by 
Day 2
It’s official! Today is only the second day and it has beaten my last record of 24 hours for length of consecutive time on a ship. I think just about all of our Savannah State University crew had sea jelly legs, at least briefly, yesterday, but we are finally hitting our stride. The only way to know if we are going to be able to handle trips like this as scientists is by doing it and learning what works for each of us!
We have been very productive in sampling. Every hour or so, we are collecting water to study plankton populations, nitrate levels, and assorted other metrics out here in the Gulf of Mexico. We are about 80 miles from land; we passed Tampa a while back and now are headed toward Sanibel and the southern tip of Florida. I’m loving learning about the correct sampling methods for the assorted measurements. The undergraduate students are quite professional and have really risen to the task. We’ve had to use trial and error for finding the best ways to collect accurate numbers, which has been fun. Dr. Hintz and Dr. Pride have been showing us ways to rig equipment on the fly and how to respond to unforeseen circumstances.
It’s been beautiful out here! As a resident of Georgia, I had forgotten what beautiful, deep, dark blue water looked like! Georgia’s waters are very productive, but are mostly green and brown. This area of the ocean is surprisingly warm, too! I was expecting to feel the water and shiver, like I would in the Pacific, but it feels quite comfortable at 30.55 degrees Celsius. I also figure I should mention our amazing escorts. Bottlenose and spotted dolphins have been racing the boat and playing nearby. I have gotten some great shots of them! I must say, I could easily watch them frolic all day.
The food’s been wonderful and the Hugh R. Sharp research vessel is gorgeous. It’s in such great shape; it has only been around since 2005. Accommodations are comfortable and I’ve been sleeping like a log.
Well, I have to help more with sampling! We just pulled our first CTD of the trip back up! Catch you up more later!
Emily Weigel
