R/V Melville
Today was
a bustling day for the camera tow crew. The camera tow had problems
with the altimeter, the instrument that tells us how far the camera
tow is off the sea floor. We were still able to run the tow using
SeaBeam data, and Greg is looking into possible problems with
the system. On a lighter note, Greg has begun sending down a stuffed
frog as a hood ornament for the camera sled. Mr. Hopper appears
to thoroughly enjoy the trips to the depths of the sea, though
he says that he gets a bit dizzy watching the strobe light go
off every 20 seconds (see photo). Also today, Ryan, upset at the
lack of Styrofoam cups on the ship, decorated and sent down some
Styrofoam packing material on the camera tow. Under more than
450 pounds per square inch of pressure, the Styrofoam piece was
compacted to half of its previous size (see photo). Dredges from
last night and this morning have been getting in few rocks, though
the samples have been very glassy so we’ll have quality material
for laboratory analysis. Yesterday while bringing in a dredge
the crew spotted a 10’ shark and a pod of whales. Fortunately
no one fell in during the procedure. By Jenny McGuire
