I have been kindly asked to give an account of life at sea from the perspective of a PhD student and first time cruiser and was more than happy to accept. The reality of living and working in remote regions of the open ocean is just unbelievable and an experience I will never forget.
We are now about two weeks into the voyage and during this time I have developed a daily work routine I am comfortable with. My day starts at 3:45 am, unless I decide to lay in which means the alarm sounds at 4 am. Over the next two or so hours my science includes the initiation and maintenance of on deck incubations to determine the rate of nitrogen fixation at different depths.
Nitrogen fixation incubations
However, my main role during AMT 19 is to determine the iron chemistry of the transect so the vast majority of my time following 6am is spent locked away (not physically locked!) in a trace metal clean container. Unfortunately this means I have to wear the clean suit and hat much to the amusement of on-lookers.
Neil sporting the latest fashion in clean suit
This leads me nicely into the fact that I have windows in my container, which I believe is unique on-board this year, and the container is located on the aft (back) deck. If anyone ever says to me they have great view from their office again …well….
The weather has really picked up during the last couple of days after a period of high winds and swell. The calmer seas have made it possible to look out for wildlife and today alone I have seen two large squid testing their nerve by approaching the conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) sampler and a few flying fish. They really can fly…no really!
Hope all is well back at the lab.