Back on Land October 5, 2010

Hi Everyone,

I'm back on land, my survey is finished. I have a small video that I can't put on the blog because the file is too big but will share it with you when I visit class. I also have all the cups and can't wait to give them to you. I'll see you soon.

Pam

 
Some noisy sea lions and seals.

 
A parade of sailboats in Santa Cruz Harbor. We saw this after we were done with our field work.

 
More sailboats in Santa Cruz Harbor.

 
Here is the Bosun's locker where ship tools are kept.

 
This is the galley where our cook made our food.

 
A big walk in refridgerator where our food is stored. Do you see anything you would like to eat?

 
This is the navigation lab where I communicated with the Captain to let him know what was happening with our work and we could see where we were located in the ocean.

Computer Lab Day

Hi Everyone,

It's a cloudy, cool, and foggy day here on the ship. What is your weather like today?

Pam

 
The cups are back and look how small they are! The pressure in the deep sea squeezed all the air out of the cups and this made them shrink.
 
Still on the camera but much smaller.
 
Here's a photo of a regular sized cup and the small cups.
 
They will be much easier to pack for the trip home!

Here I am attaching the cups.

Another photo of cup preparation, we must be very careful! We use strong tie-wraps to hold the cups to the frame of the camera.

More preparation

Next step, into the water!

October 1, 2010 (Cup Deployment)

Allan and I preparing the cups
























Hi Everyone, Here are photos of the cups getting ready to be taken to the bottom of the ocean for shrinking! I'm very excited. I'll take photos after they are shrunken. In the photo is me and Allan Ota. Allan works for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Allan is working with a group of 8th graders from San Francisco and they made cups, also. Our class cups are on the right side of the photo. Allan's class is on the left side of the photo.
More soon, Pam

September 30, 2010 seafloor

 
Here is a picture of the seafloor mud at around 2500 meters. The water is on the top and there is a small worm burrow in the center of the photo. It looks like a little hole. Can you find it?

 
Here is another mud photo and at the surface there are very thin arms of starfish. It's a special kind of starfish called a brittle star. Can you find them?

September 30, 2010

 
My room, I get to sleep in bunk beds.

 
I have the bottom bunk.

 
More preparation to shrink the cups. This will make sure they return from the seafloor.

 
Preparing the cups for shrinking.

September 29, 2010 more photos

 
Survival Suit inside bag.

 
This is Kersey, he is one of our camera technicians and was the volunteer who demonstrated how to put on a protective suit. This whole suit fits into that little bag.

 
This is the inside of the camera system that will take our photos on the seafloor. I will send you photos once we have them.

September 29, 2010

 
Western Flyer, two hulls
 
Point Sur, single hull

 
Seafloor Camera on the Outside

Sept 29, 2010

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for sending me such nice photos! I'm so glad that you were able to check the blogsite. Our internet connection wasn't working yesterday so I was unable to be on-line while you were in computer lab.

To answer your question, I saw some clams yesterday. Today, I hope to see some sea cucumbers and special starfish! We have had a few technical problems with our camera system that required us to work for several hours fixing connectors and switches, but we think that we have all this fixed. As soon as we have some good images of the seafloor I will post them for you. I have a photo of the camera insides that I will post next.

Pam

Hello from Mullen Hall!

Hello from Mullen Hall! Hope your research is going well! Today we read about whales. What have you seen so far on the ocean floor?

Hello!

Hi Pam,
We will be in the computer lab tomm around 2:15 where I will show the class your lastest posts and we will send you questions and their comments. They will be very excited! Hope all is well!
Kate

 
Down to the engine room.

 
Where I'll be eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

 
Some very ripe bananas!

 
Our neighbor, the Western Flyer. This ship is a catamaran. I'll take photos and show you the difference between a single hull and two hull (catamarn) ship.

Stay tuned for more!
Pam

Monday, September 27, 2010

 
This is called the A-Frame on the stern (back) of the ship. We use this to deploy and recover our science equipment. That's Andrew our Marine Technician in the photo.

 
Check out all the ropes. We use these to help us steady equipment and tie things to the deck so they don't move around and get lost overboard. I call it the rope locker.

 
Looking up at the bridge where the Captain and 1st Mate will navigate our ship to our sampling stations. Later I'll take photos inside the bridge.

 

This is the area where we keep things that may be wet from working on the deck. Can you find our safety boots? Do you remember what they looked like?