Submitted by Anonymous on Wed, 04/25/2007 - 11:02
Forums
Ask Ms. Davenport

Anna , Hunter, Tessa- What is your favorite animal you've seen so far?

Alex- Has anyone had frost bite?

Brandon Cop- What do you find exciting on the ship?

Adrian- What type of gun do the Coast Gaurd use?

Forest- Will you get to go on the helicopter?

Katy- What have you learned that is new for you?

Lianne- Have you seen a baby Beluga?

Arielle- What is the most amazing thing you have seen?

Favian-Has a diver gone into the Bering Sea?

Melissa- Have you been to the expresso shop yet?

Thu, 04/26/2007 - 07:26

Emily Davenport

Hi everyone!   
To start off, my favorite animal I've seen so far has to be the walrus- they are so neat looking!!  I would love to get up close to them.  I am lucky enough to be working closely with the wife of our "walrus expert" on the ship- Gerry McCormick-Ray (her husband is Carleton Ray).  She's working together with us to answer a question she has:  What are the walrus eating?  All of our extra mud cores go to her and she seives through them to identify the different animals in the cores.  She's also helping us out with seiving and preserving animals for us, so we can figure out how many and what type of animals are living on the bottom where we're sampling.  
 
So far, no one has gotten frost bite on the ship- not that I know of.  We're all very careful to bundle up when going outside, and most of us wear our mustang suits when we go outside, which keep us nice and toasty warm- it feels like we're wearing sleeping bags!!
 
I think just being on the ship is exciting, and seeing/experiencing all the different science that is going on.  Plus seeing some neat marine animals (whether they are mammals or invertebrates) is pretty exciting as well.
 
I don't know what kind of gun the coast guard uses...something large enough to take down a polar bear!
 
I HOPE I get to go on the helicopter- there is talk about that happening this weekend maybe...but we'll see!!  If I do, I will take lots of pictures!! :)
 
I have learned a bunch so far- a lot about the mud, how to take samples from the mud, how to process a sediment core, what lives in the mud, what other people are doing on the ship, my brain is filling up quickly!!  If there were enough time, I could learn about what each group of scientists is doing, because they are more than willing to share what they're doing with whoever asks.  Unfortunately, I am usually so busy with my own stuff that I don't have time.  But I've learned so much already about what our own group is doing!! 
 
No baby belugas...I actually haven't seen a beluga at all, unfortunately.  Our helicopter team did see some belugas, but I don't think they saw any babies.
 
Hmmm...the most amazing thing I have seen would probably be the Healy from the ice- it is SO big.  It seems very small when you are on it and wandering around, but it is really very, very big!  
 
No one is diving on this trip- although people have gone diving in the Bering Sea (just not on this cruise).  We do have a rescue diver just in case someone falls through the ice, but luckily he has not had to go in the water!
 
Still no trips to the espresso shop- although I do enjoy going to the galley late at night to get some hot chocolate! :)  
 
Thanks for the questions everyone...is there anything about the science that you are wondering about?  
 
Be sure to check out Ms. Staup's journal- each journal entry is about a different group of scientists and what they are studying.  And, if you want to know more about the animals we're seeing- check Ms. Prevena's "creature features"!!