Dive and Discover : Daily Updates

After nearly two full weeks on board RV Atlantis, today marks our last full day at sea. The science team has been very active all day because there is so much left to do and so little time to do it before we arrive in Manzanillo tomorrow at around 0900 hours! Our original plans left us five days to finish our work and pack up our things as we made the transit north to San Diego, but after our schedule changed because of the problem with the stern thruster we had only three days to finish our work and pack.

There are rock and animal samples to be labeled and stored, tools and equipment to be packed away, and data to be printed and saved. Not unlike when we were growing up, we have to clean our rooms, too! We try to leave our rooms and laboratory spaces neat and tidy for the next team of scientists who will be using them, just as the last science party left them for us.

There is also just enough time to do a last load of laundry; it’s nice to have some fresh clothes for the trip back home! Many of us need to pull out our winter clothes again as we are head back to the chilly northeastern US - shorts, T-shirts, and sandals work well out here in the 85 degree weather, but definitely not in 25 degree weather and 6 inches of snow! Margo, Jenny and Greg don’t have that problem because they are from Hawaii!

The science team took some time out from their packing and cleaning to meet in the library one last time after lunch to discuss the science that was accomplished during this leg. It is good to be able for everyone to discuss and tie together all of the individual pieces of research we did into a more complete picture of the different experiments that were carried out. Everyone agreed that it has definitely been a very successful and productive cruise. Now the detailed analysis of the different data sets and writing of scientific articles can begin back in the labs at Woods Hole Oceanographic, Lamont-Doherty, and the University of Hawaii.

The Ping Pong tournament reached the last round today as Philip (Mongoose) Hurlbutt and Patrick Hennessy met in the finals after dinner. As the crowd gathered in the Main Lab to watch, Phil pulled ahead to win the match and be crowned the Cruise # 2 Ping Pong champion-congratulations, Phil, and congratulations to Patrick for putting up a good game.

Since RV Atlantis is arriving in Manzanillo very early in the morning tomorrow, we also need to pack up our computer equipment that we use to update the Dive and Discover website. As a result, today is our last Daily Journal of Cruise # 2.

We have enjoyed being able to Dive and Discover with all of you on the East Pacific Rise! All of us on board RV Atlantis want to thank you for joining us, as well as for all of your email feedback during Cruise #2.

We invite you to Dive and Discover with us again next month on Cruise #3 as scientists and students from seven US universities and government laboratories will be exploring the East Pacific Rise and Fernandina Volcano in the Galapagos Islands from March 24 until May 10, 2000, searching for recent submarine lava eruptions. You will be joining the scientists, students, and crew on board the Scripps Insitution of Oceanography’s RV Melville. During the cruise they will use the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s high-tech fiber optic mapping systems (DSL-120 sonar and Argo II imaging system) to map the deep ocean floor at several sites along the East Pacific Rise from 10°N to the Equator. See you in March!