With this beautiful sunset scenery, the first shift took the lead in the main lab.
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| Sunset at the beginning of the shift at 2:00 am |
The first thing we did was prepare the deployment of the first transponder at point SKT1. As graduate students, we observed how the crew members and the main engineer of the scientific team set up and deployed the transponder.
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| Graduate students of the 1st Group viewing the deployment of the first transponder at SKT1 |
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| Crew members and the main engineer of the scientific team preparing the deployment of the first transponder at SKT1 |
A huge difference from our previous shift was that today the team woke up with more energy, no seasickness, and ready to work! At 4:00 am, we witnessed one of the most beautiful sunrises of my life. What a day to be alive! This boost of energy helped us face the day more prepared and active.
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| Sunrise at the eastern part of the Alaska Gulf |
After deploying the transponders, we looked for the floating pack at the surface of the sea. We must recover it to attach it to the new transponder that will be deployed. This process is repeated every time the crew members install a transponder, avoiding damage once they reach the seafloor due to the weight of the instrumentation.
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| Floating pack sighted |
By the middle of the shift, the CTD was ready to go. It measures temperature, pressure, and conductivity, allowing us to obtain a profile of sea current velocities to correct future measurements of the wave glider that was previously deployed and is now surfing through the Pacific Ocean. How cool is that?
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| CTD ready to measure |
However, things don't always go as planned. Today, the sea currents were so strong that they shifted the SKT1 transponders from their original positions. The principal investigators (PIs) on the science team worked tirelessly to predict the new locations of each transponder, even managing to anticipate the new position of the deepest one, which is measuring the pressure of the water column.
Meanwhile, as grad students, we were busy working on our own projects and preparing our presentations for the upcoming workshops at our scientific meetings. If you're curious about what we're working on, stay tuned!
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| PIs deciding the next steps |
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| Grad students working during the shift |
Finally, we had a mini ping-pong tournament, where we were all no match for the formidable skills of Guoli Li, who defeated us mercilessly. Maybe we need to arrange a final match between the winner of G2 and our ping-pong champion.
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| Guoli Li crushing the whole group. |
That's all for Group 1. See you soon!
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