Journals 2008/2009

Roy Arezzo
New York Harbor School, Brooklyn, New York

"Impact of Climate Change on Antarctic Shelf Ecosystems" FOODBANCS2 Project, Antarctic Peninsula RVIB NATHANIEL B. PALMER July 7 - August 7, 2008

Journal Index: July 10 - 11 - 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17        18 - 19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25        26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 August 1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5

July 28, 2008
Night Watch

Monday's workload at Station B started at midnight. Late last night the winds and seas calmed enough to end our weather delay, and we were able to get the Megacore back in the water. Since the our watch was on hold all day, some of us stayed up and worked with the night crew to get the last bits of Station B done.

Stormy Night		A new morning

After the third Megacore I started to feel tired and passed out in the dry lab, sadly missing the 6 a.m. deployment of the Time Lapse Camera tripod. The Time Lapse Camera, as discussed in an earlier entry, is scheduled to remain at Station B and take digital images of the seafloor every 12 hours for the next seven months to monitor sediment build up and the organisms that use it. We had deployed the first Time Lapse Camera at Station G; our southernmost transect point, earlier in the cruise.

An amphipod colony is found in a Megacore sample (Photo courtesy of Linda).		Craig and Angelo removed the camera from the "Yoyo" to use on the tripod.

Day and Night watch work together to deploy the mooring and Time Lapse Camera Tripod.

Since sampling at Station B was finished at night, we transited all day, affording me the opportunity to catch up on rest. We are headed north to a new station with our Principal Investigators glued to the charts. With the sun higher in the sky and our trajectory bringing us within 20 miles of islands off the peninsula, I am hoping for some good views.

There is much anticipation onboard for pinpointing the new station, finishing sampling and getting on with celebrations. Oddly, I was copied on the message below from Santa Claus in response to Angelo's email expressing concern for the lack of hype around the rumored crossing ceremony for those new to the inside of the Antarctic Circle.

Have no fear Angelino, King Poseidon will not disappoint. It seems you all have been working so fast every time he gets ready to come aboard you move to the next station. PA to G to F to E to B to AA to B to Q... what a crazy lettering scheme! It's like herding cats with you scientists! But in the end, Poseidon always gets his wogs.
SC