Journals 2006/2007

Cyndy Martin
Portland High School, Portland, Maine

"STAR Project NOAA R/V McArthur II" July 28 - August 26, 2006

Journal Index: September 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 August 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9            10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16            17 - 18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23            24 - 25 - 26

August 8, 2006
Shades of grey

Lat: 9° 14.4' N
Long: 121° 25.0' W
Skies: PC
Wind: 6 kts, 250 deg T
Seas: waves = 1', swells = 6-8'
Course: 140 deg T
Speed: 10 kts
Distance in 24 hrs: 192 nm
Sea temp: 28.4 deg C
Distance from land: 667 nm SW of Clarion Is

Tonight was a little out of the ordinary in a few ways. What we have for color out here - hundreds of miles from land - is every shade of blue and grey you can imagine. Tonight, at dusk, in the eastern sky, a glimpse of a rainbow in all it's resplendent color provided a feast for these starving eyes, and billowing white clouds created great castles in the sky. The imagination is free to run wild out here!

Though we've seen large #'s of 5 or more species of flying fish, our luck at stopping on a patch for the evening dipnetting has not been good. But tonight was our first station in the North Equatorial Countercurrent and the presence of 4 species of fliers and the first sighting/capture of the short-winged flying fish (Oxyporhamphus), may be indicative of increasing productivity in this area.

Shades of blue and grey