Updates from sea

14 January 2007 - Stimulating

ISEA instrument on ocean floor
Photo © 2007 DSV Alvin Group

Wow, this day has been incredible! So stimulating! The morning started with an 8:00 a.m. launch of the Alvin. It was amazing to see in person something I had only seen in movies. The Alvin looked big on deck, but once in the sea seemed so small. While the Alvin was down, I decided to go up to the bridge to an area called TopLab where they track the sub's position and maintain communications with the sub. During every dive, one of the Alvin pilots stands watch in TopLab and keeps radio contact with the pilot in the sub. While I was there, Bruce Strickrott, the Chief Alvin pilot, talked with Gavin Eppard, the pilot in the submarine, using an underwater telephone called a UQC. How cool is that!

The pilot and scientists in the sub were working on retrieving an instrument called the ISEA (In-situ Electrochemical Analyzer), called the "Insect" because of its long copper tubing arms that look like insect legs. This is a sampling device that takes and records water chemistry readings and has been down on the bottom near the place of the recent eruption since June of 2006! Back in June, this instrument was placed on an "elevator" and was released from the ship. The "elevator" is really just a platform that holds the instrument and batteries, and slowly sinks to the bottom where it sits because of the weights attached to the bottom of the platform. When they want the instrument returned to the surface, they simply pull a pin that detaches the weights from the platform, and the platform (with the instrument) floats slowly to the surface - hence the name "elevator". After getting permission from the bridge, Bruce sent word to the sub to "pull the pin". Now we just had to wait, and scan the horizon looking for the instrument bobbing on the surface. The scientists and crew anxiously awaited for about one and a half hours before the floats finally appeared! The deck crew had already determined how to get the large platform on board, taking into consideration the frame configuration and the weight. They used a crane with a large block and tackle. They brought the floats on to the ship first and then reconnected the line to the top of the elevator to bring the instrument on board. The retrieval was like clockwork!

Retrieval of ISEA
Photo © 2007 E. Simms

Soon after the elevator was on board, the scientists unhooked the "Insect". The inventor of the device (and president of his company, AIS - Analytical Instrument Systems) Don Nuzzio was looking forward to seeing what data the instrument had recorded. While on the bottom, the device was programmed to record water chemistry readings for six months. It measured temperature and concentrations of chemicals such as sulfide and oxygen. On the ship, the data was quickly downloaded and high and low temperature fluctuations on the ocean floor were shown on a graph. These fluctuations are like the earth "breathing", in conjunction with the tides. The relationship between sulfide and temperature was also evident. Some of the information that I learn out here makes my brain expand. That's what being a life-long learner is all about. Never lose that thirst for knowledge, kids. It makes life one long adventure. Stay tuned.

11 January 2007 - Alvin Orientation

Inside Alvin during orientation

Ever since I learned about oceanographic research and how scientists study the deep sea, one of my dreams has been to go in the Alvin submarine. Well, today I got part of my dream. Today, we had the Alvin orientation. It started in the morning with a briefing (that's what they call meetings like this) where one of the Alvin pilots went over just about everything in the submarine, and what to do in an emergency. Then there were half hour "appointments" throughout the rest of the day for each person to actually go in the sub and get more in-depth information. My appointment was at 12:30 p.m. You know how sometimes you don't want to go to your doctor or your dentist appointment to get your braces tightened? Well, not this time! I could not wait for my appointment! When it was finally my turn, we met in Alvin's hanger and pilot Mike showed us the cameras, basket, steel weights, and other external apparatus on the sub. Then we got to go inside! My heart was beating so fast! (That's adrenaline for you). I brought my camera into the submarine so I could get some pictures inside. We practiced operating the external cameras from the inside, and checked out all the equipment inside. What a lot of dials and switches and knobs.

Whether I'll get to go on a dive is still uncertain - depends on lots of things like weather and how well each dive goes through this cruise. But if I do get to go down to the deep sea in this submarine, it will be marvelous icing on the cake. So, kids, pursue your dreams - they just may come true.

9 January 2007 - "We can learn from you"

I am so excited! I'm here in Mexico at the dock waiting to leave for sea tomorrow. I'm so glad for this opportunity to go to sea. Although I've been to sea before, as a graduate student in marine biology, this trip is different because I'll be seeing things through a different lens. I'm a teacher now, and this time my job is to share this experience with you, the SEAS students. My job on this cruise will be to write about the research being done and discoveries being made with you in mind. The words at the top of the page, "We can learn from you", were written by a sixth grade student from my school on a Styrofoam cup (more about the cups later). It is my hope that these words will ring true; that I can be your ambassador to help you see this research expedition with new eyes. Stay tuned!