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Hi my name is Johnathon. I’m in grade 6 at Saint Michael’s University School in Victoria, British Columbia. I was wondering if any of you have been onboard the Alvin.

Do you have any research ships onboard? I am doing a school project and I am Byron Pedler’s research assistant.

Hi Johnathon:

Thanks so much for writing us!  I’m honored you chose me for your school project.  I’ll try to answer a few of your questions.  As a matter of fact, three people on this research cruise have been in Alvin: Dr. Larry Madin, the chief scientist; marine biologist Isabelle Williams and ocean engineer Sandy Williams. We don’t actually have Alvin onboard for this expedition because we are interested in studying salps; animals that live near the surface of the ocean. Also, Alvin is deployed only from the ship R/V Atlantis, which has special equipment needed to operate the sub. Instead of Alvin, which is used to study the bottom of the ocean, we use scuba divers to collect animals from the top 100 feet (30 meters) of the water column. Like all jellies, salps are very fragile animals, so we put them in plastic jars underwater to protect them from being damaged when we bring them back to the ship. Once onboard safely, the scientists use the live and healthy animals to conduct experiments to learn more about how they swim, feed, grow, and reproduce. 

I’m not sure exactly what you will be doing for your school project, but I’ll try to help by giving you a little information about myself. My first experience at sea was aboard a 125-foot (38-meter) sailboat studying oceanography in the Gulf of Maine with the Sea Education Association (www.sea.edu).  I was 17 at the time and loved feeling like I was out in the middle of nowhere, completely independent and detached from the whole world! I’ve been hooked ever since. This will be my fifth time going to sea and my third research cruise with Dr. Larry Madin and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. I recently graduated from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in biology, and at age 22, I am the youngest scientist on the ship. My duties aboard the R/V Gould include: leading all Bongo Net deployments, leading one of two teams that deploys the MOCNESS, and safety diver for one of the two scuba diving teams. Whenever I’m not busy with one of those three things, I’m around helping out with whatever needs to be done. And there is always something to be done! 

Thanks again for your interest and great questions! I hope this was helpful. Be sure to keep checking in with Dive and Discover.

Cheers,
Byron Pedler
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

I work in the Adult Basic Education/General Education Development program at Chemeketa Community College in Salem, Oregon and I want to use your email address for a mini email workshop I'm doing on Tuesday, March 28. 

How's the weather down there? How many miles are you from South America? How were the seas around the Drake Passage?

Ruth Margaret Hudgens

Hi, Ruth:

Thanks for writing in! We are glad to be viewed by students in your program. The connection here is working, but not in 'real time' that we are used to ashore. Email leaves the ship via satellite three times a day, and is delivered to the ship three times a day, but some emails are taking one or two days to reach their destination. It causes some funny overlaps and cross-communication between us and the people we write to!

We are having late summer weather, and it has been a warmer than usual here. It is about 35 degrees F (2 degrees C) where we have been working, off the continental shelf at about 67 degrees south latitude. At Palmer Station they have had a lot of rain this summer, though last year's summer was snowy.

We are about 700 miles (1,127 kilometers) from Punta Arenas, Chile, where we came aboard the Gould. We had a smooth crossing of the Drake—the ship was rolling, but not too badly. We have been very lucky and haven't had any storms to contend with. The divers don't dive when the seas are more than about 5 feet (2 meters).

Thanks again,
Kate Madin
Writer
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

What made you build up the courage to do this?

Hi Lauren:

I never really thought of needing courage to embark on a research cruise to the Antarctic before, but I suppose it does take courage. We seem to get the courage from careful planning and lots of training. More importantly, courage comes from teamwork. We rely on one another. Everybody's job, no matter how small it may seem, is important for a safe and successful research cruise. Nothing happens because of a single person's efforts. For instance, to do one of our dives takes coordination between the people driving the ship, the people getting the Zodiac over the side with a crane, and the scientists who put all that special diving gear on and actually get in the water. My dive buddies check my gear before we jump in, just as I check theirs. We look after one another, and get a lot of our courage from each other. Some of us have been here before, and the newer divers get some of their courage from the more experienced divers. To tell you the truth, I get my courage from everyone here on the ship, and from the emails I get from my family and friends at home.

Erich Horgan
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

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