I cannot believe that we have already been in Aquarius for a week now! Time flies down here. The combination of so much time in the water, plus the excitement of Mission 31 makes time slip by.
We've been busy in the water with three excursions a day. In the morning we set up the plankton traps (seen above) to collect plankton from three different substrates. We then usually spend the rest of the morning collecting sponge species for the Ocean Genome Legacy Center at Northeastern University.
We've been busy in the water with three excursions a day. In the morning we set up the plankton traps (seen above) to collect plankton from three different substrates. We then usually spend the rest of the morning collecting sponge species for the Ocean Genome Legacy Center at Northeastern University.
After our morning excursion we spend an hour or so drying off, prepping for the next dive, and connecting with the surface via email. The viewport next to our table is the ULTIMATE distraction! It is impossible to complete an email without some incredible wildlife swimming into view. In fact, as I was typing this post up, I got a visit from a huge barracuda hunting around the habitat.
Northeastern divers start showing up at mid-morning, so sometimes we see them hard at work on the reef while we are inside getting ready for our next dive:
Northeastern divers start showing up at mid-morning, so sometimes we see them hard at work on the reef while we are inside getting ready for our next dive:
The mid-day dive is on SCUBA and we spend that dive doing plankton tows and finishing up anything we didn't accomplish in the morning. During our mid-day dive we often get the chance to say hello to the surface team. This has turned into one of my favorite parts of the day. The novelty of communicating with the Northeastern divers during an excursion has definitely not worn off. Its really exciting to wave hello to them, and check in on the science they've got going on.
We come back in for lunch and a warm up around 2:00pm. This gives us a few hours to "bank" more time in the water. We are able to go back out in the evening for up to three hours if we have a dry period of four hours. I really like to be able to stay out for three hours in the evening, it lets us accomplish so much while we are out.
During the night dive we've been setting up the plankton traps to collect the plankton that swims up into the water column over night. We have also spent hours with the Edgertronic. Last night Ryan and I got some incredible shots with the Edgertronic. We finally have the camera dialed in, so that we we can spend more time shooting and less time setting up each shot.
After our evening dive we can shower and dry off for the night, eat dinner, and make the plan for the day. This is also a chance for us to relax. Last night Matt gave us a gift from his wife Carrie. I am so excited about this National Geographic magazine, it has page after page detailing the Con Shelf II project that inspired Mission 31. What a keepsake!
We come back in for lunch and a warm up around 2:00pm. This gives us a few hours to "bank" more time in the water. We are able to go back out in the evening for up to three hours if we have a dry period of four hours. I really like to be able to stay out for three hours in the evening, it lets us accomplish so much while we are out.
During the night dive we've been setting up the plankton traps to collect the plankton that swims up into the water column over night. We have also spent hours with the Edgertronic. Last night Ryan and I got some incredible shots with the Edgertronic. We finally have the camera dialed in, so that we we can spend more time shooting and less time setting up each shot.
After our evening dive we can shower and dry off for the night, eat dinner, and make the plan for the day. This is also a chance for us to relax. Last night Matt gave us a gift from his wife Carrie. I am so excited about this National Geographic magazine, it has page after page detailing the Con Shelf II project that inspired Mission 31. What a keepsake!