RITAS Expeditions

Dear Grade Four and Friends,

I just wrote a long email and lost it, so I am going to try to recreate it (very frustrating) - I hope I remember what I wrote!

I can't believe that I have been on the Endeavor for a full week - the time has gone by so quickly! The Cyst Cruise part of our task is complete now and we are moving on to another activity - capturing water at various levels. Grade four; we have worked on the sound "C" makes before certain vowels. Using this knowledge, can you pronounce the word "cyst"? It does follow the rule.

We have been in the Bay of Fundy, Canada. The seabed in the Bay of Fundy is very rocky, sandy, and gritty in many places, making it very hard to capture any sediment samples. Often we have had to go down 3 or 4 times before we have a sample we can use - meaning it has enough mud in it. To do this we have had to use a different rig: a "grabber" - a very technical term, isn't it! The grabber is a box that opens both from the top and the bottom and is attached in the center of a circular frame. When it hits the bottom of the seabed it closes around whatever is there. When we bring it up, hopefully, it will have mud as well as the sand and stones. One interesting thing about the grabber is that it also captures interesting algae, tiny starfish, a variety of rocks, etc. I will bring back samples.

We have collected about 140 samples of sediment and processed them here on board in the lab. I just spent the afternoon comparing the logbook with all the dry weight samples and making corrections where needed and entering the test tube number alongside the sample entry. For each sample we have both a sample from the top 1 CM of sediment and the next 1 - 3 CM of the sediment. (Can you find the centimeter lengths on your rulers?) Each sample has the site location, the date, the CM size of the sample, the test tube number, and the expedition name/number - I was checking that everything matched up and that the numbered (in order) dry weight test tubes were entered properly, then writing the number down. I did find errors and fixed them. Things get confused when you have a log book page for one site, then you have to make 2 or 3 more dives to actually complete the site, because you need to quickly make new test tube labels, write up a new log page, and be ready for them to come up again with hopefully a good sample. Each dive must be written up as well - briefly, but accurately. The notes on each page will tell a "story" about the site: what we encountered on the bottom (mud, sand, rock, etc.), whether the water was disturbed and cloudy, whether we could get anything at all, whether we added a new site, if they should change where the site is located for next year, etc. All these things will help the scientists back on land read and understand the numbers clearly.

We are now on our way to the Georges Bank, where we will be doing a different task. There have been blooms in a circle around Georges Bank and no one knows where they are coming from or what causes them to arise: there are a few hypotheses about this (Grade Four look up the word 'hypothesis'). There is one idea that in some very deep waters on the north of the Bank there are nutrients or foods that rise to the surface and encourage the algae bloom. We will be sending down 6 15 liter Niskin tanks (arranged in a circle on a frame) to the bottom and will capture water at "near bottom" then rise higher and capture water at "far bottom". What is going to be different is that we will have to sieve the 90 liters of water right on deck, and then take what is captured on the sieve into the lab to process, as we have been doing. However, we have word that the weather in Georges Bank is going to be bad, so we may not be able to work out on deck. Bruce Keafer, the chief scientist is hoping that we can arrive on Thursday morning after the worst of the storm and then capture water at as many of the 14 different sites as possible. You are always at the mercy of the weather out here!

I'll let you know if we hit the storm and how high the seas are. Aidan, yes, I have a couple of mud samples to bring back!
I hope everything is going fine at school, and everywhere else too!

All my love,
Mrs. Rippe

Hello everyone,
It is Sunday evening and I am waiting for my watch to begin. The Captain and Chief and First Mates are very welcoming of visitors to the bridge. It has become my post-lunch retreat, a place to get to know the crew better, do my school work (yes, of course I have work with me!), write in my journal, and enjoy the incredible view! Everyone else stays down in the main lab using their computers - but you can barely see out the portholes there! Up on the bridge you have unrestricted 200-degree view of open sea and sky. We have been out of sight of land for a couple of days, except for a few islands. We crossed into Canada today - no customs checks or anything, as all the formalities are taken care of prior to setting sail.

Who am I with out here? There are 13 on the science team and 12 crew of the Endeavor. Six of the science team are from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute: Bruce our chief scientist is leading the expedition and with him is his assistant at WHOI, 2 scientists are creating computer simulations of the nutrient flows in the Gulf of Maine and Bay of Fundy, as well as the levels of cysts and blooms over time, 2 scientists are from Spain: one is working at WHOI for 2 years, and one is working on her PhD and with WHOI for a 3 month study.

