY98t168_HeGS324eJErDRmwc45mRtR0LHBChj7kO06k6J8PSGzvsJazPPtYWcQEaVzOPyWVtcRskO08a7THiAUEXxYDo80WChjOQeDFCjnTPwvkwtS4GGfcJ_2f_Pze4ZfKlSwQ/s320/CTDandIce.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The CTD and rosette enters the water near some recently broken ice.</td></tr>
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</div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-48471626763972643082011-11-29T00:48:00.000-08:002011-11-29T00:48:16.942-08:00Into the jaws of the Bering Sea.<div class="MsoNormal">We are heading south towards Bering Strait and the Bering Sea beyond.<span> </span>As we go, we are moving through young ice, with smallish pancakes ahead of the ship.<span> </span>The ice lamps illuminate the pancakes.<span> </span>The ship rumbles as she plows through the loose pancakes, with a constant crunching. This ice is relatively thin. Gone is the screeching as the ship pushed through thick, hard ice.<span> </span>Gone is the backing and ramming as we try to get through an especially hard ridge.<span> </span>Now we are going to face the Bering Sea, the sea of “Deadliest Catch” lore.<span> </span>One huge, low pressure system after another has been rolling through the Bering for the last month.<span> </span>We cannot hope to escape completely.<span> </span>Working will be hard, much harder, there.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXAOUqqKPdeu5BdwBUSHLwSgcQhSC31cEQmWfa-DQIxfTHQ1nRIONdLdNzXefUlusyMi8x4NEvfRf5Id7IPTfc2R0IYccgSn1peFy-UH7xAcRHRZjOGKhOyPMo9JDRZsbXRt4YzlTK73E/s1600/ChukchiSeaSamping.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXAOUqqKPdeu5BdwBUSHLwSgcQhSC31cEQmWfa-DQIxfTHQ1nRIONdLdNzXefUlusyMi8x4NEvfRf5Id7IPTfc2R0IYccgSn1peFy-UH7xAcRHRZjOGKhOyPMo9JDRZsbXRt4YzlTK73E/s320/ChukchiSeaSamping.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of the locations at which we have sampled in the Chukchi Sea.<span> </span>Despite the ice, the cold, and the wind we conducted nearly all of our planned sampling activities and reached all of our planned sampling locations. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">We had a little taste of the conditions to come today as we worked across at transect that was placed near Point Lay, AK (southernmost transect on map).<span> </span>Winds reached 40-50 knots.<span> </span>There was loose ice on the surface of the ocean.<span> </span>As we deployed gear, we had to take care to not catch the wires on the pieces of ice floating, or rather flying, past.<span> </span>We had to pull the CTD back in on one cast without sampling because the ice was too crazy, swirling and rushing past the ship.<span> </span>The wind was blowing at least 40 then, straight at the deck where we were deploying the CTD.<span> </span>Streams of water were coming off the surface of the ocean.<span> </span>Just walking was difficult, never mind using the ice pole in a futile effort to stave off the ice floes.<span> </span>We repositioned the ship in an area with a bit less ice, and re-deployed the CTD for a successful cast.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41FgC338nxaqVLQIFrCe9aNSANPaEthuX2YSJpF-xz06e0eT5lM6WnnNezMQNXAbYiw2ku3Gl3AoUrRl9ks63IZSjpVk6afGL5b6auUp3Wh8GUbvfcunugDhu0izzcWkL5ZtNNn6oz0Y/s1600/Nov28Winds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh41FgC338nxaqVLQIFrCe9aNSANPaEthuX2YSJpF-xz06e0eT5lM6WnnNezMQNXAbYiw2ku3Gl3AoUrRl9ks63IZSjpVk6afGL5b6auUp3Wh8GUbvfcunugDhu0izzcWkL5ZtNNn6oz0Y/s320/Nov28Winds.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wind record from today.<span> </span>Note the 50 knot winds.<span> </span>The time is in Greenwich Mean time that is 9 hours later than our time.<span> </span>So 20:00 was about 11:00 this morning, when we were trying to conduct the CTD cast I described above.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Now our work in the Chukchi is done and we move on to sample the Bering Sea.<span> </span>The sun rose today, treating us to a brilliant display over the newly forming ice.<span> </span>In many places, we see pancake ice adjacent to open areas where “sea smoke” is rising, water evaporating from the surface of the ocean.<span> </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9O8-wMExLngLc-C3HTh7L3SA99uXoN6vnzG6qW90H1swvYz221jRBloa3GEHsYcqWKfI3-1N8yHleBfkr4B0rOlQPgYw9yurBi4KUu8VxKnf3VVl811AIoyffJdEliFCm-iC1oTJMH0/s1600/Nov28SeaSmokeandIce.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiF9O8-wMExLngLc-C3HTh7L3SA99uXoN6vnzG6qW90H1swvYz221jRBloa3GEHsYcqWKfI3-1N8yHleBfkr4B0rOlQPgYw9yurBi4KUu8VxKnf3VVl811AIoyffJdEliFCm-iC1oTJMH0/s320/Nov28SeaSmokeandIce.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd2lAS_qjqxWjhInOYOzKhvatRnvzW5T5gdEvu6LDdCatPd4PiXtSrQJlHUfAYoCQRFB0X2vcp90xsxRMoki1FnrOZqEp9aW4SEWEQzJ_ftO6IsSYJvvbX3eZz6hehba6mf09C-tvj4vs/s1600/SunriseNov28.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjd2lAS_qjqxWjhInOYOzKhvatRnvzW5T5gdEvu6LDdCatPd4PiXtSrQJlHUfAYoCQRFB0X2vcp90xsxRMoki1FnrOZqEp9aW4SEWEQzJ_ftO6IsSYJvvbX3eZz6hehba6mf09C-tvj4vs/s320/SunriseNov28.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Our next plan is to sample across the eastern side of Bering Strait.<span> </span>The US-Russian border runs down the middle of Bering Strait, right between two islands:<span> </span>Little Diomede on the eastern/US side and Big Diomede on the western/Russian side.<span> </span>We cannot cross over the border to the Russian side to sample so we will be working only on the eastern side of this important “gateway” to the Arctic Ocean.<span> </span>Our ice analyst says that there is ice even to the south of the Strait so we are looking forward to another couple of days of sea ice before we face the open ocean, and waves and swell, of the Bering Sea.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhb_MzFEHZfLtiuayWjJj7s25KCRN0KOkHa_jBrG0qu7bzb8HhZJA2v_2KAOzHptbqH9njimJhWZqE5ngP8L8-uOJtFF3XL0Uf_RtM6FAMzvUcsMJH_Kb8qeDsN6dmqc2OkNhwS8cY9pA/s1600/WashingNet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhb_MzFEHZfLtiuayWjJj7s25KCRN0KOkHa_jBrG0qu7bzb8HhZJA2v_2KAOzHptbqH9njimJhWZqE5ngP8L8-uOJtFF3XL0Uf_RtM6FAMzvUcsMJH_Kb8qeDsN6dmqc2OkNhwS8cY9pA/s320/WashingNet.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phil washes down the ring net inside the “aft hanger” on Healy.<span> </span>The hanger is an enclosed, heated space with a big “garage” door.<span> </span>Because hoses with sea water would freeze rapidly on deck, we bring the nets inside to wash them down.<span> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, dressed to sample. Looks just like me, doesn’t it?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFF38gz6gd6M2NqWN4g_kJXvAg1XoOkkJUr3WULjlyKTisTq-Q6GAdxrQIxMK0zmikUc4L9dKKJXB00wdt0MBYiL4NS0weScteuf4cDgvj9KpLCiBTUEDbOSbdgMORYm-gr4hTELjMcU/s1600/bringinginbongo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGFF38gz6gd6M2NqWN4g_kJXvAg1XoOkkJUr3WULjlyKTisTq-Q6GAdxrQIxMK0zmikUc4L9dKKJXB00wdt0MBYiL4NS0weScteuf4cDgvj9KpLCiBTUEDbOSbdgMORYm-gr4hTELjMcU/s320/bringinginbongo.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span> </span>Shannon, Bob, and Kristina bringing the Bongo nets in to the aft hanger after a successful tow. </td></tr>
