Journals 2006/2007

Mark Harris
Layton High School, Layton, UT

"Stenella Abundance Research Project (STAR)" July 23, 2006 - August 14, 2006

Journal Index: July 23 - 24 - 25 - 26 - 27 - 28 - 29        30 - 31 August 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9            10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 Additional Resources

July 23, 2006
The Adventure Begins

Spinner dolphins

As I board the plane on my way to one of the most anticipated adventures of my life I am aware of the many questions I have concerning this research experience. First let me explain my upcoming adventure. I will be participating in the Stenella Dolphin Research and Abundance Project, http://swfsc.nmfs.noaa.gov/prd/PROJECTS/star/, this project involves dolphin and whale population estimates in the Eastern Tropical Pacific also there are side projects such as; sea turtle tagging, fish sampling, squid sampling, and whale acoustics.

The temperature at the Salt Lake City airport is 104 degrees; I am hoping San Diego weather is more accommodating. After landing in San Diego the temperature is 90 degrees with high humidity. The native Californians are baffled at the temperature, it seems to be record heat here. Sooner or later we will figure out we are definitely experiencing global warming and there are consequences.

I will be in training and loading the David Starr Jordan research ship the next 4 days. For now I am staying in the University of California San Diego campus housing. It is hot, I need a fan desperately. My first meeting with the participants is tomorrow. I am excited to start.

I did hike to the ocean today; it was about a 4 mile hike to La Jolla cove. I snorkeled the cove and had fun swimming with the Leopard sharks, stingrays, and guitar fish. At one point I looked up and noticed there were not any other snorkelers around, I do like other snorkelers present - it gives me peace of mind that my odds of being eaten are less.

Tomorrow is the big day and I am ready.