There are four students who have either completed their MS's or are working in scientific fields, one man is working on his MS researching lobsters in the Buzzard's Bay area (they are dying). There is my roommate, a woman who is studying marine science (changing careers), who has gone out on the Red Tide trips 8 times now! I am the only non-scientist on the science team, but feel fairly comfortable with everyone.

But, it would not be possible to do all the testing without the crew of this ship! They are fantastic and extremely knowledgeable. The crew works the same shifts we work and we get to know them fairly well. We all eat together, hang out in the library or chat when we meet. Lynne, a marine scientist, is the technology person on board - she can fix anything, rig anything, knows all the computer systems inside and out and has a scientist's understanding of what the goals are and how to ensure that happens. Members of the crew are in the doghouse (a small building up high above the deck) running the winch system so that the core samples can be taken. This is the person I communicate with at the start of a sample-gathering session. This is far more complicated than simply lowering a "package" into the water and drawing it out again: the speed, wind, currents, knowing how to slow down as the object nears the sediment, timing the return to surface with a very powerful system under tension require practice and skill. The crew is constantly working on repairs or maintenance of the ship and has eagle eyes for things that need to be done. If I told you the quality of the meals I have been having, you would think I'd shipped off on a holiday cruise! The Steward and Galley Man (a woman) are wonderful chefs. I have been gathering stories of how various crew members came to be on the Endeavor, learning about their hobbies while at sea and at home (I have, of course, found a few people we know in common!). One AB (Able-Bodied Seaman) writes poetry and short stories out at sea and he has given me a number of his poems inspired by sailing these waters; Grade 4 you will get to memorize one or two of these! I have been learning also the old time fishing superstitions, sea sayings, and lore. The Endeavor is fortunate to have such a congenial and committed crew to support the often-tedious tasks of the scientists!

There has been nothing around us but sea and sky, and in the evening you can almost see the imaginary hemisphere dome stretching from above us to the horizon on all sides. Haven't seen too many stars, as it's been cloudy.

Remember: "If you take care of the ship, she'll take care of you!"

Thinking of you all,
Amy

Dear Anne, Mrs. Klein and Grade 4,
My computer is up and running and I will be able to send you reports on a regular basis. Right now I am on the Endeavor, but we have not left the dock. We are docked at the URI dock, but will be sailing just as you are finishing with recorder I think! We will be sailing through the Cape Cod Canal – can you find that? We are going to travel 6 hours to our first station for testing.

I will be working two shifts each day: from 8 – 12 noon and then from 8 p.m. to 12 midnight. Right now I am scheduled to work in the laboratory getting the sediment samples ready to send on shore for slides to be made. I will be working with many different types of lab equipment and chemicals.

I have sent the web address for the location for the ship each day, perhaps Frau Duda will give these latitude and longitude numbers for you to find each day.

I’m off to bed now – have a great two weeks with Mrs. Klein!
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Hi,
It's Tuesday and we are in Buzzard's Bay and heading for our first test site. My first emails didn't go through, so I'm tacking this on to the first one.
The morning was brisk and cool, the sun was just showing itself and the water was quite calm when we set sail. Our morning was filled with lots of information! We watched a safety video and learned many of the rules of the ship for safety and for working together well. We had to try out the immersion suits - just in case we would ever need to go into the water or a life raft. We all looked like red lobsters! The suits are clumsy to get into and are very, very warm. Our life jackets, the work vests, and the immersion suits all have flashlights and whistles attached to them!

It will take us six hours to reach our first spot:
Latitude:  41 degrees 41 minutes north
Longitude: 70 degrees 40 minutes, 630 seconds west
Can you find our first site?

Love,
Mrs. Rippe

Well, I've returned to my normal life. We got into port at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday. I helped unload the cargo and then headed home. It's funny, simply daily tasks like driving a car felt funny to do after not having done it for 10 days. I am adjusting and getting my "land legs" back. Here at school on Thursday I am still swaying back and forth like I am at sea.

I am meeting with the scientists and crew of the Endeavor tonight for dinner. I really enjoyed my time with them. I can't help but have a new found respect for both the scientists and crew. In terms of the scientists, I admire their efforts to explore and better understand our world - that natural curiosity is wonderful! To the crew, who are already loading up to head out next week (with a powerful Nor’easter forecast) I admire their work. Most of the crew used to work on commercial fishing boats and have made the move to this research vessel. Working on the water is tough. When I was 17 I was really debating fishing for a living. My father is a commercial fisherman and I thought that I should too. It was my father who told me it is hard to make a living that way. Long hours, many days at sea, risky work, debts, etc. I am glad I fell into teaching!

I will remember my time onboard and share my experiences with others.