Teacher Logbook:
Sunday, July 23, 2000

Carol's Observations
Today has really been interesting. We did a tow-yo operation that took over 9 hours. During the operation there is nothing to see from the deck but a wire leading from the winch into the water. The ship is moving at 1.5 knots, but it feels as if we are standing still. I only see the sky meeting the sea as I look out across the water. There are no land features to sight on to judge movement. It is in the scientific computer room that we can trace the real time progress of the CTD unit as it "sawtooth's" through the water. The monitor shows several graph lines that outline a plume, the temperature and the depth of the CTD unit. It is a delicate operation to use the graph view to keep the CTD high enough above the seafloor so that it doesn't crash into the bottom. The scientists collect the data now and do all the analysis work back on land. Being on the ship has made me aware of the difficulty of working at sea. It is a challenge to keep the seawater from gumming up the equipment. The equipment is rinsed with fresh water made by the ship to prevent gumming. Today's highlight has been working with the scientists to attach the niskin bottles to the CTD unit.

Join me at this site tomorrow for new adventures.
Carol

Mary Beth's Observations
Last night I had the opportunity to work closely with the scientists in charge of deploying the CTD unit. It is amazing how many different scientists used the water and data collected by the CTD. Scientist collected water to test pH. Others use the water to look for submicroscopic bacteria, often found in abundance near the plumes. Other scientists are filtering for the presence of approximately 20 different elements. The quantity of data collected is so great, most of the analysis is done back on shore. Much of the remainder of the cruise will focus on making CTD casts and tows in various areas around the Axial Volcano. Scientists are comparing this years results to the data collected several years ago at this same sight. Today was my first day on the treadmill out at sea. The Ronald H. Brown has a workout room located on the lowest deck of the ship. The room is placed low in the ship to minimize the effect of rolling and pitching. You still must hang onto the handrails while you are on the treadmill or it is easy to fall off as you go over a wave. Maybe tomorrow I will try to the bike!

Stay tuned for more updates tomorrow!