Hey there!
This is Kristie Okimoto, the final MATE Summer Intern! I’m on the R/V Sikuliaq, also headed up to the Arctic. We are somewhere in the Bering Sea at the moment! Tomorrow, we’re docking in Nome, and will be loading equipment, food and fuel for the upcoming cruise.
The transit from Seward to Nome has gone pretty smoothly. This week has mostly been an orientation week of sorts. The science party has gotten safety talks, an engine room tour and done fire and abandon ship drills. Ethan, one of my two mentors on the ship, showed me around some of the ship systems I’ll be helping to maintain. We looked at the ship multibeam sonar, the TOPAS system, the pCO2 system and the seawater inflow system. These systems operate at all times on the ship, gathering data whenever the system is underway.
As the upcoming cruise will be researching nitrogen fixation and primary productivity of waters in the Arctic, the seawater inflow system will be super important. Scientists will continuously measure the nutrients and gasses of this seawater. The researchers will also utilize a CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) rosette and an ADCP (acoustic doppler current profiler) to help gauge nutrients throughout the water column and to help gauge the related currents. As marine technicians, we will be supporting all of these instruments.
I am excited for the actual research cruise to get underway! All in all, I have really enjoyed being at sea so far. There really is something amazing about being surrounded by a vast expanse of blue, blue water on all sides. Alaska was also really beautiful! Well, onward to Nome, and then onto the Juranek cruise!