Cruise JC030
Tuesday 1st January 2009
Day 6 (I think) at Sea:
Our first iceberg - New Years Eve - The First CTD
JDAY 366
Lunch: T-bone Steak and green beans
Dinner: Beef Stew & Dumplings
Weather: Nice and smooth - Force 4/5 A bit more bumpy!!
Distance Travelled Tpday: 175 Miles
Total Distance Travelled: 1312 Miles
Activity: In transit to first station
Sea Temperature:3•C
Air Temperature:-1•C
BIG HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY OLD MAN IT'S HIS BIRTHDAY TODAY!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just visible through the gloom was this large iceberg......
Hey again! Whoah what a busy 24hrs! So we finally started science late into the night and just a few hours before New Years Eve.
The day was busy preparing everything for the first CTD and checking all the systems were ready for tonight. The majority of scientists had fallen into their watch keeping so the ship seemed a little bit emptier as people who weren’t working took the chance to sleep or spend their free time playing games or relaxing.
The weather is a bit bumpier today and the ship has had some medium rolls that are all part of the package working at sea.
The morning started with the scientific meeting at 10 o’clock held by the Captain. During his meeting the PSO, Technicians and crew get together and discuss the day’s activity. What’s happening – when it’s happening and who will be doing it?
Now that the satellite system is up and running I was able to produce some charts that showed the weather around the ship – which is 100% cloud cover! We noticed some interesting weather features which would indicate that the weather would improve over the next few days. A path of icy wind was visible on the one image showing cold wind blowing off Antarctica to our current position – that would be the reason why it’s been sooooo cold!
Talking about cold – it’s been snowing on and off all day. At times it’s been blizzard like conditions with the snow blowing horizontally past the ship at high speed. It’s nice to look at (from inside) but the moment you have to go on deck it’s another story!
I had a go on the Nintendo wii against Helen the Dr after lunch. Unlike everyone here – Helen is the only one we don’t want to have to be busy! So, I think it must get a bit boring at times for her! I beat Helen at bowling then she came back and stuffed me twice (by a large margin) – once playing left-handed which was a bit odd. We also had a game of tennis which I won!!! Hahahah my first ever win on the Wii!!!! It’s a bit special playing with the Nintendo wii when the ship is rocking back and forth…
Later in the day a shout came down from the bridge that indicated an iceberg off our starboard-side. The big iceberg was just visible through the gloom a few miles away. First iceberg of the cruise! this year I have been lucky to see icebergs in both the North and South hemisphere on both occasions with Sheldon.
The ship got to the work station at around 20:30. When we got there we lowered the ship’s drop keel. A drop keel is a huge retractable metal device about 25ft high and 15ft long. This is lowered through a hole in the ship’s hull (Yes a hole!!) – on the base of the drop keel are some scientific sensors. When a ship passes through the water it generates bubbles which pass under the hull. These bubbles can interfere with certain sensors and cause bad quality data. By placing them on the drop keel and lowering them 20ft below the ship the sensors are less prone to this problem – known as aeration.
Why don’t we continuously have thee keels down though? – I hear you ask. Well it’s simple. Having a huge metal object protruding from the hull causes drag which increases fuel consumption and we all know how much fuel is these days! Also it increases the draught of the vessel (Vertical distance from the waterline to the bottom of the hull) – you couldn’t enter most ports with it down as it would hit the bottom….. Bye Bye sensors + big repair costs! So we only deploy it when it is necessary for science!
Above: This symbol on the hull indicates a "drop keel"
Above: Diagram showing the drop keel
Above: Image showing the drop keel during dry dock
Above: Another image of the drop keel showing various transducers (sensors)
So once the keel was down we were ready to deploy the CTD. The first scientific deployment was watched by everyone and went without a hitch. I took a place up by the crane which I thought would make a good vantage shot to watch the whole thing. Unfortunately I was in the full fury of the wind and then it started snowing and I beat a hasty retreat indoors…
Once the CTD was in the water we began the long journey to the bottom – 5200m below us. We had a number of problems getting a sensible depth. All our devices (echo sounders) for determining the depth (by firing sound and waiting for it to return) gave different depths. Our Multibeam ecosounder which fires multiple beams of sound into the water to create a “map” of the seabed indicated that there was a potential underwater feature (i.e a big mountain) and we were on the edge of it. So the depth readings jumped quite a bit. However, the deployment went well and the CTD was able to take water samples at numerous depths to the excitement of the scientists.
At 11:30Pm I made my way to the bar. Being New Years Eve and being 6000 miles away from home a little celebration was planned to welcome in the New Year. The ship’s bell – I never even knew we had one! Was hung up outside and we observed the traditional way of welcoming in the new year, our Purser who is the oldest on the ship rang out 2008 on the ships bell followed by catering assistant Amy who is the youngest aboard the ship rang in 2009. As midnight is the end of a four hour seawatch it is known as 8 bells so the oldest and the youngest aboard the ship ring the bell 4 times each either side of midnight. A toast to the New Year was made by those off watch. Unfortunately with the CTD in the water not everyone could celebrate together and some bottles of bubbly were put aside for a toast for those who could not attend.
But there was yet another surprise to come. But as Midnight is Midnight and anything after is a New Day…… You’ll have to wait till tomorrows blog.
Happy New Year
Leighton
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