Journals 2006/2007

Peggy Deichstetter
St. Edward High School, Elgin, IL

"Arctic Kelp Bed Study" July 16 - August 3, 2006

Journal Index: July 16 - 17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23        24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 August 1 - 2 - 3 Additional Resources

August 2, 2006
We Made It!

There is a mixture of excitement and melanchony in the air. Everyone is busy. Brenda and Katrin have finished sorting all their samples and have begun the huge job of packing all their equipment. Brenda did a physical check (looking inside) of all the scuba tanks.

Susan is still working on identifying the organisms in the samples. She was up until 1:00 A.M. last night trying to get all the samples done before Brenda and Katrin leave tomorrow.

I start the morning by organizing the sample bottles in the cooler for the next TSS sampling this Sunday. Ken brought in his computer, and I finished compiling and putting data in the spreadsheets.

After lunch, Brenda and Katrin go to fill the scuba tanks. This will take awhile because all the tanks are totally empty and there are nine of them to fill.

I turn my attention to re-weighing the filters that I rinsed in fresh water yesterday. The rinsing made a big difference in the weights. I need to re-enter the new data in the logbook and the computer. Once I finish, I pack the filters in a Ziploc bag and put them away.

I want to make sure that Ted, John, and Ken have everything they need ready for the TSS sampling, since I'm leaving tomorrow. I pre-weigh 66 more filters that they will need for TSS on Monday.

It's hard to believe my time here is quickly coming to an end. I've learned so much about scientists. They just never stop. They have no hours; they dive during the night and work doing the day. They are constantly pushing themselves to do more. The aquarium is great example. They didn't have to make an aquarium and yet they did to show all they people who work here at Endicott what the bottom of the sea looks like. The people here are really fascinated by the tank.

Ken and aquarium		Feeding fish

Scientists are willing to make mistakes and correct them. The data from the filters from July 22 seemed off track. Ken discusses with us possible causes. One was the lack of a freshwater rinse to dissolve the salt on the filters. We run six filters on Sunday to see if it made a difference and it did. So I rinsed all the filters. All of this is noted in the log book.

Real data are what are important to scientists. Whether it is Brenda and Katrin, counting, weighing and identifying the different organisms in their transects; or Ken recording the growth rate of Kelp per year; there are data that need to analyzed and compared before a conclusion can be made.

Well I've got to go and start packing.