A City at Sea

5 August

 

The Gulf of Mexico is huge body of water.  But when you are on it, you hardly feel alone.  There are so many oil rigs and other platforms and structures that the area can look like a city.  Attached are a few pictures that show views of GOM infrastructure and ships, including one shot of the Discoverer Enterprise which drilled on of the relief wells for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill last summer.  Looking a the map above, it make you wonder how this equipment in the ocean can survive through major huricanes like Katrina.

Waterspouts!

5 August

 

The night shift can be pretty slow.  But, every now and then we are fortunate to witness some interesting sights, and tonight's watch did not disappoint.  In addition to sampling a few important areas, we were able to witness a very impressive thunderstorm, including a couple waterspouts.

 

 

 

 

The Sun Sets on the Sunshine Shift

Still happy despite being sun blasted.

A busy, muddy deck...a beautiful sign of successful geological research.

A typical Gulf of Mexico view.  Oil rigs are everywhere you look.

Fishing remains a huge industry in the Gulf due to the fertile waters.

4 August 1800

After only 6 hours on watch, the day shift is looking pretty haggard... but in a good way.  The sun and heat have been relentless, and the work on deck hasn't stopped.  But, despite being muddy and sweaty, they wear big smiles and show no signs of slowing down.  A huge benefit for all of us is that the sea conditions have been ideal as you can see from the pictures above.

The cores continue to come up full, and we are very happy with our results thus far.  We are seeing the same stratigraphic layers we samples on previous cruises with two important changes: 1)  a thin layer (about an inch) of deposition from the 2011 flooding has been draped over most of the area and 2) the benthic organisms have continued to stir the sediments, slowly erasing the seabed record of the Gulf's great hurricanes (e.g., Katrina).  So far, our expectations are being confirmed, but we'll see what the coming days have to offer.

Stayin' Alive - The Sunshine Shift

Co-Chief Scientist Reide Corbett is ready for sampling frenzy.

Jessic (left) and Devon (right) battle with placing an x-ray tray into a core.

Alisha sieves a sample to examine the macroscopic benthic organisms.

Kevin keeps working on an endless line of samples for filtering.

David examines a new set of cores to start the subsampling process again.

5 August

After getting a good night's rest and a large lunch (actually their breakfast), the day watch (Noon-Midnight) was ready to rock the fantail in the mid-day sun.  Co-Chief Scientist Corbett leads this small group (6 people total) of hard-working scientists.  It was another very hot and humid day, so even with a tarp for some shade, they were sweating up a storm within 10 minutes of arriving on shift.  Fortunately, the steward Bob and the crew, like John (not pictured), are proactive about making sure everyone is well fed and hydrated.  John was nice enough to bring out a cooler with gatorade and water!  "Service with a smile." he said, but really just a darn nice gesture!

Let the Coring Begin and The Vampires Come Out

The first core heads over the side.

Scientists wait with baited breath.

Muddy and sleep-deprived, a couple of Vampires (Sid and Ray) use their remaining energy to focus on cutting a core.

4 August

At about 2100 (9 PM), we arrived on our first site.  The "Sunshine Shift" started the sampling, but it was just a few hours until the "Vampires" had to report for watch.  Our first hiccup in operations arrived quickly when the Marine Tech, Tina, discovered that the CTD water-column profiling system decided to stop working.  These kind of challenges are the norm in oceanographic research and can be frustrating for all.  But, I've learned t is always better to have a an positive attitude when things don't work as you hope, and it's wise to have a backup plan.  Fortunately, our work is focused on collecting seabed samples, so this isn't a major issue.  Of course, Tina would work hard in the coming day to see if she could ressurrect the sytem.

The first two cores went relatively smoothly.  The Vampires trickled onto the deck at 2345, prepared to do some work...and ready to lose some sleep.  The first night of a night shift is always tough because there is no easy way to make the transition.  Most people tried to take a nap that afternoon, but that hour or two sleep is of little help the next morning when you still haven't really slept for 30 hours.  It was a busy night, and people kept awake by learning their watch responsibilities and getting stuff done.  By the morning, our faces and clothes were muddy, and our minds were numb. Everyone needed rest.  But, it was a successful, productive night.  As you can see from the lack of many pictures, our focus was on survival.