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</div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-40773589770198474942011-11-27T00:48:00.000-08:002011-11-28T10:41:01.708-08:00Into the southern Chukchi Sea<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv75L1W75AKxA5T0tuo2GDVQdQNLwklVFfFfiPltM5lonIfIGXy6Bj0GeYgCXVEu2V6xme1i4NHzYp5pztyx_cUALA3vJhjvMK9loy__QQI0zqaEvQS6Ksw3jTJk4VlUfRQaqWPyCht80/s1600/JoelinLight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><div class="MsoNormal">We are moving further south. As we go, the ice is filling the Chukchi Sea, filling that sea with us still in it. A few days ago, there was sea ice only in the northern part and along the coast. Now, as we go south, the ice extends almost all the way across the Sea and down through to the Bering Strait. It is remarkable, being here while the ice is forming. The ship moves easily through this new ice, only bumping a little as she easily knocks aside the newly formed pancakes. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcdqzMkG9BEoivqJNeAA4Q1gk7XIjqBYoJBYj-HTR1LISeSoDwzNNb5cp25CReRxxjw6M9qOWTl6L6DXBZcGEru5uk-qhSux-kiMX0-1887yjXfhHoNvjOjbAzqp9ZL2c6bhosvyhoeY/s1600/pancakeice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYcdqzMkG9BEoivqJNeAA4Q1gk7XIjqBYoJBYj-HTR1LISeSoDwzNNb5cp25CReRxxjw6M9qOWTl6L6DXBZcGEru5uk-qhSux-kiMX0-1887yjXfhHoNvjOjbAzqp9ZL2c6bhosvyhoeY/s320/pancakeice.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A close up of pancake sea ice.<span> </span>The big floe in the middle of the picture is probably 10-15 feet across.</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal">So far we have completed work near Barrow, near Point Lay, and we are now going south to work in the southern Chukchi Sea. Tonight we are moving south along the border between Russia and the United States. Russia is on our right, the US is on our left. Our days have fallen into routine, with each day following similar patterns but with new and interesting discoveries in our data and in our nets. To date we have sampled at 78 locations, doing a CTD cast at each, a VPR cast at most, and a bongo net haul at about half. Soon we will move into the Bering Sea. We are fortunate that the ice has been advancing so quickly, since the northern portion of the Bering Sea is ice-covered and will dampen the waves. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAS2X8UkWNNRHgh9R5_CoP_vL8r3BKI9M-GM0fx9Pjmr2BO4m0JQ0WFDkFVhQXJ-ufXYFBKR5MJwukInOMilzwOwC0VaCFEIraxuV1Pvq_nTbtqfdoyCpNGwOdY4z6qq9zCUa4JbRIFFE/s1600/Map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAS2X8UkWNNRHgh9R5_CoP_vL8r3BKI9M-GM0fx9Pjmr2BO4m0JQ0WFDkFVhQXJ-ufXYFBKR5MJwukInOMilzwOwC0VaCFEIraxuV1Pvq_nTbtqfdoyCpNGwOdY4z6qq9zCUa4JbRIFFE/s320/Map.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map showing the locations in the Chukchi Sea where we have samples so far. </td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">Usually the ship also follows a weekly schedule but this long weekend they have been relaxing a bit. There have been special events in the evening. Last night was casino night, with poker, roulette, and the like played on the mess deck. Tonight was bingo night and a movie in the helicopter hanger. Tomorrow (Sunday) is the end of the long weekend and a return to the regular schedule starts on Monday. Although we scientists have not stopped working, the ship feels relaxed and we do get a sense of the holiday weekend (not to mention the near constant football on the television!).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-Awi1Xh42U3wVAvCoxy1eg1c4dlhW5spNdWsrq1hcnURkAT98gZZQb1KLko7n6AytVt8k83Ak_TUbjaZYRZYx6HtDhKk-yDcd8FQ-ylG1GOrTnT5zFJQA7dor44N1sFiXeWr88exCC8/s1600/DealingCards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ-Awi1Xh42U3wVAvCoxy1eg1c4dlhW5spNdWsrq1hcnURkAT98gZZQb1KLko7n6AytVt8k83Ak_TUbjaZYRZYx6HtDhKk-yDcd8FQ-ylG1GOrTnT5zFJQA7dor44N1sFiXeWr88exCC8/s320/DealingCards.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJVNOR-B9YNNne24eggsD1V87tT2YTPuuVu-DRFBzaAVZokxHQIKUvzH_h72B3IZy2J5q3bGZBNILZgNDOZI0ekYxbS4sCj69nSMCx-5rMrf0zuKUR1MBkckv7ODCUgn9bSQ2JTWtVs8/s1600/Cards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuJVNOR-B9YNNne24eggsD1V87tT2YTPuuVu-DRFBzaAVZokxHQIKUvzH_h72B3IZy2J5q3bGZBNILZgNDOZI0ekYxbS4sCj69nSMCx-5rMrf0zuKUR1MBkckv7ODCUgn9bSQ2JTWtVs8/s320/Cards.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">With our movement south has come moderate weather. Now we think it is warm outside, when the temperature is only 6 degrees Fahrenheit! In comparison with the temperatures of just a week ago, this is positively balmy! Our stations are also located in much shallower water so that the time we spend on deck putting the instruments and nets in and out is much reduced (because the shallower water means that it takes less time to sample over the entire water column).</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3GvyeoIXw4pdUkhTOz0Lxw8UruuPZhsEmkUXm2sbeDP_FIMylOG9cdcWGfs_Trh2zlVRFTbkS7wOox155qski8gRgwQNkJk8f3eI4RHy42bBWeDLaBuIAb7maVGXrRzPeAMsq3LvYTdo/s1600/BobandShannonSettingupBongo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3GvyeoIXw4pdUkhTOz0Lxw8UruuPZhsEmkUXm2sbeDP_FIMylOG9cdcWGfs_Trh2zlVRFTbkS7wOox155qski8gRgwQNkJk8f3eI4RHy42bBWeDLaBuIAb7maVGXrRzPeAMsq3LvYTdo/s320/BobandShannonSettingupBongo.jpg" width="287" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob and Shannon attaching the bongo net to the end of the wire before doing a bongo net tow. The bongo net has two different nets mounted on a frame that resembles a bongo net. We use this to determine the numbers and types of zooplankton. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVSbC67syYsNtmVOVO8nLztjFCUCMfKjhxWJlXVFftpmKbXkG2JLrc-AdfrXY4w7CasCLjPM47_YLhVK4KbG_CXNJ4qUOfbKAao6XBri1Pe_kL4UjXId9WzweaU7hVtg_h-0wFoGrFmrM/s1600/DeployingBongos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVSbC67syYsNtmVOVO8nLztjFCUCMfKjhxWJlXVFftpmKbXkG2JLrc-AdfrXY4w7CasCLjPM47_YLhVK4KbG_CXNJ4qUOfbKAao6XBri1Pe_kL4UjXId9WzweaU7hVtg_h-0wFoGrFmrM/s320/DeployingBongos.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Shannon (left), Bob (middle), and Kristina (right) deploy the bongos over new ice this afternoon near the Russian border. The weights attached to the bottom of the nets let us lower the net system vertically through the water with the mouths of the nets facing upwards and not fishing. Then, when we haul the nets up, the nets fish and collect plankton only on the upcast.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">Because we will be further south, it looks as though the sun will actually rise above the horizon tomorrow! A rather short winter of no sun for us, particularly in comparison with the people who live in Barrow on the northern coast of Alaska where the sun will not rise again until the third week in January. It will be almost strange to see the sun again but most welcome. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv75L1W75AKxA5T0tuo2GDVQdQNLwklVFfFfiPltM5lonIfIGXy6Bj0GeYgCXVEu2V6xme1i4NHzYp5pztyx_cUALA3vJhjvMK9loy__QQI0zqaEvQS6Ksw3jTJk4VlUfRQaqWPyCht80/s1600/JoelinLight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv75L1W75AKxA5T0tuo2GDVQdQNLwklVFfFfiPltM5lonIfIGXy6Bj0GeYgCXVEu2V6xme1i4NHzYp5pztyx_cUALA3vJhjvMK9loy__QQI0zqaEvQS6Ksw3jTJk4VlUfRQaqWPyCht80/s320/JoelinLight.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Joel works at his computer in the blue light of his "SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder)" lamp. Since we have no sunlight, this lamp may provide some exposure to the light we are missing.</td></tr>
