Journals 2006/2007

Gioya DeSouza-Fennelly
IS 143-Eleanor Roosevelt Middle School, NY, New York

"Conducting an East-West Atlantic transect to investigate the coupling between atmospheric and oceanic organic pollutants" R/V Endeavor June 20 - July 9, 2006

Journal Index: June 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25 - 26         27 - 28 - 29 - 30 July 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9 Additional Resources

June 27, 2006
Power failure on board

I was on the bridge at 4 am, watching the sunrise, when the main generator failed and the ship lost power. The emergency generator kicked in and kept things running. It was scary knowing the generators and stove were not in the best working condition and that there were no spare parts on board. Kerry managed to track the generator problem and had it working by 10:00 am. Billy (Chief Engineer) took the stove apart again trying to fix the thermostat on the oven, which has been very erratic. It was obviously not fixed properly because Mike got a bad shock when he went to check on the oven. Everyone seems very preoccupied. It is a dismal day. The skies are grey and it is too chilly to go on deck.

After Dave and I did the data collection, he came up with a super hands on project to determine the relationship between buoyancy and salinity. I loved the way he used a recycled travel size shampoo bottle. Not only did it tie into the science standards but also incorporated earth friendly practices. My students are going to enjoy doing this lab.

We did not see Eric the whole day. He seems to be feeling worse. Being a vegetarian does not help. Mike tries to accommodate him as best he can.

In the afternoon, the Captain showed me how to use a sextant and other navigation instruments. The sextant on board dates back to 1943. It is stored in this beautiful wooden box.

Sextant on board the R/V Endeavor. Dated 1943.

I e-mailed my logs to Andrea. Read the Environmental Chemistry textbook Eric brought with him. It will make a great resource because it addresses chemists and non-chemists. All data collection has been suspended due to the weather.