We are back on land this week to help Dan and Carolina in the lab. And with a view like this on my commute across campus, I cannot complain!
This past week we focused on physical oceanography with our mentor Dan. He worked as a marine technician on board the R/V Kilo Moana for 10 years before joining the HOT team so he is the go-to guy for marine tech questions! The first job for the physical oceanography team is analyzing the salinity samples we collected on the cruise using the Salinometer. Fernando explained how the instrument works and that it can be sensitive to changing temperatures in the room so we had not one, not two, but three different thermometers to ensure our samples stayed cool. It was high maintenance!
Fernando was also great at explaining how the team processes most of their CTD data. He broke down their methods and how they have stayed consistent in creating their time series over the last 35 years of the project—everything must be consistent! He gave us great resources to continue learning about data processing on our own time and I am looking forward to practicing my coding skills in my free time.
Back in the lab with Dan, we helped splice cables and switch the CTD configuration from vertical to horizontal. It was surprisingly difficult to move the oxygen sensors and tubing to a different position while still ensuring that water could flow without issues. There is a ton of detailed thinking that goes into how these systems operate and whether the data could be significantly affected by repositioning the instruments. This next cruise will be the second test run to see if the data is heavily impacted but we have faith in the new system because most other UNOLS ships use a horizontal configuration.
Thursday and Friday consisted of taking things apart to see how it works and putting it back together again. First up was the LADCP which is similar to the ADCP we would see on most ships. It was much heavier than I thought it would be and the circuitry was cool to see. Then, we fixed up a new carousel to replace the old one.
On Friday, we took a field trip to the marine center to work on the CTD rosette and take apart a Niskin bottle. Hunter and I took turns un-hooking the spring inside each Niskin (an often-neglected part of maintenance between cruises to prolong the lifespan of the springs). We were able to replace the carousel inside the center of the rosette with our newly fixed version. Accessing the screws to this part of the rosette is deceivingly difficult. I could not reach them by climbing on the top (this was clearly designed by a man with longer arms). Instead, I had to crawl under and inside the rosette like a rock-climber to unscrew the old parts. Dan said it is even more tedious on a moving ship but that maintaining the rosette is a huge part of a marine tech’s job.
This week with Dan was an incredible opportunity to learn more technical skills and do some hands-on maintenance that marine techs would do post-cruise. I cannot wait for next week with Carolina!
Jenn