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</div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-22429104809018395122011-11-24T21:09:00.000-08:002011-11-24T21:09:03.809-08:00Thanksgiving on Healy<div class="MsoNormal">Many people have asked what we would be doing for Thanksgiving.<span> </span>Well, having a sumptuous feast of course!<span> </span>The cooks on Healy outdid themselves, preparing a fantastic meal for us all to enjoy.<span> </span>After an afternoon of quiet, football, and catching up on things we enjoyed a wonderful meal and are now on our way to our next sampling location. Many thanks to all who worked to put on this holiday meal!</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve, Chantelle, and Chad at dinner. My meal is at the front right.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Crew enjoying the Thanksgiving meal.<span> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0HwrRZPedaWLGZ2Kx5DAo-tE55w9ygFhWhd4qxj9NLM7GfJ-Lyuu9dJScd9ZUGyksuhNHQ2xzRlfsxxCvP9gKc-ZtihzsEfJp_9zuDWCFbMU1ceVHt5rOz2-Y65QKrKdFfsnWtJLnWg/s1600/CaptainHavlik_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT0HwrRZPedaWLGZ2Kx5DAo-tE55w9ygFhWhd4qxj9NLM7GfJ-Lyuu9dJScd9ZUGyksuhNHQ2xzRlfsxxCvP9gKc-ZtihzsEfJp_9zuDWCFbMU1ceVHt5rOz2-Y65QKrKdFfsnWtJLnWg/s320/CaptainHavlik_small.jpg" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Captain Bev Havlik shows off the dinner..</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span></span>Dressed up to do the dishes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Phil tucks into his dinner, including both ham AND turkey. What a feast!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apple and pumpkin pie in the “pie safe”.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam and Krista after a satisfying meal.<span> </span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">SNFS Zack Young holds up one of the eight turkeys that he cooked for dinner.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAl5cNMCrxVC9u-tFDtMf24xLunpfyd-LBTZY4ab-zlTRw-C1lRxI1xDC7Qj23ruEuS6yAH4ItXHIhytfErvgboTa_gPM-ohLT8knHdctGe5UT4gElMFKvQ-KzW9UxrCZccoM-Srrzp1Q/s1600/ThanksgivingSky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAl5cNMCrxVC9u-tFDtMf24xLunpfyd-LBTZY4ab-zlTRw-C1lRxI1xDC7Qj23ruEuS6yAH4ItXHIhytfErvgboTa_gPM-ohLT8knHdctGe5UT4gElMFKvQ-KzW9UxrCZccoM-Srrzp1Q/s320/ThanksgivingSky.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanksgiving sky over sea ice. Soon we will be in open water.</td></tr>
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</div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-61219481471635544562011-11-24T20:54:00.000-08:002011-11-24T20:54:15.956-08:00Sample, sample, sample.....There is a sense of anticipation in the air. Tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we will be observing it, even though we are at sea in the Arctic. As luck would have it, we have a couple of long transits between stations to accomplish tonight and tomorrow so everyone will have a chance to relax a little and catch up on samples, record keeping, and data analysis, and watch football. <br />
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We just finished sampling along the “DBO line”. This is a line of stations located in the Chukchi Sea just to the south of Barrow, AK. An international group of scientists has been sampling across this line of stations when in the region with an oceanographic ship. The Healy has already sampled across the DBO line twice this year. Other ships and projects, including some of my work near Barrow, also have sampled the line. Together, by sharing the data, the scientific community gets an understanding of temporal changes in this sea through the summer and fall seasons. The November 22-23 sampling of the DBO line is the latest such sampling in any year and the only sampling to occur during early winter. We are eager to compare what we found with the data from the earlier sampling. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHYQMTN5yJwuy9kTHzFp1TBDxGB5F62rgq524le55iDECaD6TpluMaClQn3HJKAlHeHbjHrkzKRWsXqdIiD2BB62mU-YqgI1q3U-43i3HVGcLbdZg1sTPpDGaKsca1Mganx3IAFtnbJ0/s1600/MapofStations.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="254" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUHYQMTN5yJwuy9kTHzFp1TBDxGB5F62rgq524le55iDECaD6TpluMaClQn3HJKAlHeHbjHrkzKRWsXqdIiD2BB62mU-YqgI1q3U-43i3HVGcLbdZg1sTPpDGaKsca1Mganx3IAFtnbJ0/s320/MapofStations.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span></span>A map showing where we have sampled so far.<span> </span>All of these stations have been covered with sea ice when we sampled them.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Sampling has been easy in the relative calm of the sea ice. Here the wind does not create large waves and swell because the rigid cap of sea ice extending over the ocean surface prevents this. As we start to move further south, we will leave the protection of the sea ice and enter open water that can be a much rougher place to work. We expect to leave the ice sometime tomorrow or Friday.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sRC9o_T_3qWRJDqwSQHjpoaQ7yolW38hD9Av-T78UntHO5SnNWowGAAU5x74jED3hHyMrGgcY5ev6tgCWASaoRt37iNq2zL4Cn5SdQU5GwtP62q9x4VUn-v4KmvEzjOmFIZlDbWL05E/s1600/pickingkrill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sRC9o_T_3qWRJDqwSQHjpoaQ7yolW38hD9Av-T78UntHO5SnNWowGAAU5x74jED3hHyMrGgcY5ev6tgCWASaoRt37iNq2zL4Cn5SdQU5GwtP62q9x4VUn-v4KmvEzjOmFIZlDbWL05E/s320/pickingkrill.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span></span>Donna (left), Celia (middle), and Bob (right) picking krill out of a fresh sample collected with a plankton net.<span> </span>The krill are large enough to be seen without a microscope and can be scooped up out of the sample with a spoon. These krill will be used in a feeding experiment to see how much and what type of prey (phytoplankton, microzooplankton) they are eating.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYBoZOBN6oPo4dFN_cgQ7rUkM1EH1CWqRFut_OXaQUCXT-4-D8WPocTXQLKBgTl_magQuxkqYb8RcBDt-an5XnYISukKktFfV8ppo9KiCnSF1874FLqex9_0myWtYDrLFtZdSjRSufhyphenhypheng/s1600/StanleythePolarBear.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYBoZOBN6oPo4dFN_cgQ7rUkM1EH1CWqRFut_OXaQUCXT-4-D8WPocTXQLKBgTl_magQuxkqYb8RcBDt-an5XnYISukKktFfV8ppo9KiCnSF1874FLqex9_0myWtYDrLFtZdSjRSufhyphenhypheng/s320/StanleythePolarBear.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span> </span>Flat Stanley the Polar Bear oversees the sampling for nutrients.<span> </span>Each bottle will be filled with seawater collected by the Niskin bottles on the rosette at a particular depth. <div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwtnDouhxc52g5GNI6s4u4cBmclTXqRsJ5aF0bXMFnExiENc6FtpPDH7AgHRhVCN3Lj2HnpD0dF6zVKSV-qa0y8ssbFpRgckRxVdxwLXbXq-8vVi-jQTNP94gSbcAOdtNJno71quIE6Q/s1600/DaveandStanley.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqwtnDouhxc52g5GNI6s4u4cBmclTXqRsJ5aF0bXMFnExiENc6FtpPDH7AgHRhVCN3Lj2HnpD0dF6zVKSV-qa0y8ssbFpRgckRxVdxwLXbXq-8vVi-jQTNP94gSbcAOdtNJno71quIE6Q/s320/DaveandStanley.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span></span>David Leech filters water from a syringe into the nutrient sample bottles while Flat Stanley Bear oversees the work.<span> </span>The electric caulking gun is used to push the syringe</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> <br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Things are going well! We’re collecting interesting and exciting data and samples with relative ease, particularly considering the conditions. Everyone is working hard to make sure that this cruise succeeds.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatZycVpYfMLdRkakP1o2ysHABHCHIQTMyuevh2LpseF3wDexgTrnUrhgC5CqEIGWFhr1413AVfCm4icRb0HfyiDY9J_fpbZk2mGnEZRW5NbGgJOFpPrzb4p8mn6IfUbe_zMrhJgI62-4/s1600/BridgeView.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiatZycVpYfMLdRkakP1o2ysHABHCHIQTMyuevh2LpseF3wDexgTrnUrhgC5CqEIGWFhr1413AVfCm4icRb0HfyiDY9J_fpbZk2mGnEZRW5NbGgJOFpPrzb4p8mn6IfUbe_zMrhJgI62-4/s320/BridgeView.