T-minus 12 days
So, it's 12 days until departure time, and somebody is getting excited! Today I purchased a few goods that I will need for the trip (steel-toed, waterproof boots, first aid supplies, toiletries, and some thermals). I've learned quite a bit about my responsibilities aboard the ship and about the research goals of not only the cruise, but also my own personal research goals. I will be responsible for a 12-hr CTD watch. The CTD (shown to the right) is an instrument which continuously records measurements of conductivity, temperature, and depth (get it? c..t..d...?). From these measurements, other ocean water characteristics can be inferred, such as salinity (from conductivity), etc. As seen in the picture, large bottles on the frame collect water
Saturday, January 19, 2008
samples from different depths. I will be on the 12-midnight to 12-noon shift. From these water samples, I will work on determining where the Southern Boundary Front, an ocean current found near the continent of Antarctica, is located near 30 degrees E longitude. In fact, almost the entire duration of the cruise will be spent traveling along 30 degrees E (travel path seen in figure below.
The Southern Ocean can be an extremely rough part of the world, as far as weather and ocean conditions are concerned. This is the only part of the world where the winds can blow and water can move around the entire globe without running into land. This means that the winds can be fast, and the seas high. This makes the Southern Ocean a very neat place for physical oceanographers to study. I could go on talking for a while about all of the interesting physical phenomena that occur in this area, but I'll leave that for another time. For now, this is me signing off to watch the US Men's National Team face off in a friendly soccer match with Sweden.