June 28, 2019
Today is our last full day on the ocean and it is definitely a busy one. Since everything is coming to an end I have to make sure I have all the files I need for my project. Today has consisted of more interviews, cropping them and collecting footage from Jason. Since everything is in 4K the files are huge and I have to fit everything on my SD card which is a challenge in itself. Other than working on my project not much else is going on. I will have my last watch tonight which again, is a little bitter sweet. Everything about this week has been amazing and I am very fortunate to have been able to work with such an amazing team. So thank you to everyone on the Atlantis and I expect bright future from all of you.
June 27, 2019
Credit: Jacob Clairmont, University of Washington V19
Yesterday was a packed day full of meetings, guest speakers and interviews. We also got an engine room tour which was stuff I’m much more familiar with. The machinery and attention to detail again is pretty outstanding. I got a lot done for my project as well. I got to interview Jenny and Yvan which are two scientists doing work on Hydrate Ridge. Their research is utilizing the methane seeps and the microbials associated as an energy source which is really cool! It could potentially be an infinite energy source although the output is not a lot at its current stage but there will be more information about their work in my project. Regardless, our time on the ship is getting closer and closer to the end. It is sort of bitter sweet but I am very glad I got to have an opportunity of a lifetime out here with such amazing people.
June 26, 2019
Hey everyone! Sorry I missed the post for yesterday but I’ll give you a rundown of what happened. Yesterday we didn’t really have much planned. Most of the science party was extremely busy with their projects so it was a little slow. Unfortunately I didn’t get any interviews but tried to make the most of my time by getting more shots around the boat and get some 4K clips from Jason. Let me tell you, those 4K video clips from Jason are huge. One thing that did happen yesterday was a guest speaker talked to us from the ship. Bea, a scullery, told us a little about the day to day life on the ship. It is really interesting to hear how people ended up being on a ship like the Atlantis. These next couple days will start to pick up as people will have more free time.
June 25, 2019
Today was definitely the busiest day for me. I finally started testing different audio and video locations and doing interviews with people. Alongside that we had a guest speaker from the Jason team, Tina. She gave us a lot of useful incite not only about her work but just life advice as well which is really cool to hear from someone who is working in such a niche field. I also got to go on a tour of Alvin which was stellar. Alvin is a three-person submersible that has done more dives than all other submersibles combined. It has a lot of other amazing features that made it that much more amazing to be in the presence of such an engineering accomplishment.
June 24, 2019
Credit: J. Clairmont, University of Washington V19
Hello again! Before I get started on what I am doing today, I want to talk about last night’s watch. During my shift, all power went out while we were getting ready to retrieve our water samples out on the deck. For a couple seconds, it was pitch black but the backup generators kicked in and gave us light again. After mustering in the main lab the crew told us that everything was fine and we could return to what we were doing. Since the hiccup yesterday, we did not have our tours today but we instead used this time to work on our projects and help out around the ship. Right now we are at Hydrate Ridge collecting more samples and locating methane seeps in the ocean floor. To finish the night I will have my regular watch hours and start again tomorrow!
June 23, 2019
Today I had a little bit of a later start since I got more seasick between sites. After getting up and going we had a meeting about our projects to discuss the implications behind them and plan tours for other parts of the ship we haven’t seen yet. The ship is huge and there is a lot of places I still have not been, but I look forward to exploring them in the upcoming days. Later today we will be taking water samples, so we did some preparation by going through instructions and directions to help prepare. I will probably close my evening with my watch starting at 7:30pm and ending at 1:00am in the van documenting the dives.
June 22, 2019
Credit: J. Clairmont, University of Washington V19
So far the boat has been good despite getting a little sea sick. Today we went through regulations, safety procedures and learned how to document dives. On our free time, we took the opportunity to get to meet everyone on board and lay out our projects. The ROV, Jason, is equipped with many different instruments including a 4K camera, high tech sonar and many more cutting edge devices. In the control van, they are used to collect feedback from Jason to maneuver the vehicle and collect information/samples. Being in the control van is very cool as we get to see all the information live, displayed on several screens.