And so, my time on the Sikuliaq comes to a close. Many CTD lines and supersucker attempts later, we’re done collecting data.Since we got done early, we were able to set up an ice station off of the Wainwright line. After a day of searching, we found a piece of sea ice that was large enough to be stable. Paul, our boson, drove the landing craft to get to it. We drilled and sawed into the ice to take samples and see if there was any ice algae. Afterwards, we shuttled groups of crew and science back and forth to let everyone get out on the ice. I got in a snowball fight, made snow angels with some crew friends and generally had a good time out on the ice. Afterwards, we got a speedy boat ride back through the sea ice. Nothing as exhilarating as zooming through and around sea ice in a small boat in the Arctic!
We also were able to visit Point Hope, a small Alaskan Native village, for a day. We got to see the ceremonial whale burial grounds, and stopped in the town hall and grocery store. Afterwards, I walked around the north side of town for some alone time and a great view of the Brooks range. Those were some really gorgeous mountains. We took the landing craft back to the ship and set off again!
The ship navigated some choppy waters back through the Bering Strait. We anchored off shore near Teller to weather the storm. The next day, we finally docked in Nome and went to go celebrate a good cruise. It’s been a good time; I’ve learned a lot about CTDs, coring, nitrogen fixation and primary productivity, the Arctic, maritime life, how rigorous science is, and what it means to be a marine technician. I learned a lot about this cruise’s experiments, the ship’s seawater system, sonars, pco2 monitoring system and other underways. I also got to see the glider and super sucker and learn about both of them. I learned about deck ops and the AON morning. I got to help with sampling and even learned some about engineering. Interning has also taught me how to be more proactive, communicate professionally and work in a team. I mostly like the biological aspects and the technical aspects, and could be interested in specializing in one or both. I could be really interested in deep sea work, which would be very biological and technical. I’m also interested in doing work that’s more people oriented, working with local communities or front-line communities, perhaps implementing traditional knowledge or working with them on climate justice issues. All in all, this was a great internship to take right after school. It taught me about professionalism and oceanography, exposed me to marine careers, and gave me a better idea of what I want to do. But for now, I’m off to venture around Alaska!
P.S. I’ll put up one more photo blog. Stay tuned for pics! 🙂