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the bridge in the middle of the day. The ice is cracked because Healy is moving forward.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhW1x_jm-lakpFrbl2EWdGIamc9vrH7osOWZD9fu19YZrBASBTWmBsqXFIVlZ5WXM8-kbtcnScUzoKNXYwFkno53pkGVo7ZADv8KVsyHXj2cYV1ItVEhYQm1mTUZDFwx2ZpeLtDrnhEI/s1600/helo2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMhW1x_jm-lakpFrbl2EWdGIamc9vrH7osOWZD9fu19YZrBASBTWmBsqXFIVlZ5WXM8-kbtcnScUzoKNXYwFkno53pkGVo7ZADv8KVsyHXj2cYV1ItVEhYQm1mTUZDFwx2ZpeLtDrnhEI/s320/helo2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span> </span>Yesterday we had a “visit” from land, a helicopter from the North Slope Borough Search and Rescue in Barrow came to pick up a crewmember who needed to get off of the ship.<span> </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span> </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span> </span></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4Nl9U9O7-0T3V8PKSwjozHjX4h15YTDzk7vhdqNbYvCVmtP6VX-xMjCOvoAPVz_obzYK1aofVkj2SCHpUmerAkmKZ9gJ-putWkbCXV2N-08hKIGrOO9lCM80K5lz3I_is7XJqy8yOm4/s1600/InFrontoftheBoardofLies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhH4Nl9U9O7-0T3V8PKSwjozHjX4h15YTDzk7vhdqNbYvCVmtP6VX-xMjCOvoAPVz_obzYK1aofVkj2SCHpUmerAkmKZ9gJ-putWkbCXV2N-08hKIGrOO9lCM80K5lz3I_is7XJqy8yOm4/s320/InFrontoftheBoardofLies.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A bit of silliness in front of the "Board of Lies". (Photo by the Boarrd of Lies Cam)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-17901463631261508562011-11-22T01:09:00.000-08:002011-11-22T08:35:31.618-08:00Thump, Shudder, Screech<div class="MsoNormal">We are in the thick of winter now. We have reached our furthest northern point, at 72 27.18 N, over the slope-basin in about 2000 m of water. As we moved north, the ice became thicker and more resilient. Sometimes moving is easy, sometimes we claw our way forward onto the ice, then shudder to a stop before backing down to get some space and make another run forward. We gain speed and momentum with a great roaring of the engines and vibrating of the stern. I watch mesmerized as we move forward over the ice. It is dark and the ice is only illuminated by the ice lights on the bow and the spotlights projecting forward. The air is so cold that the snow is squeaky so as we move forward, with screeching noises caterwauling from under the ship. At night when I lay in bed sometimes I think that I hear people talking, but it is only the sounds of the ice compressing under the ship and screeching past the hull. When we back out of the ice, after grinding to a halt, the ship is often so silent while sliding through the water that I think we may not be moving. There is something exhilarating about feeling the ship back, pause, and then pick up speed, moving forward faster and faster to crush into the ice, pushing pushing pushing until slowing and stopping. </div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80nseSpsAhENzDGSRL106Zn7MPdkWqlDKrAVQ_K_QH_cfEoPr9DKE8cXNVGgnIH5pXmfJsTbT0vQd93WisMUNoFQMj6cpXEbZgmBk7OuDSZrmtmJOUq-ZOwTri4-cF9EVi9IHg1xdyBY/s1600/Bowwithlights.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi80nseSpsAhENzDGSRL106Zn7MPdkWqlDKrAVQ_K_QH_cfEoPr9DKE8cXNVGgnIH5pXmfJsTbT0vQd93WisMUNoFQMj6cpXEbZgmBk7OuDSZrmtmJOUq-ZOwTri4-cF9EVi9IHg1xdyBY/s320/Bowwithlights.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from the bridge at the end of what passes for “day”, showing the ice lights.</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal">It has become very cold, with air temperatures below 0 F. Right now the air temperature is -14F but with even a gentle wind the wind chill is -34F. To go out, we bundle up so much that usually no skin is even showing around the goggles, face masks, and balaklavas. Humans become difficult to recognize, with only telltale signs such as a particular hat identifying the person. The hands require special attention, needing occasionally to be agile and manipulate things yet also being most susceptible to the cold. Most of us have resorted to several pairs of gloves and mittens for a foray to the deck, with the pair to wear while setting up the equipment and then the pair to wear while watching the equipment in the water. We take special care to keep the CTD warm while launching. If it is too cold, ice will form in the tubing, sensors, and pumps once in seawater, blocking the flow of water and measurements. We don’t even try to wash the plankton nets on deck; we just drag them into the aft hanger where there is heat and salt water and wash them down there. The deck is covered with snow, crunchy, dry snow. Each station is an adventure in making a hole through which to sample and then to keep the ice floes from drifting in and encroaching on the wire holding the instrument or net. Long poles are used to push the ice floes away or, if necessary, the ship can provide a flush of water to clear the hole.</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjeyDWC2KplzRg7nJE0wtjEtTGrCQ0dUfYYPjTZWK8iSb5NLVtNdTufhgGQdhyfK25sUw78h7-t9NlKG-q9DmfIbAwQIV6UIWvmhYwwqhal6ZUJwuAD13WzS7ra1YzOM5Aqgxtpe3BLU/s1600/pushingice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtjeyDWC2KplzRg7nJE0wtjEtTGrCQ0dUfYYPjTZWK8iSb5NLVtNdTufhgGQdhyfK25sUw78h7-t9NlKG-q9DmfIbAwQIV6UIWvmhYwwqhal6ZUJwuAD13WzS7ra1YzOM5Aqgxtpe3BLU/s320/pushingice.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pushing ice to maintain a hole. The vertical line is the wire from which the CTD is hanging. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2J7LUaxxsLvy6DUNaY6Ijez87OpivQGxlUeWGd28WKFH1N-4kTWG34oAkpW-EEwabuN9PlUxme3Xtx7nFR2Auxszd6sako70W8p4bny90mbVze6H0k_KtKirpYrO1ObY1t3gkuoWCuY/s1600/shannonkrista.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2J7LUaxxsLvy6DUNaY6Ijez87OpivQGxlUeWGd28WKFH1N-4kTWG34oAkpW-EEwabuN9PlUxme3Xtx7nFR2Auxszd6sako70W8p4bny90mbVze6H0k_KtKirpYrO1ObY1t3gkuoWCuY/s320/shannonkrista.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shannon and Krista bundled up on the deck during a CTD cast. Shannon is a Marine Science Technician in the CG and works with the science party.</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Until recently, we had been traversing new or first year ice, ice that was formed this year and that is not very thick yet. But once we were reaching for our furthest north stations, we ran into multi-year ice, ice that was formed in previous winters and that is much harder and thicker than this year’s ice. This ice was brought from the Canadian Arctic to where we are working and is providing an adventure in icebreaking. We expect to get out of the multiyear ice and back into this year’s ice shortly, perhaps even tomorrow.</div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoX76LmL2JYWtdDT3BNUBZdCfRN8JCTlLgVM6YD1UQKIbHJEUCCKQyq36dPjtbAEBYMLz39IYUt5s3mbehe9TZl9NtQWVeSwFBB67pJL_L7nNxb3y4l1pBsUCelTF2XM-HM7qAsn2jpk/s1600/brokeniceship.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOoX76LmL2JYWtdDT3BNUBZdCfRN8JCTlLgVM6YD1UQKIbHJEUCCKQyq36dPjtbAEBYMLz39IYUt5s3mbehe9TZl9NtQWVeSwFBB67pJL_L7nNxb3y4l1pBsUCelTF2XM-HM7qAsn2jpk/s320/brokeniceship.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Broken multiyear ice looking forward along the side of Healy. The light is from the ice lights on the bow.