Journal

Sea State: 4 foot swells

Depth: 33 meters (108 feet)

Sea Surface Temperature: 40 F

Waiting out the Weather

It is 3:30 PM (known as 1530 on a ship) and we are on weather hold. In fact, we have been on weather hold since midnight (known as 0000 on a ship) last night. The swells are simply too big for it to be safe to lower equipment off the stern. The wind is relatively light - only 13 knots. However, a far away storm whipped up big waves that have traveled across the ocean to toss us around.

crisscross track
We completed one station on the Central Channel transect line before the seas got too rough to work. Ever since arriving at the second station, we have had to crisscross the same five miles of ocean so that we will be in the right spot as soon as the seas calm down.

Everyone is keeping themselves busy and entertained in different ways:

CTD troubleshooting
Marshall and James have spent the day troubleshooting the CTD. Here they are calculating the conductivity of the wire connecting the CTD to its computer.

relaxing on weatherhold
Science operations usually continue 24 hours a day. The weather hold provides a chance to relax.

Nate working on a paper
Nate is heading to a conference in Canada after the cruise. He's using the down time to work on the presentation he will give.

Food on board

I had many questions before boarding the Norseman II - would I get seasick? How cold would it be? And, most importantly, what would the food be like? The answer? Delicious! Kit is the cook on board, and he does a masterful job of preparing three hot, tasty meals a day in a very small galley. More impressively, he has cooked up an endless variety of dishes, from chili and pizza to macaroni and cheese and fried rice, with a vegetarian option for every meal. He even makes a dessert every night!

Kit cooking
Kit whips up three fantastic meals every day. This garlic bread was especially tasty.

cooking in the galley
The galley has special modifications for cooking at sea. A rail around the stovetop keeps pots in place.

The Norseman II is a relatively small boat to fit a mountain of scientific equipment, as well one month’s worth of food for 24 people. Food is packed in almost every available space. I went on a little scavenger hunt to find all the places where food is stored.

Refrigerator with scientific samples and frozen food
Food and scientific samples are stored in every available space. This fridge is doing double duty, storing both plankton samples and groceries.

Chest freezer table top
This chest freezer doubles as a table top for lab equipment.

Food storage in the lazaret
The lazaret is a noisy space under the stern that is used for equipment storage and contains our underway sampling systems such as the IFCB. Even down here cans fill the shelves.

Details
Author
Rebecca Siegel
Date
Location
Chukchi Sea
Expedition
Harmful Algal Blooms in Arctic Waters
Temperature
37 F
Wind Speed
12 Knots

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