Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2002 14:47:45 +0000 To: karen@icess.ucsb.edu From: "Sirovic, Ana" Subject: Message 03 8 Feb 2002, 7:25 56 degrees 23.22 S lat 64 degrees 31.53 W long (The Drake Passage) Air surface temperature: 8.7 degrees C Sea Surface Temperature (SST): 4.7 degrees C Wind speed: 35 knots, 355 degrees Air pressure: 992.3 mBar Good morning! We are well on our way now! We have entered the Drake passage, probably the most infamous body of water in the world's oceans. I've heard it being referred to as the Drake Lake because, apparently, it's been seen mirror still, but somehow that never happens when I'm crossing! It's our 3rd day at sea and by now most of us are trying to get into some kind of a routine of daily life on the ship. There are 2 important things around which our days seem to revolve, especially when no big science work is being done: food and email. The three daily meals happen at 7:30-8:30, 11:30-12:30 and 17:30-18:30, while the email checks are currently at noon at 7 pm. All of this at least gives you something to look forward to every few hours... We are still not in Argentine waters (we have to get 200 mi from its coast before we reach international waters) and since a permit is needed for work in foreign waters, only those projects with such a permit are currently underway. So one of the things currently going on is XBT launching. XBTs (also known as expandible bathyothermographs) are probes that get launched from an underway ship. They record depth and temperature as they sink and they send these data back to the ship's computer through a copper wire. Most of us are currently on 4 h shifts doing the launches. The job is very simple: we have to load the 6-probe launcher once during the shift and then every 30-45 min we have to switch one of the TVs to the 'XBT channel', make sure the launch went well, i.e. that we got data at least downto 400 m, and then we're free for another half an hour or so. The locations of the launches are already set so computer really does all the work. XBT casts are done on almost every cruise going through the Drake and they are part of a much larger project for measuring changes in sea surface temperature over long time scales. Many other such XBTs are cast from 'vessels of opportunity' (mostly meaning merchant vessels) that travel across the oceans on regular basis. There are a few more things we can do aboard this ship, other than email, eat, and launch XBTs, while waiting for other science activites to start. We have available to us a gym, jacuzzi, sauna is currently under repairs, and in the lounge there is a TV, playstation, VCR and a collection of videos. Now the TV itself deserves some description. We have close circuit TV with several channels. They are all pretty exciting: the A-frame channel, the winch channel, bridge view, starboard quarter, and of course the XBT channel. My favorite, however, is the GMT channel which gives you all the current info: lat, long, time, wind, temperature (air and SST), pressure, and all other kinds of goodies. It's time for my XBT shift so I'd better hurry along. Today's feature picture: XBT launcher with Drake swells, which look much more benign in the picture than they really are! Ana