Office of Marine Programs
University of Rhode Island
Narragansett Bay Campus
Narragansett, RI 02882-1197
Phone: 401-874-6211
Fax: 401-874-6486
Email: OMP@gso.uri.edu
Examination of Phytoplankton Biodiversity
R/V Endeavor Cruise
3/25/07
2000
34o10” latitude
Hello everyone!
We enjoyed clear skies with air temperature of 21.6oC at 0741. The sun is brilliant.
Position -- Sargasso Sea; lat 34o09”.
The plan for the day is to take as many samples as is possible. This is the goal for all teams.
First launch of the rosette @8300; sampling continued all day.
Salinity: 36. PPT’ (the range in the ocean = from 33 to 37 PPT, so we are really at the upper end) Average Narragansett Bay Salinity: 29 to 31 PPT.
Most of the day was spent in this area; the ship moved at 1-2 knots; so that the equipment that was sent over the stern would stay away from the props.
By 2052, we were at latitude 34.12.230.
We did have a squall blow through this afternoon; a very brief period of not even 20 minutes of clouds, winds, and rain.
During down time, we started compiling the handwritten data to electronic storage. I designed the data charts to record the depths the rosette reached during all sampling attempts.
After supper, most of us took some time off to relax. Some returned to complete data storage. As for me, I wanted to complete today’s log.
The plan is to leave this area after the last cast of the rosette, at about 2300. At about midnight, we will turn about and steam north. Because the seas and weather have been so cooperative, the groups are actually ahead of schedule. On the way home, the teams plan to stop at 5 of the stations we visited on the way here. More samples will be taken which should confirm the data collected earlier.
Dr. Jenkins’ group has set up a low-tech incubator. It is a large Plexiglas tank with an inlet for water at the lower rear and an outflow from the top. A pump brings in sea water. The current drives a Plexiglas water wheel. This way, organisms that are in collection bottles in the incubator will stay in a little piece of home. The URI groups are also collecting many gallons of sea water they will keep under refrigeration. This way, the incubator can be replenished when we return to URI. They could buy the Sargasso water, but the cost is $50 per gallon.
This is the incubator. The bottles are wrapped in a mesh that keeps out the sun. The water samples are from Deep Ocean (40-50 meters); a light meter was used to ensure that the light reaching the bottles is at the same intensity as at 40-50 meters. The incubator isn’t new … it was used by Diane Gifford, a former scientist at the GSO.
You can see the large yellow eye bolt that is screwed into the deck. The deck is painted with a coat that is slip-proof. The fittings are in the deck in an arrangement of 2-foot centers. This allows a great deal of flexibility in positioning and securing gear.
This picture shows the water wheel. Notice the array of notches which enables the inflow of water to drive the wheel. Pretty cool stuff.
Since all the boat will do tomorrow is steam home, we will be back storing data. I don’t plan on a long log tomorrow; the day will probably be humdrum, but I’ll bet the food will be great. Our dinner entrée choices tonight were scallops and roast beef. Of course, all the trimmings, also.