</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">Despite the cold and ice, we have been collecting excellent data at all of our locations. We have seen the plankton community transition from one typical of the shelf to one typical of the basin, with different species and plankton types found in each region. And so we press on, through the Arctic night and cold, to see what lies under the ice. </div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9WGZo7ZE5gicnxqa5FCsMLfNqyThBVPkk2-V6HFI7WPVgSGO10CogXGFB2a8ogW7B0hmPJUUjrcC_nED1en26Jua-CF7a_dRGyQ3DSbZwCAp0n5mIa7JTrVdzcJIzuwETndWW9qRRC4/s1600/MapNov19.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="182" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin9WGZo7ZE5gicnxqa5FCsMLfNqyThBVPkk2-V6HFI7WPVgSGO10CogXGFB2a8ogW7B0hmPJUUjrcC_nED1en26Jua-CF7a_dRGyQ3DSbZwCAp0n5mIa7JTrVdzcJIzuwETndWW9qRRC4/s320/MapNov19.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A map showing the locations where we have sampled in green. Note the furthest north position. </td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-15071433434520269262011-11-20T01:25:00.000-08:002011-11-20T01:25:20.825-08:00Arctic Night<div class="MsoNormal">Today the sun did not rise.<span> </span>We have come so far north that we have reached a latitude where the sun did not come above the horizon on this winter day, where night lasted for 24 hours.<span> </span>We were treated instead to a few hours of incredible pink sky that turned the ice blue and rose. <span> </span>The colors are magical.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjgmYDKrVWMBNOrUpSqYnL4zA6MuUxjS42Ial3VVK2px2TX_xeCZnPtLtZSd0KbMGw2o00SYbnLCPipQfQrODU0HwApb0XTCVx9wY7rgH7rhSCtiP6su3lUL2frLavAsifV-RJHG-pto/s1600/PinkSky.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpjgmYDKrVWMBNOrUpSqYnL4zA6MuUxjS42Ial3VVK2px2TX_xeCZnPtLtZSd0KbMGw2o00SYbnLCPipQfQrODU0HwApb0XTCVx9wY7rgH7rhSCtiP6su3lUL2frLavAsifV-RJHG-pto/s320/PinkSky.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our not quite sunrise.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">We presently are working a grueling set of stations spaced 10 km (or about 5 nautical miles) apart.<span> </span>At each station we sample using the CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) and associated sensors that are mounted on a rosette bearing 12 large Niskin bottles.<span> </span>With the sensors we measure temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, fluorescence (a measure of the plant pigment in the water), and light transmission (the amount of light that gets through the water indicates the amount of particles).<span> </span>With the Niskins, we collect seawater at selected depths to measure nutrient, oxygen, and chlorophyll concentration, organic carbon, and phytoplankton composition and abundance. <span> </span>We also sample at each station using a Video Plankton Recorder, which records images of the plankton and particles in the water column.<span> </span>At every other station we do tows with plankton nets to collect zooplankton.<span> </span>We also sort plankton collected from the nets to select copepods and krill for experiments such as determining grazing.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGIdMqfgHVRzZTrk2H-kgoS0ZiUU42fY5g1YpI_iMMGmF_tPg4dBghvl4P-T9MYfY-HLZvvqUZZwa46UkVeCrgWR53CVGZMq1cG5ifrStR3UZTkvGCJx9Jtjvsqr2QGXlPUh9YhOik2k/s1600/bringupCTD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiGIdMqfgHVRzZTrk2H-kgoS0ZiUU42fY5g1YpI_iMMGmF_tPg4dBghvl4P-T9MYfY-HLZvvqUZZwa46UkVeCrgWR53CVGZMq1cG5ifrStR3UZTkvGCJx9Jtjvsqr2QGXlPUh9YhOik2k/s320/bringupCTD.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Marine Science Technician (MST) Shannon Curtaz brings up the CTD as the sun tries to peek above the horizon.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAjbFX5x_lYSs20B8gCgyjaEAXZjwOQ-MzGvp8v4mUhOTdB_KL5X1EWhA1AD7-vYsQOqXZVZ119Nr8dXs2JssazTQYpoGVeiwetrxjji17yzj-t1EsT_N6NO0O1snbrWuhZ7-8Ly0Ax_o/s1600/SamSampling.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="243" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAjbFX5x_lYSs20B8gCgyjaEAXZjwOQ-MzGvp8v4mUhOTdB_KL5X1EWhA1AD7-vYsQOqXZVZ119Nr8dXs2JssazTQYpoGVeiwetrxjji17yzj-t1EsT_N6NO0O1snbrWuhZ7-8Ly0Ax_o/s320/SamSampling.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam Laney peeks out between two Niskin bottles while sampling seawater (Photo by Krista Longnecker)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">The pace is pretty fast along the line.<span> </span>No sooner do we get the instruments back on board and the data backed up than it is almost time to do another station.<span> </span>We are transiting only at five knots, to buy time for the processing of data and samples.<span> </span>It is exhausting. After 12 hours of hurrying from lab to deck, of struggling into and then out of mustang suits (floatation suits that resemble a snow suit), pulling on heavy boots and socks, encasing hands in warm gloves, and fixing the hard hat on top of a face mask and warm hat, we can hardly wait to finish our watch and get some rest.<span> </span>Although it is exhausting, I wouldn’t be anywhere else! </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3x_sse8u5KHo2kEJqeLfuMV7YGpi83mBJfans7wVBjv73gYrzOQ9OhPkKAqLbsDEttnBF3XPExi2jlScWDg9Z8a4UPTckn0xrvRnE6-mCJjo4s_FEfy5MyfEVpd25PXDXQ0-y26v_xJw/s1600/pinkice.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3x_sse8u5KHo2kEJqeLfuMV7YGpi83mBJfans7wVBjv73gYrzOQ9OhPkKAqLbsDEttnBF3XPExi2jlScWDg9Z8a4UPTckn0xrvRnE6-mCJjo4s_FEfy5MyfEVpd25PXDXQ0-y26v_xJw/s320/pinkice.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ice and snow in the light of the near dawn.</td></tr>
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</div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-59844198087410171802011-11-15T23:52:00.000-08:002011-11-15T23:52:04.395-08:00Into the Ice<div class="MsoNormal">We are now, finally, in ice. The ship is shuddering along, not breaking ice but rather pushing floes of pancake ice aside. When occasionally we break into a lead of open water, the ship glides unfettered, seemingly not moving because there is no irregular bumping and jostling by the ice floes, no shaking and vibrating. This is not ice breaking, with its crashing and banging but rather we are moving through an ice field rather as a human walking through a tall field of corn, pushing aside the stalks easily but still not walking a straight, smooth path. It is a relief to finally be in the ice, where the seas are dampened. We are heading to a station near the Alaskan town of Wainwright where we will start sampling along a line that extends from the nearshore 58 miles to the NW.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzusJXw6h9FKsz1mH-AfQSnx9F076oZn3LIi90WlZKqC4Bra7NFMeDjSRhEz-mnkPrj_sdlJ2HaK1fsnPJRv4sX_lEy1bctALd53VAijquW3dYJN_ZlyhbksCDpBSQZ9t4cULsKN4UWs4/s1600/PANCAKEICE.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzusJXw6h9FKsz1mH-AfQSnx9F076oZn3LIi90WlZKqC4Bra7NFMeDjSRhEz-mnkPrj_sdlJ2HaK1fsnPJRv4sX_lEy1bctALd53VAijquW3dYJN_ZlyhbksCDpBSQZ9t4cULsKN4UWs4/s320/PANCAKEICE.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Moving through pancake ice. Note the ice all over the bow and foredeck of the ship; this is from freezing spray as we moved north through the Bering and Chukchi.<span> </span>The crew has been busy breaking it up and shoveling it overboard.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal">Yesterday we saw our first ice, just a smattering of small pancakes that nonetheless evoked amazement and wonder in even those of us who have seen it many times before. We were in the ice long enough to collect a few chunks for Krista to melt down to collect the organic carbon. We’ve been working northwards through the Chukchi Sea to this first transect line but on the way we paused to deploy a mooring for some colleagues. The deployment went well, with the mooring placed only 12 yards from the intended position. Now we begin a marathon of stations, stopping every 6-7 miles along the track to sample.