Day 2 - Senior Cruise 2013
Morning Watch, Kiely Shutt
This morning we arrived outside of Bora Bora at Station 3 (on the East side of Bora Bora) with the intent to take a box core sample. The box corer has been having a few problems, which were taken care of by replacing a bungee cord that was responsible for triggering the core to close. However, after the first box core cast we realized that the box core had malfunctioned once more. The PI’s decided to take a second cast with hopes that the problem would be fixed. After the second core did not work we made the decision to take our CTD cast schedule for Station 4 (on the West side of Bora Bora) at Station 3 and try another box core at Station 4.
The CTD cast was successful and Rhys, Teos and myself gathered our samples from the Niskin bottles. It was impossible to stay inside with the beautiful sight of Bora Bora right outside the doors of the R/V Thompson. Everyone was either helping with the science or tanning (what most of us would rather be doing). Overall it was a successful watch period, with only the box coring issues being a disappointment.
Watch 2 - Charlie Parker
Today was the second day of science and let me just say that starting the day pulling up next to Bora Bora is about as wonderful as you can get. Today I was the mid-day watch leader. Which means that I got to coordinate all science that was happening during my watch. There was the potential for that to be many projects but due to timing ended up being one CTD cast. Which went very smoothly. I am looking forward to my next lead watch because I very much so enjoyed coordinating and communicating between the science party and the ship’s crew.
However, outside of my watch I was also very active. I have been helping Jake with his wave buoy and must say that I have been enjoying it greatly. We have had to work through some engineering problem solving as well as some data processing problem solving and I could not be happier.
I am excited for tomorrow because I get to deploy the first of my ARGO floats. It is a great feeling to finally get to this moment after months of planning. I am enthusiastic and eager to get the data from the float and start to work on the processing.
On less scientific notes I must say that this experience has been incredible. While in Tahiti, Jake, Colin, Rhys and I befriended some of the locals and were able to go to one of their favorite beach spots. It was absolutely perfect…black sand…big surf…warm air…I could not have asked for a better experience on the island. And now on the boat it gets even better. For example, only moments ago I was swaying in a hammock, being memorized by the countless vibrant stars from the bow of the ship. Could you ask for a better night? Honestly you might, but you would really have to think about it. For me the only thing I wish I could have brought with me is my fiancé. I miss her immensely and she is the only reason why I want to come home.
I have only been gone 3 days but I must say it has been truly an experience that has taught me so much already. This voyage will stay with me forever and I can’t wait to do it again.
Watch 3 – Sonia Brugger
Second day of the research voyage went rather well. Unlike the rough start that we had yesterday the overall shifts went really smoothly. There was only one mechanical error today, during Station 3 the first box core deployment did not trigger; otherwise it was a rather good day of science. For the next two deployments of the box core we did not retrieve any cores, Station 3:deployment 2 returned with pieces of broken coral, meaning that the core worked but we did not locate a muddy bottom. Station 4:deployment 1 resulted in no sample at all, so we were unsure whether the core hit a sandy bottom or whether it triggered early. Overall by the end of the day we were on schedule again.
During the deployment of the CTD and Box core I collected phytoplankton samples to look at the local composition of phyto- and zooplankton. Overall the local phytoplankton species seem rather similar to the cold-water species found in Washington. I managed to locate some Ceratium, what appeared to be Coscinodiscus, possible Noctiluca, and a lot of Radiolarians. There were also a few unidentifiable species (Yay science!). We also discovered a gelatinous mass, in which most of the phyto- and zooplankton were stuck in, which was composed of small green and clear "cells". I will be attempting to discover what our mystery plankton is since it was so numerous and was only found within the gelatinous mass. As for zooplankton identification, there were plenty of copepods, a few gastropods and pterapods, and some unidentified gelatinous species (I'm not a zooplankton person....yet!).
