Date: Thu, 10 Jan 2002 01:21:23 +0000 From: "Coronesi, Stephanie" Subject: Message 5 21:53 (2002.01.09) 64 Degrees 12.638' South Latitude 66 Degrees 15.672' West Longitude (Bellingshausen Sea) Air Temp: 2.1 Degrees C SST (Sea Surface Temperature): 1.1 C Wind Speed: 18 knots 36 Degrees Air Pressure: 981.4 mBar Helllllooooooooo! Tomorrow I will send the promised picture of the Elephant seal from Palmer Station. Something funny - I woke up this morning and came down to the lab to work and I had no idea what day it was. I thought it was Tuesday. Karen told me that it was definitely Wednesday, and then I realized that I'd given you all some misinformation. We actually arrived at Palmer on Sunday, not Saturday. It's honestly so hard to keep track of time here, especially when there's no nighttime to separate the days! Everyone has told me that the days will just fly by, especially since we're all really into the research now. I plan to savor my time here as much as I possibly can! I've been working from about 8-9AM to approximately 9PM, depending on when the CTD drops occur. The CTD is a big machine that is programmed to collect water in big bottles at different depths. A couple of different groups gather around the machine when it emerges to take samples from the bottles in order to run various tests on them. I take anywhere from six to twelve samples and filter the water through glass "towers." The water is sucked by tubes into a glass waste container and chlorophyll is left in a little round stain on the filter. I put the filters into numbered vials, squirt them with 10mls of 90% acetone (think nail polish remover) in order to extract the chlorophyll from the filter and leave them in a freezer for a minimum of twenty-four hours. While they're in there the filters dissolve and I'm left with a liquid chlorophyll sample that I run through a machine called a fluorometer. The fluorometer shines light through the samples to measure the amount of chlorophyll present. This enables us to travel to different points on our area grid and compare the amount of chlorophyll from season to season. "SO?" You might ask..."Who cares about chlorophyll levels in the West Antarctic Peninsula?" Well, the krill do, if you must know. "What the heck's a KRILL?" Ahhh.... krill are funny-looking shrimp-like creatures that whales and penguins and a bunch of other sea inhabitants eat a whole lot of. Krill feed on algae (phytoplankton) and part of this whole big project is to measure the chlorophyll (which shows up in the algae), which feeds the krill, which feed penguins, whales, etc. It's all part of a chain, and the marine life will follow the food supply. The Zooplankton people have been catching some pretty considerably-sized krill, and I just so happened to get a good photo. The krill in this picture are nearly maximum-sized, and they're about as large as your pinky finger (unless of course you have a freakishly large pinky finger, in which case look at the person's next to you). These are krill at "reproductive size," and there are some large females in which you can see their eggs all ready to go for the next generation of beautiful krill babies. The Zooplankton people have been catching some neat stuff in their net casts. I'll let you know what turns up! Well, the tone of the cruise has definitely become more work-centered, though working side by side with people you really like somehow just doesn't seem like work! Everyone gathers together in the mess hall for meals since there are set serving times. Tonight was "taco night," a widely-regarded favorite, then a few of us squeezed in a quick game of fusbol down in the hold before the CTD cast came in. I'm going to finish this off, then head to the cabin for sleep, as tomorrow might be an earlier than average start. Oh, and a quick FYI; rolling desk chairs, wavy seas and typing do not mix! There are actually these slightly raised metal strips on the floor, about two and a half feet apart so you can only roll so far. Still, it makes my questionable typing skills just that much more questionable. ;) Thanks for reading. I look forward to any questions you might have. Until tomorrow..... -"Miss C" (Steph!)