Journals 2008/2009

Nancy Sills
Creekside School, Cataula, GA

"Assessment of Freshwater Resources Offshore New England and Marine Mammal Observing" R/V ENDEAVOR August 12 - 25, 2009

Journal Index: August 12 - 13 - 14 - 15 - 16 - 17 - 18            19 - 20 - 21 - 22 - 23 - 24 - 25

August 15, 2009
Everything seems to be working!

It is absolutely beautiful today, hardly a ripple in the sea. The winds are calm and if you are on the bow of the ship you are not even sure you are moving. The guns have been firing all night and data is being collected. I think that the scientists and technicians are finally breathing easier as they have almost gotten one complete line of data. Everyone seems to be in better spirits today.

The marine mammal observers saw a leather back turtle yesterday about 70 meters off the ship but we were not using the gun at that time so that was good. Even though turtles are not mammals they are still observed.

Looking for marine mammals

As we approach Martha's Vineyard we are able to get cell phone reception and I am able to call home. It is nice to talk to everyone.

We are finishing up collecting data from one of the lines. It is decided to stop the guns and clean the compressor filters.

Dan wanted to know if I wanted to work on a project to "see" what the data would look like. So I had a 30-minute lesson on how to make a chart out of the data that we received from the sparker. It was neat to see the application for that information.

The day ended pretty much the way it had started. Collecting data, the guns firing, the compressor working - sort of.