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Hello Raquel here! We are now about half way to our destination of Honolulu, Hawaii!
Already in the first half of the trip we have accomplished so much. We have taken two cores from two different sites and have been filtering seawater continuously for plankton and microplastics. Although we haven’t seen microplastics in our samples, we have been observing ‘macroplastics’ float by us from the deck. We have seen items as big as laundry baskets to small plastic water bottles.
The students have become experts on describing and sampling cores, as well as washing for microfossils. We washed about 30 samples from STEMSEAS Core 1to analyze for microfossils and later pick for stable isotope analysis. The students also made smear slides of both cores to determine the lithology with a petrographic scope. When we recovered STEMSEAS Core 2, there was a ~4cm manganese nodule right at the top of the core! In terms of nondestructive sampling, Kristen has taught the students how to use an XRF to measure elemental abundances in the two cores.
Mark and Kristen have been leading discussions and presentations about many aspects of ocean science including the distribution of marine sediments, the differences between oceanic and continental crust, and most recently atmospheric and ocean circulation. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn about the ocean from the middle of the Pacific Ocean!
The clouds finally cleared up the last couple of days and we have had sunny days and remarkable sunsets. It is amazing just how true blue to ocean looks in the middle of the Pacific. I have watched the sea surface temperatures rise, slowly but surely, as we enter tropical waters.
Everyone has been pleasantly surprised by the food on board. The cooks really know what they are doing and all of us are certain we will arrive in Hawaii a little heavier. There is dessert every night here on the Oceanus as well as a treasure chest full of ice cream treats!
Right now the students are working on interviewing the Oceanus crew, so stay tuned for our profiles on each of the crew members!
Facebook.com/STEMSEAS
Stemseashawaii.tumblr.com