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXj5kFLFY5QL-4wupEJ-XWpAsg35ttvj0FNCBXKFqcC3xvJiV7e5f_UPt4s08w6wON2tNAUlv43P1XWvKJr_qjFJ5Yu39yN9AA7JPoNqVoMh0avhx17ho4K_CSlhNQ9TLSklCl0jRUQk/s1600/pancakeandsun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguXj5kFLFY5QL-4wupEJ-XWpAsg35ttvj0FNCBXKFqcC3xvJiV7e5f_UPt4s08w6wON2tNAUlv43P1XWvKJr_qjFJ5Yu39yN9AA7JPoNqVoMh0avhx17ho4K_CSlhNQ9TLSklCl0jRUQk/s320/pancakeandsun.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">View of the ice from the ship at the end of our three-hour day (the sun was up for only 3 hours and did not rise far above the horizon).</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>We’ve been collecting plankton regularly in the net tows. Each tow brings a sense of anticipation and a great curiosity – what will we find here? We have found many krill, or euphausiids, that are important prey for bowhead whales in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas particularly near Barrow. We also have found Calanus copepods, in particular a very large abundance of males. Male Calanus are rarely seen so it is quite strange to see so many! At the last station, we caught some larval crabs that were busily trying to eat the krill in the sample. Yesterday further to the south we caught a number of fish, much to Joel’s delight. Many of the copepods and krill are picked out, photographed, and saved for later analysis of their carbon and nitrogen content to see how much fat they have stored for the winter, their RNA/DNA content to see how active they are (are they entering diapause/hibernating?), and their genetics.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPqtrgz2HTifoYwhqiSJWN2wLDlLS8Xn7IUktFHizN1j0136piH9sKLy90_L3AOMZaO87zw6PvrExN7ef4_jiQ_-DHnnUWqZZgOayUp8TMNbdaHkADlSmifurYMUw3XsvI56W0ys7Lkc/s1600/BobPickingKrill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPqtrgz2HTifoYwhqiSJWN2wLDlLS8Xn7IUktFHizN1j0136piH9sKLy90_L3AOMZaO87zw6PvrExN7ef4_jiQ_-DHnnUWqZZgOayUp8TMNbdaHkADlSmifurYMUw3XsvI56W0ys7Lkc/s320/BobPickingKrill.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bob picks krill out of a plankton sample using a spoon.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2cEvyubVRpCDbS86-HqQCXbc0CY1TOXrErMLcsd0vDW6vzY2Nb6n4V8eYehU2qG1XhNXJQgPAUuEtp2irgejnkUf85zzCYy5OIFc2AgmWWFzQkYfrYkpH5v6h2esyTOPlWd3iBqgtko/s1600/celiaatscope.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc2cEvyubVRpCDbS86-HqQCXbc0CY1TOXrErMLcsd0vDW6vzY2Nb6n4V8eYehU2qG1XhNXJQgPAUuEtp2irgejnkUf85zzCYy5OIFc2AgmWWFzQkYfrYkpH5v6h2esyTOPlWd3iBqgtko/s320/celiaatscope.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Celia picking copepods using a microscope in the lab.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44-Qq2wWptKlnWDAlj9zMn8WtGLOIX8tpQ3J5CJcpAt3vCAwh5ydkqmnJOnzmQvIgPAgmrwEWVEj-KilnD4FElHCqiK6YdQ2FZfd6bWVioD8e1zHemZ2xiQ4UKqXJxyDs2vNeDI3pSvU/s1600/copepod.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh44-Qq2wWptKlnWDAlj9zMn8WtGLOIX8tpQ3J5CJcpAt3vCAwh5ydkqmnJOnzmQvIgPAgmrwEWVEj-KilnD4FElHCqiK6YdQ2FZfd6bWVioD8e1zHemZ2xiQ4UKqXJxyDs2vNeDI3pSvU/s320/copepod.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">One of the copepods we have collected this trip.<span> </span>Photo by Celia Gelfman.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrG8S8NhKi5Jnir7vuiTu9m2M7l2RxXNXbT1iZUUZTPIuTN2RR2fyeaENJlirYTMPGi4v8jPkp9qaiVQJeQg7qoGehH5DDy3uR64y3DnhlHAL_mRdFbCtpbtkesV0zIRz7tU3-S_rY78/s1600/krill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkrG8S8NhKi5Jnir7vuiTu9m2M7l2RxXNXbT1iZUUZTPIuTN2RR2fyeaENJlirYTMPGi4v8jPkp9qaiVQJeQg7qoGehH5DDy3uR64y3DnhlHAL_mRdFbCtpbtkesV0zIRz7tU3-S_rY78/s320/krill.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">A krill, or euphausiid, collected this trip.<span> </span>Photo by Celia Gelfman.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The real work of the cruise begins, now that we have beaten, bounced, pitched, and clawed our way through the storms of the Bering Sea up to the northern Chukchi. We are coming up to our first station on the line shortly (30 minutes). The air temperature is 17 F and the sea temperature is -1.75 C, just above the freezing point of seawater (-1.8C). Ice is forming around us.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6OvR8OOqyKdfEWDzo3vthaCn6n9z1BW4VvNavnU66JZP5PaNDj4wWSseiif7txvWG_ImNbxMFKCe0p0PWpzqY7kWWVlsy62FTI-uMQVY4yLXzdOSYULX8asNO8lD7ldQ2YzwP_o0kag/s1600/icewave.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv6OvR8OOqyKdfEWDzo3vthaCn6n9z1BW4VvNavnU66JZP5PaNDj4wWSseiif7txvWG_ImNbxMFKCe0p0PWpzqY7kWWVlsy62FTI-uMQVY4yLXzdOSYULX8asNO8lD7ldQ2YzwP_o0kag/s320/icewave.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span></span><span style="font-size: small;">Small bits of ice on the surface of waves in the afternoon sun.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-69527818777767763562011-11-13T23:43:00.000-08:002011-11-15T15:47:43.811-08:00Through the Strait<div class="MsoNormal">This morning at around 1030 local time we passed through Bering Strait and into the Chukchi Sea. As we go, the air becomes colder, the water becomes colder, the sea is gray, and the winds are howling at 30 knots from the NE. We are heading into the teeth of early winter. The ship is pitching, with each crashing descent sending seawater cascading across the foredeck. Sometimes the spray is so high that it reaches the windows of the bridge, making a “woosh” sound as it lashes across the front of the house of the ship. I can hear the spray in my room, as I lie in my bunk at night. During the day, we don’t hear the spray in the lab but we can feel the impact as the ship crashes down after pitching across a wave and then shakes a few times. It is not unpleasant, but it will be wearing.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMLxXZBOvqgW3xJGUVhrvBwW0Yrd1CJevSCmEW_wjlF-y8grcQSnmTJSHUTlpyDCInnt_r_uH1EI19W57WKG30QemgawT9c1vL9v3lFg3tEMD9lxC9dxo687DLtDj61Vbj7sbv-Kp2Trs/s1600/WaveonBow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMLxXZBOvqgW3xJGUVhrvBwW0Yrd1CJevSCmEW_wjlF-y8grcQSnmTJSHUTlpyDCInnt_r_uH1EI19W57WKG30QemgawT9c1vL9v3lFg3tEMD9lxC9dxo687DLtDj61Vbj7sbv-Kp2Trs/s320/WaveonBow.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A wave breaking over the bow this afternoon. </td></tr>
