Mail Buoy
September 4, 2001
Hello...I'm Erica Fejeran from a small island called Guam.
For the past few days I’ve enjoyed all expeditions you’ve been on and reading all the daily journals you’ve set for us...it is really interesting following you throughout your exploration to the Galápagos Islands. I’ve also enjoyed the slide shows you’ve posted and it almost seems as if I’m there with you guys exploring every step of the way!
I would like to ask though how you guys handle the pressure of waiting just for the fun to start when you wake up in the morning, and... how do you get any sleep out there when they waves are constantly moving the boat around!
Another question I would like to ask is what kind of parts of the ocean have you seen or explored that no one else has seen before....and what do you mean by that?
Thanks for the 411 on the expeditions and looking forward to all the other slide shows of the crew and if possible if you can send a picture of what the Galápagos Islands look like only if you can get it!
Hi Erica
Thanks for your questions and interest in what we are doing here in the Galápagos. You’re correct in thinking that it can be pretty exciting bringing up a dredge. Often one watch will pitch in and help another because they are excited to see what will happen.
We’ve gotten into a routine onboard so we are always busy, even when we are waiting for the ‘fun to start’ as you say. The seas have been calm throughout our journey, but by the time we go to sleep we are generally so tired that whatever waves there are lull us to sleep rather than keeping us awake.
We indeed are seeing parts of the ocean that noone has explored before. Though boats have been crossing through these waters for a long time, nobody really knows what the rocks are like underneath them. Using the sonar and dredge we are making maps and collecting rocks from areas of the ocean floor that nobody has looked at or sampled before. Look in the “Hot Topics” section for more about how these instruments allow us to explore the ocean floor. Keep checking in at the site for more photos of the Galápagos and the scientists and crew doing their jobs.
Sincerely,
Kate Buckman on RV Revelle
Hi there - I am a newly catagorized person - a senior and I love the internet it is the greatest invention since the car and the things that I can learn. Your site is marvelous and you have a pool on the ship. What do you do to your water to make it drinkable. What is the first layer of the earth. Have you felt any tremors or seen the results of any. How hot does it get on board and do you swin with the ocean creatures. If I was young I would be on that vessel.
Please all take care.
Dee Dee
Hi Dee Dee-
Thanks for your interest in our site. In answer to your questions, we get our drinking water by evaporating seawater to purify it. Seawater is pumped into the ship and heated in a vacuum to lower the boiling temperature of the water. The heat for the evaporation process is provided by motors in the engine room. The steam from the evaporated water is cooled and thus condensed into water that we can drink. This system is able to make enough water each day to just meet our needs. If there were more people onboard, we would need to use a reverse osmosis process as well as evaporation to produce enough water.
The first layer of the earth is called the crust. If you look under the Deeper Discovery link you can find out more about it.
The Revelle is air conditioned inside to keep machinery and computers in good condition, so it is a comfortable temperature. The weather link allows you to see what the temperature is outside each day. It has been sunny but not unbearable hot most days so far. We don’t swim in the ocean because we are always underway or have equipment in the water which would make it very dangerous for us to do so. Again, thanks for your questions and keep checking the site for new information.
Sincerely,
Kate Buckman on RV Revelle
Greetings from Diane in Valley City, Ohio...
Your website was advertised in the Cleveland Plain Dealer as a “cool site,” so I checked it out. I was hooked immediately and am looking forward following you along. I wish you fair skies and calm winds.....bye! ;)
Hi Diane-
Great to hear from you and that you’re enjoying Dive and Discover. Although it’s been a few hundred million years since Ohio had an ocean, we know that lots of folks in the mid-west are interested in oceanography and science.
We’ve still got another 2.5 weeks to go on this expedition with many discoveries yet to make.
Thanks for the nice note and we hope you continue to enjoy our work.
Best Regards,
Dan Fornari
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