We have now been here one full week. Three more to go! The group from Southampton went through a test run of their sampling today. The poor dears are still out there and it is 10pm. They are gluttons for punishment, I think; they want to do this sampling every single day.
The rest of us made some progress towards understanding our own experiments and our own role in the sampling and filtration that will start happening on Wednesday. Juli spent the day continuing to get to know the local copepods. And Morten, when he wasn't improving the design of his gel traps, was saying sweet goodbye to the copepods in the aquarium and otherwise preparing them for being launched back out into the ocean, or at least into big plastic bags floating in the ocean.
Aug 6 2012a- The day started with a science meeting outside in the sun. Because there was sun!
Aug 6 2012b- After lunch Jussi came back to us (he had gone home for the weekend)!!! This was cause for celebration. And for getting all the questions that had piled up over the weekend answered.
Aug 6 2012c- Here Richard is desperately trying to get Jussi to remember how to work the light meter that Jussi uses only once every two years.
Aug 6 2012d- It is the loveliest sunniest day we've had so far and Manon is stuck inside alone with only the Technicon (nutrient autoanalyzer) for company.
Aug 6 2012e- Morten, who grows blonder by the day, is adding a smooth black base to his gel traps, the better for photographing the aggregates he catches.
Aug 6 2012f- The flag flying in front of the field station. Check out that perfect sky!
Aug 6 2012g- Our awesome cook taking a break in his Hard Rock Cafe Moscow t-shirt (yes, that is a hammer and sickle).
Aug 6 2012h- Jussi is too warm and Sari has her very own Kate Winslet moment as the NOC team makes ready to depart on their exploratory sampling expedition to the mesocosms.
Aug 6 2012i- Jump, Jussi, jump!
Aug 6 2012j- And away they go. Mind you, this is not how they were looking 2 hours later when they came back with the light meter readings done and only 2 (out of 12) bags sampled. They've just drive back up now (at 10:48pm) and I bet they still didn't finish the sampling (but it is dark now).
Aug 6 2012k- Lonely blue shoes.
Aug 6 2012l- After dinner, Morgane, Manon, Briva, and several cheerful a capella songs went out and added nutrients to the mesocosms. The daily feeding of the phytoplankton. Because we like our phytoplankton.
Aug 6 2012m- Morgane also took some nutrient samples, just to see how things are progressing.
Aug 6 2012n- My goodness. There was spaghetti bolognese, warm bread, and salad for dinner followed by ice cream and fruit cocktail for dessert. And that was only 15 minutes ago. How can this woman be hungry again already?
Aug 6 2012o- Adding nutrients to the NOC bags.
Aug 6 2012p- Well fed phytoplankton make for happy oceanographers.
Aug 6 2012q- Waiting for the French contingent to return so we can go out to the mesocosms and add the copepods, which are in the buckets.
Aug 6 2012r- Here they come, with Manon at the helm.
Aug 6 2012s- Returning to the lab with the now empty bottles.
Aug 6 2012t- Manon playing with Jussi's dog, who turns out to be named Morris (after the Morris Minor, but pronounced Maurice), not Aquarius.
Aug 6 2012s- Meanwhile, Morten moves into zooplankton-addition position.
Aug 6 2012t- In go the first of the copepods. We added them to 6 bags in total.
Aug 6 2012u- Here is a nice view of two bags hanging down into the water (remember, they are over 33 feet long).
Aug 6 2012v- You can get a better sense for how nicely cylindrical they are (at least until you get to the bottom, where they taper to a cone) from this shot of the control bag, which is off by itself.
Aug 6 2012y- Everytime we pull the boat in or put it back out to its moored position using the little line, I must think of the Lady of Shalott.
Aug 6 2012z- A lousy picture of a lovely sunset.
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