Heading out to sea

Early this morning, the R/V Atlantis made its way out of the Puntarenas bay area.

Due to poor water quality, the desalination (we make our own water) on the ship was halted and we had to conserve water. There was a high concentration of bacteria in the upper bay where we had been anchored. It is easy to see from the difference between the photo above and the photo below, taken a few hours out to sea.

As we headed out, we had the opportunity to talk to the captain in the bridge. He showed us how the ship navigates, along with all the tools of the trade like sonar, radar, etc. It was very interesting. He is a graduate of Massachucetts Maritime Academy, as are most of the deck officers. They were excited when I let them know that my son Will will be a starting there next year. They told me all about the marine transportation program that he will be majoring in. Go Bucs!

Here is the view from the bridge as the R/V Atlantis started out to sea.

It is going to take us about 4 days to get to our destination. You might think that would be a long time, but while on the ship, we work round the clock. There is always something to do, get ready, or test.

We also had to do standard ship safety drills shortly after embarking. Sort of like going on an ocean cruise - only more intense.

Shortly after breakfast we met at our muster station with our survival suits and life jackets.

We practiced drills like fire evacuation , man overboard, how to put on our oxygen masks, and general first aid. First timers had to done their immersion suits. Since I had been on cruises before, I lucked out this time!

At 1:00 PM we had our first science meeting at sea.

Dr. Luther introduced us to the chief ALVIN pilot, who discussed many of the safety and dive procedures working with the underwater vehicle.

Dr. Luther also discussed the science of what we would be doing. I felt like I was in chemistry class again! Don't worry, I am just going to give you the highlights - but it is some cutting edge science that is truly amazing.

Here is a quick overview of today's meeting:

This picture above represents the location of hydrothermal vents around the world. Notice how they are always located on boundaries of tectonic plates. I was at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge sites in 2012. Hey marine science students, remember this from class? plate boundaries anyone?

This is what a smoker vent looks like. What is coming out of the vent, along with how the animals survive around the vent, are just some of the questions that we hope to learn about.

First, there is a whole lot of chemistry going on down there!

These are the questions that we hope to begin to answer with the data collected.

Essentially, hydrogen sulfide and oxygen are the nutrients that drive chemosynthesis.

Using our instruments we can measure the amount of material that is coming out of the vents. This helps us understand the reasons how organisms survive here.

Something else that our researchers are interested in is carbon dioxide levels at the ocean bottom.

From general chemistry, all my students should know that carbon dioxide should not be a great electron receptor due to its non-polar nature and low electron affinity.

The carbon dioxide basically aids water into dissociating, therefore making an acidic solution. The pH of the ocean is acidic at this depth.

Normally, pH of seawater is around 8 or slightly higher near the surface. Shelled animals that live near hydrothermal vents have to work very hard to repair shells that are dissolving in this slightly acidic environment.

Wow, that was a lot in a little blog. I am sure that you head must be spinning. Here are some things learned from previous trips to sea. We hope to add to this knowledge.

Hey, it wasn't all classroom stuff today! We also set up our pool out on the back of the ship. Its primary purpose is to obtain the weight of objects in seawater before they go down on ALVIN. It is strongly encouraged that we go in the pool with our objects!

We can also hang out in it during the day when we get a break. We are in the tropics!

The ship crew also put lines in the water to catch fish. I did this on the R/V Knorr in 2012. Fresh Mahi or Tuna is always a welcome dinner treat. As of this post, we haven't caught anything yet, but the ship is going almost 12 knots - a little too fast for trolling!

We just throw the lures off the back of the boat and troll. A little hand-line fishing!

Fishing always attracts birds like these boobies (that is what they are called) who follow the ship. They are sea birds who use the ship as a fish attractant. These birds eat all day, then come and land on the ship to rest.

So.................

Remember, it was not that long ago (1977) that Dr. Carey from the University of Delaware first discovered these vent communities at the very site we are going. We still have so much to learn about this awesome planet we live on. I am honored to be a part of it! Until tomorrow.