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</div><div class="MsoNormal">Late last night we conducted a station to the south of Bering Strait. The wind was howling and blowing snow sideways. The station went very well though and we caught a treasure trove of plankton in our net. Large amphipods swimming madly through the jars like shooting stars. Krill darting back and forth. And copepods. It was a great tow, with so many copepods and krill. The plankton group all fell to, sorting and photographing animals into the night until finally quitting at 2 or 3 AM.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHMmv-cin1_0GsGhmG3VVC3ZtArqfiGr3oGzdZQwgXKSfkn72GioKH_9be7EuySbPFCMiyGqlbpHvtV55129ctxNqsN5MiqgVAnBvi0IqQyK4PE-VOHQ_VxFFfF5VBRJEOa2fhj3WeYs/s1600/CTDinStorm%2528SamLaney%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZHMmv-cin1_0GsGhmG3VVC3ZtArqfiGr3oGzdZQwgXKSfkn72GioKH_9be7EuySbPFCMiyGqlbpHvtV55129ctxNqsN5MiqgVAnBvi0IqQyK4PE-VOHQ_VxFFfF5VBRJEOa2fhj3WeYs/s320/CTDinStorm%2528SamLaney%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The CTD being deployed off the side of the ship during the blowing snow last night (Photo by Sam Laney)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQQrYUhS5P4eFycSXOibA2opLPQgw-8XmNksQI6j5M4K6PD0PnPnZUzyMBsGxwVdarosdldMpGSaxRCXx-M3QzszU7Jl79EYKWvfR93SwIGGga225VlRAhFaKZNULT6F6rxRrJTCNBVA/s1600/KristawithSample.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCQQrYUhS5P4eFycSXOibA2opLPQgw-8XmNksQI6j5M4K6PD0PnPnZUzyMBsGxwVdarosdldMpGSaxRCXx-M3QzszU7Jl79EYKWvfR93SwIGGga225VlRAhFaKZNULT6F6rxRrJTCNBVA/s320/KristawithSample.jpg" width="209" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Krista filtering her first sample, collected last night from our CTD cast south of Bering Strait.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr6ac6m2oYIsizTehMyqKjYuRvU0rg91IQfB-rf78y5RdHvqXey0KTjU4dfQcV2HJpOJA-krK0k_Xwl5xLCuW1LJRyFC62PbhxizltRUqASQWjQ1Ilxw0ZOJmqnSiuj8Em7XGeSfsHQ6U/s320/KristinaPhotographingPods.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> Kristina photographing a <i>Calanus</i> copepod. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr6ac6m2oYIsizTehMyqKjYuRvU0rg91IQfB-rf78y5RdHvqXey0KTjU4dfQcV2HJpOJA-krK0k_Xwl5xLCuW1LJRyFC62PbhxizltRUqASQWjQ1Ilxw0ZOJmqnSiuj8Em7XGeSfsHQ6U/s1600/KristinaPhotographingPods.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div><br />
<div class="MsoNormal">The weather has not been treating us well. It is usually too rough to sample. And we have had to move more slowly in order to keep the spray off the foredeck as much as possible. No great surprise this, after all, we are venturing into the Arctic in winter. We are looking forward to when we reach the ice. However, we must be patient. We will get there in good time. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfBgoV7qbtL2p0rpjId-Ay58-ObbaiNZBHKGMi91RT98wd-VMZkDLp2M2uagP2AhHB2zIvdvY4vNNjXCDEWbQJpQj1-wKbjBuChCMbyN8e99OL44f3GWTQn6HFegZsW0FVAbokKjN7O0/s1600/SaturdayCooks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqfBgoV7qbtL2p0rpjId-Ay58-ObbaiNZBHKGMi91RT98wd-VMZkDLp2M2uagP2AhHB2zIvdvY4vNNjXCDEWbQJpQj1-wKbjBuChCMbyN8e99OL44f3GWTQn6HFegZsW0FVAbokKjN7O0/s320/SaturdayCooks.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">BM1 Skinner and SN Jones at the grill on the helo deck.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">In the meantime, we have been amusing ourselves with a variety of pastimes. Yesterday the deck force cooked dinner. Rather than a conventional dinner in the mess, we had a cookout in the helicopter hanger with burgers, sausage, and Portobellos grilled on a huge grill on the flight deck. Several of us completed a jigsaw puzzle of Mt. Rushmore. And in between working on papers, photographing our favorite plankton, and practicing sampling oxygens we read books, talk, and watch football on TV (yes, we have football). </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Tomorrow morning we hope to conduct another plankton tow, if the winds and waves permit. We are getting closer to the ice where the seas should be calmer. In the meantime the air temperature outside is 18 Deg. F. Truly, we have come to winter. </div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-19441488314421008502011-11-10T23:36:00.000-08:002011-11-15T15:49:28.652-08:00Into the Bering Sea<div class="MsoNormal">November 10</div><div class="MsoNormal"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGpXTDPX21h2czFTFLYvUYJdOTS1txXIppTOK8tT0GARY4RfV45ppgZBnBKiDdZY6exeGP8_Y0T-CtJ77Uuap99oSLZCdG0dAvmLTXzJ5BPcn_eYy8F2hVbTO5dEBocFOTHDjo8r5dts/s1600/LeeandCTD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a>We have decided to make a run for it. After remaining south of the Aleutians in the Gulf of Alaska for an extra day or so in order to avoid the huge Bering Sea storm, we are making a strike to get through the Bering Sea as unscathed as possible. We see more low pressure systems coming into the Bering Sea and so are trying run between storms. Although I cannot hear the engines from my room (I am four decks up from the main deck), I can feel the ship quivering as she cuts through the waves. We are going 15-16 knots, heading into Unimak Pass and from then to the north into the Bering Sea and beyond. If I went down 2 decks, and stepped out of the “house” (the forward structure on Healy in which the living quarters are located), I would hear the air intakes roaring from the engine room. Healy is not a loud ship, as engine noise on research vessels goes, but one can tell when she is in a hurry. Unfortunately, we do expect some pretty rough seas as we go into the Bering so we have tied everything down and stowed loose items lest they become airborn.</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotJn8-UP-uemM1O18Co-ncJeMOPiI1BuKf9oyv1spgIiD8-q_amOBYO_LxoVYmY0yIE3fmsXoM4R8WuuQ0LEgrxhKQuZTdSpYFXFmo8YeAu7LfyNnQLXnVgDhyphenhyphenGdejTDREqppHiG9kVQ/s1600/BoardofLies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgotJn8-UP-uemM1O18Co-ncJeMOPiI1BuKf9oyv1spgIiD8-q_amOBYO_LxoVYmY0yIE3fmsXoM4R8WuuQ0LEgrxhKQuZTdSpYFXFmo8YeAu7LfyNnQLXnVgDhyphenhyphenGdejTDREqppHiG9kVQ/s320/BoardofLies.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"The Board of Lies" - Definitely not lies, this white board is where we post important messages, the schedule of sampling stations, and the order of events at each station.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Krista's regular shoe (left) and her Arctic Gear boot (right). </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal">There is a sense of anticipation because we are finally turning north. Yesterday we were issued “arctic gear” – incredibly warm, large, and cushy boots (they feel like slippers), a one-piece coverall or adult snowsuit, and wonderful huge gauntlet mittens. Today we did a test station, putting most of our sampling instruments and nets into the water for the first time. We caught some <i>Calanus</i> copepods, the species that is found in the Gulf of Alaska (<i>Calanus marshallae</i>). Some of them are presently living in buckets in our environmental chambers or cold rooms, where the temperature approximates that found in the water. Our night watch team is shifting their schedules so that they will be accustomed to working from 10 PM to 10 AM. We are ready to start work in earnest. Our first planned station will be to the southwest of St. Lawrence Island where we want to look for overwintering copepods</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUr5VO4MVV9et-C3xGz5qxhPeQcUHl6ui23qw_A1wbHeT3TcabxqDefBcKp397bhkCrScVW7X3aVHHATgXrDf_7VghKnDCirEH4xrCK7wsxXtVQ3of7eFl06ypmcVITgTTXbfNScCtLbY/s1600/readforCTD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUr5VO4MVV9et-C3xGz5qxhPeQcUHl6ui23qw_A1wbHeT3TcabxqDefBcKp397bhkCrScVW7X3aVHHATgXrDf_7VghKnDCirEH4xrCK7wsxXtVQ3of7eFl06ypmcVITgTTXbfNScCtLbY/s320/readforCTD.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bob, Joel, Chantelle, and Phil suited up and ready for the test station.</td></tr>
