Journals 2007/2008

Megan O'Neill
Fairhope High School, Fairhope, Alabama

"The development of an Arctic ice stream dominated sedimentary system, the southern Svalbard Continental Margin (SVAIS)" Spanish Research Vessel, B.I.O Hesperides July 29 - August 17, 2007

Journal Index: July 25,26,27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 August 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8 - 9            10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16            17 - 18 Additional Resources

August 6, 2007
Monday/Lunes: Reattempts

The morning seas continued to be too rough to collect core #4. It was not that the seas were really terribly rough, but large swells would roll in and rock the boat extensively. Core #4 was planned for the area near #1 to see if we could get a deeper sample, as we had more success after the first one collecting deeper samples. Finally in the afternoon, the sea cooperated, and we sent the corer down with 10 m liners at 1,819 m depth. The site was located at 74°57.58'N and 13°56.88'E. Approximately 2 m of the core contained a sample and only 3.03 m were recovered out of the main core. They said that either the sediments were too loose and may have fallen out on the way back up or were too dense and could not be extracted from the floor.

Life onboard the ship continued to be a learning process and I discovered that there are 55 naval crew members on the ship. This was interesting to me, because we rarely ever see them unless at a meal or occasionally in the hallways. They keep everything running smoothly for us to be able to accomplish our research. This includes laundry and meals for all the scientists and the naval crew. The laundry was collected over two days according to whether your room is on the port (babor) or starboard (estribor) side. Even with such a big task, they have it very organized and make it seem simple. One female crew member has been extremely helpful and always greets us with a smile at meals. Her name is Menchu and has been such a joy to get to know by everyone.

Megan and Menchu