Dispatches from Sea >>
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| March 2007 |  Laura Preston, educator, UNH/Salem High School, Salem, NH. |
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| April 2007 | |||||||
March 25, 2007
Day 3 - In transit
Today it seems that the excitement is building on the ship. There are meetings about the science to be studied, about the equipment being used, who will be on “watch” during the first week, and just what they will be watching! Graduate students are busy setting up labs with equipment. The ship is buzzing with activity and oddly enough, the real show has yet to begin. It is truly amazing how many groups of people are involved in this process.
Tomorrow, the DSL-120 (sonar) will be deployed and begin its mapping exercise of the ocean floor. The scientists aboard want to find out the extent to which the new lava has erupted and changed the seafloor “face”.
In addition, Dr. Von Damm will be searching for new hydrothermal vents, measuring temperature, pressure, and optics in the water column. By tying 4 MAPR’s (Miniature Autonomous Plume Recorder) to the line on the sonar, she can “sniff out” evidence of plumes coming from hydrothermal vents. Hydrothermal vents are “areas on the seafloor where cold seawater seeps through oceanic crust, is heated by the hot rocks at depth, and then rises and discharges into the seawater as plumes of hot water (as high as 400 degrees C!)”.Physical Geology, Monroe & Wicander, 2005.
 The crowded deck with loads of equipment for the trip, including the satellites for communication with shore |
 Jason ROV (left) and the DSL-120 (right). |
 Orientation for DSL-120 watches. |
 Liz Goehring and Ian Ridley discuss seafloor volcanism. |
 Scott White chats with other scientists about tomorrow’s events. |
 Jess Mason checks out software. |
 Adam Soule, Dorsey Wanless and Allison Fundis at work in the main lab. |
 Sarah Carmichael with a MAPR. |
 Cindy Sellers shows us how to record info for the DSL-120. |
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