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<div class="MsoNormal">We will be going to the north first, to the Chukchi Sea and the edge of the forming sea ice. The Chukchi Sea shelf is vast and shallow, with most depths less than 50 m. Do <i>Calanus</i> overwinter on this shelf? Or do they die off each winter only to re-colonize the shelf the following winter? We know that <i>Calanus</i> in other locations overwinter in deeper water (100-200 m). One of our goals is to see if there are <i>Calanus</i> here on this shelf during their period of diapause or hibernation. What will we find? I really do not know. This is the great excitement of this cruise, that we will be discovering something new and as yet unknown.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGpXTDPX21h2czFTFLYvUYJdOTS1txXIppTOK8tT0GARY4RfV45ppgZBnBKiDdZY6exeGP8_Y0T-CtJ77Uuap99oSLZCdG0dAvmLTXzJ5BPcn_eYy8F2hVbTO5dEBocFOTHDjo8r5dts/s1600/LeeandCTD.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="274" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXGpXTDPX21h2czFTFLYvUYJdOTS1txXIppTOK8tT0GARY4RfV45ppgZBnBKiDdZY6exeGP8_Y0T-CtJ77Uuap99oSLZCdG0dAvmLTXzJ5BPcn_eYy8F2hVbTO5dEBocFOTHDjo8r5dts/s320/LeeandCTD.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MST1 Lee Brittle tends the wire while the CTD is moved onto deck. The sensors on the CTD measure temperature, salinity, depth, fluorescence, oxygen concentration, light transmission and light levels in the water while the bottles or tubes collect water at specific depths.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gOhTWmW4pYJEviipYS6XfvpVvV8qvTcmezXVMnFD6QV1inPtgjFG9a3cnRYg8NU02S7dzxXgw44kOOI_dpgmrbCaZHrpIl4-nbgiuSsYMBHtQI1Yb1Y83GoBKZZoEBb1Vkr99IGVZpY/s1600/tobykrista.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="224" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_gOhTWmW4pYJEviipYS6XfvpVvV8qvTcmezXVMnFD6QV1inPtgjFG9a3cnRYg8NU02S7dzxXgw44kOOI_dpgmrbCaZHrpIl4-nbgiuSsYMBHtQI1Yb1Y83GoBKZZoEBb1Vkr99IGVZpY/s320/tobykrista.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toby and Krista deciding where to collect water with the CTD while Kristina watches behind them. </td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
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</div>WHOI Expeditionshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16733099813322963367noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4870559706304501971.post-36354850238767703522011-11-08T22:21:00.000-08:002011-11-08T22:21:24.160-08:00Setting Sail into Winter<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The sun was shining brightly in Seward as we slipped our lines free from the dock and moved gently away. The winter cruise was starting! It was a long time in coming, with many ups and downs as the schedule changed. But today, we finally sailed, setting off down Resurrection Bay and into the Arctic early winter. As we moved away from the dock, the engines throbbed gently. We accelerated, steaming down Resurrection Bay, until we reached a speed of 16 knots, heading away from home and into the harsh unknown of working in the Bering and Chukchi Seas during early winter.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We spent a frenzied 2 days in Seward, loading our gear onto the ship, unpacking, sorting, setting things up, and, most importantly, tying everything down to the counters. We were helped immensely by Steve Hartz and colleagues at the University of Alaska Seward Marine Center who received all of our freight, arranged for the truck to transport the 16 or so pallets to the ship, and loaded them onto the truck. While we were in Seward, Alaska treated us to a shot of winter, dropping about 4-5” of white snow on the mountains, evergreens, and streets of Seward. Just to get us in the mood, so to speak.</span></div><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUSbMpZfjGvofIIxHZDPWl1QSuujMyVB5dvLCpUTyyuvrVlqjWCxj4lCHEO-ifQFOsYT-lXbSwjJqp5sbLDXkPRG0tpFkVBD4KH49NKd4UoLjH6fiUEmji0aXpLam7TfuiSvQahPbHaM/s1600/ViewfromShipSeward.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioUSbMpZfjGvofIIxHZDPWl1QSuujMyVB5dvLCpUTyyuvrVlqjWCxj4lCHEO-ifQFOsYT-lXbSwjJqp5sbLDXkPRG0tpFkVBD4KH49NKd4UoLjH6fiUEmji0aXpLam7TfuiSvQahPbHaM/s320/ViewfromShipSeward.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view after the snow towards Seward from on board Healy.</td></tr>
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The ride down Resurrection Bay was fantastic, with mountains on both sides and clear, sunny skies. As we went, the wind started to increase, blowing spray in straight lines off the top of the waves. Healy is such a comfortable riding ship that at first we hardly noticed the deteriorating weather. However, as the day passed into night, the ship started to roll, pitch, and lurch. In the closet near my room, a cleaning bucket on wheels rolled crazily around, running into walls, the refrigerator, the printer, until I captured it and tied it to a wall. The winds peaked at around 1:00 AM on Tuesday, with speeds approaching 60 knots. Winds subsided during the day, until the weather was quite lovely this afternoon. But this was just a small low-pressure system; nothing like the monster that is drawing a bead on the Bering Sea. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjef_4H2SWy_u8zaRW2o3505PeA9P_2VQwNCFWltzNJsolRSblQT6XlVtvplGMuApELKaj4C7jRyEwaYl6e0MIVgjf-7EocLJ9t95fmTOUSz8s2aj_nWzaLPvaR78IaQAuajPwFGj4JVgY/s1600/BearGlacier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjef_4H2SWy_u8zaRW2o3505PeA9P_2VQwNCFWltzNJsolRSblQT6XlVtvplGMuApELKaj4C7jRyEwaYl6e0MIVgjf-7EocLJ9t95fmTOUSz8s2aj_nWzaLPvaR78IaQAuajPwFGj4JVgY/s320/BearGlacier.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bear Glacier, seen from Healy as we sailed south out of Resurrection Bay.</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We also did our first net tow today. The aft deck was quite crowded, as all of the plankton hunters gathered to watch the tow and cluster eagerly around the jars of plankton to see what treasures we brought up. And we did indeed capture some copepods and krill. </span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLH1kNaOgaS8b3FC9Wit9ko0Fpyw6ZzwBHji9ayBPywpqCWYrIi_4CJuRvtfYM9cv6u1HRXRA1kgp5sqeNEqJhxP2rUTkaz_o5zmdihSY-MPOo8LTmbUWqDbAAjnivG7lDK9Eazt7UuA/s1600/PlanktonTow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRLH1kNaOgaS8b3FC9Wit9ko0Fpyw6ZzwBHji9ayBPywpqCWYrIi_4CJuRvtfYM9cv6u1HRXRA1kgp5sqeNEqJhxP2rUTkaz_o5zmdihSY-MPOo8LTmbUWqDbAAjnivG7lDK9Eazt7UuA/s320/PlanktonTow.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The plankton team peering eagerly into plastic jars from our first net tow!</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As many of you have probably heard, and read, a major storm is bearing down on the Bering Sea, with hurricane force winds. All of the western Alaskan coastal communities are preparing for the wind and the storm surge. The storm itself is impressive, with a huge swirl of clouds and an eye as befits a “winter hurricane”. Rather than sail into the teeth of the storm, we have slowed our progress to the SW along the Aleutians so that we arrive at Unimak Pass, where will cross into the Bering Sea, a bit later and after the storm has moved away. This is of course a delay but in this instance a welcome one!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">On to the north!</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2VxBHKBTOH3lN6g129J3_TsiconCpv0d3W48g9NvdhrfHzlnytPrEZIuQbZNGVs9pKlmmWHVSd_s3zIZmS5J5Rq_ngg5U2m06cUK1eQUft7rqicGCm1iE0umxZjw7vOn5L2sikahwkEk/s1600/SatelliteMap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="195" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2VxBHKBTOH3lN6g129J3_TsiconCpv0d3W48g9NvdhrfHzlnytPrEZIuQbZNGVs9pKlmmWHVSd_s3zIZmS5J5Rq_ngg5U2m06cUK1eQUft7rqicGCm1iE0umxZjw7vOn5L2sikahwkEk/s400/SatelliteMap.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Satellite image of clouds superimposed on a map that shows the ship position (ship outline) and our planned route for the next day. (Map from Healy Mapsurfer).</td></tr>
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