by Saturday, Oct. 6th
R/V Sikuliaq
-Noah Khalsa
This morning our group was greeted by calm seas and a hearty breakfast, a good combination for recovering from battles with seasickness. Astonishingly, all members of our party were accounted for during morning lessons. We learned about identifying sediments, making smear slides, and examined ancient Antarctic planktonic microfossils. In the midst of peering through less than adequately equipped microscopes, we received a call from the bridge that there were whales, and one of the Aleutian islands visible on the port side. In a mad rush our group ascended to the bridge where we quickly crowded the windows, desperate for a glimpse of the Alaskan scenery. Unfortunately, the whales were too far away for a good view, but the island loomed in the distance shrouded by fog, a mysterious yet welcome sight.
In the afternoon we engaged in a discussion about science communication, and then broke into teams to work on our group projects. I had the opportunity to work on the analysis of environmental DNA data collected from MinION technology, the first ever to be used on an R/V. Music and chatter amongst groups filled the laboratory as data was collected and analyzed. The afternoon was interrupted by the sighting of orcas alongside the boat, and another race to spot these majestic beasts ensued.
As groups wrapped up the first day of project work, a steady stream of STEMSEAS participants and ship crew headed towards the savory smells of the mess hall. While the night carried on, some retired to an early pillow, and others manned their watches at the bridge or below deck with the engineers.
And now we can only hope that fair winds continue and scientific discoveries are made in the coming days…
