Journals 2005/2006

Denis Costello
North High School, Torrance, California

"The Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms" R/V Atlantis July 6 - 26

Journal Index: July 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 - 10 - 11 - 12 - 13       14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20       21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27

July 27, 2005
Home at Last

We reached the dock at the University of Washington just after 9:30 am. Waiting to welcome us were Dr. Mark Wells (University of Maine), Dr. Evelyn Lessard (University of Washington) and Nick Adams (NOAA).

A view of Seattle from the Atlantis as we approach the dock. View full version pop-up.

Once the ship was secured, the ship's crew deployed the gangway for us to offload our equipment. The heavy crane was used to move the 12 large white cargo boxes onto the dock. Also removed by the crane were the incubators and a large freezer used by the NOAA group.

As the equipment was offloaded, it was placed into a large moving truck and taken to a warehouse for storage until the next ECOHAB cruise in September. I will not be on that cruise as I will back to teaching but another teacher will head to sea to help out the science crew.

The R/V Atlantis after off-loading. View full version pop-up.

Julian and Ben proceeded to make three trips to the storage facility while the rest of us finished the cleaning up of the labs, storerooms, cabins and radiation van. We got the all clear from Dr. Hickey at 3:30 in the afternoon. So we said our goodbyes to our home of three weeks and proceeded to our hotel to clean up and have one last night out together in Seattle.

In the end, we did not see the PN bloom that we expected. This was probably due to the late upwelling event. To some, the lack of PN was disappointing, but to others it was a possible chance to learn about conditions leading to a PN bloom. We did however notice the return of upwelling to the Pacific Northwest, which contrary to recent reports will continue to sustain an ecosystem once thought to be in peril.

The SFSU group from left to right: Me, Maureen Auro, Julian Herndon, Julia Betts and Dr. William Cochlan. View full version pop-up.		A view of Mt. St. Helens from my flight back to Los Angeles. View full version pop-up.