At the beginning of the week, the ship moved north of the operating area so that the scientists could take measurements of sea ice. I woke up on Halloween to see pancake ice in every direction. The surface was covered in pieces of sea ice about one to two feet across. It was very strange to look at. Up close, the pancakes looked like bacteria under a microscope. From far away, the surface looked solid enough to walk on. The ice tamped down the short-period waves, so it was very smooth. However, there were still long-period waves that made the surface look like flowing cloth. One of the STARC technicians put it best when he said, “It looks like a Super Mario level”. We spent the entire day in the ice while some of the scientists went out on a small boat to take measurements. Once they were done, the ship turned around and went back to the operating area the way we came.
We spent another day in the operating area wrapping up some unfinished tasks, including more mooring retrievals. I was back at it with the deck box getting range values with a member of the science party. We had an interesting conversation about acoustics and underwater noise pollution laws. While we were waiting for the ship to get in position, the Healy’s bow thruster decided that it was a great time to break down. Violently. It looks like we won’t be using it for the rest of the cruise. The crew engineers are giving us a tour of the engine room tomorrow, so we might get to see its remains.
After wrapping up in the operating area, we put the Arctic Ocean behind us for good, and we are now on our way to Seward. As we moved south, the snow and ice that had accumulated on every surface began to melt. It’s nice being able to walk outside again without worrying about slipping. With nobody hanging around the CTD hangar, I managed to finish up the CTD lanyard project started by the previous two interns. We did it, guys!
It’s getting close to the end of the season for the Coast Guard crew, who have been out at sea for five months. They got to let off some steam on Halloween, when many of them dressed up in costumes for the day. There were superheroes, animals, and crew members impersonating each other. Spiderman tried to sneak up on me after dinner, but I noticed him before he could fire off a web. That night, everyone participated in a “Healy-ween” costume contest. The categories were “funniest”, “scariest”, and “most cobbled together”. We got to vote for our favorites by cheering. The impostor crew got the most cheers by far, in every category.
Trivia update: we didn’t win this week. Our team was missing a member and we came in second to last. All of the questions came from Snapple caps, so I’m boycotting Snapple in protest. We have two chances left to win, so I’ll keep you posted.
We’ll be arriving in Seward in a couple of days, and the current STARC technicians will be leaving then. I’m looking forward to being on solid ground again, but it will be sad to say goodbye to them.