by Being on the ocean amidst all the science equipment, crew members and ocean turbulence, I feel more like being inside one of National Geographic documentaries, an experience that I have always thought existed only behind a TV screen rather than being able to experience it in real-life. I do not know where to start, but I hope I could take whoever is reading this article through a short journey by sharing some anecdotes that I hope I will keep narrating.
You might think launching a rocket from a ship seems like a science fiction, but it actually is not on the board of the Sikuliaq. One of the scientists let me drop an XBT, which is a probe that looks like a small rocket, connected to a wire to send the data recordings to the analytical lab and dropped to the ocean to measure the temperature. As I held the launcher near the side of the ship, I waited for the signal to cast it. I then disconnected the probe from its copper wire that was holding it as it reached a water depth of 760 meter. I really enjoyed the experience of handling and learning about a new scientific device.
Sometimes at night when I cannot fall asleep, I would explore the vessel hoping to end up somewhere interesting, such as the bridge. The bridge is a place where crew members on shift are there. At night when the bridge is all dark to let the crew able to see outside of the windows, the ship screens, with all their navigating maps that are well lit, and the controller chair in the middle resemble the inside of a robot knight from futuristic cartoons I used to watch as a kid. One of the crew members showed me how they control the ship with the autopilot. He also taught me basic navigation skills, such as manually marking the ship position on the map (which is something they do every hour), and then comparing it to the position on the screen to see if the expected position match where the ship should be located.
For now, I am hoping to learn more about my surrounding and encounter more fascinating things I can share. But mostly, I am looking forward to a clear night where I can hopefully see the Milky Way!
From the Pacific Ocean to the land,
Yasmin Sharbaf
