SOLAS INSPIRE cruise The SOLAS INSPIRE cruise set sail on 13 November and will return to Tenerife on 18 December 2007. See below for a blog from the cruise. blog 1 blog 2 blog 3 blog 4 blog 5 blog 6 blog 7 blog 8 blog 9 blog 10 Welcome to the UK-SOLAS INSPIRE cruise blog
The scientists on-board are from: the University of East Anglia, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, the University of York and the University of Plymouth. We joined the RRS Discovery on the 13th November after a few days setting up in Santa Cruz, Tenerife. We then headed South towards the Cape Verde Islands and are currently at our first study site, 17°28.24’N, 23°01.09’W. Throughout the cruise the scientists are crew will be posting photographs and text here so we can share our experiences with you. Claire Hughes (University of East Anglia)
Being at sea brings opportunities to spot marine wildlife. So far I have either seen, or heard of others seeing: various fish including flying fish, squid, dolphins, fluorescent algae or zooplankton (its hard to tell which from the deck!), a few birds have landed on the deck and a fleeting glimpse of a small whale shark. Rather more unexpected was a visitation by the owl shown in the picture here. As Principal Scientist I have the luxury of a large cabin and adjoining office on the boat deck level of the RRS Discovery. The office has 7 windows on 3 sides and an excellent view of the working starboard deck below (this is where we deploy instruments to collect most of our seawater samples and data) and the Captain Roger Chamberlain sent the photo to various people ashore and the consensus seems to be that it was a short-eared owl Asio flammeus, a migratory species that is found in the area of the Cape Verde islands. RSPB confirmed this and said it might be a northern European breeder heading to Africa for the winter. Apparently the yellow iris and streaked plumage is very distinctive. They are similar in size to the tawny owl but the tawny is a richer red-brown colour and lacks the yellow iris. They vary in length/height from 33-43cm (13-17") and have a wingspan of about 105cm. Others have been spotted previously in the Bay of Biscay and at sea between Madeira and the Canary Islands. We don’t have internet access here but you might like to check out: Whatever the detail it was a real treat to see this owl and we took it as a good omen for a successful research cruise. Best wishes to everyone ashore
I used to live in Travis Street, a street leading onto Thomson street, where all the seamen went to have a few drinks or just chill in the café run by my Mum’s friend Dorothy, where I enjoyed visiting and playing in and about tables. As I run between table legs in that café in Thomson Street, my hair was tussled and toothless smiles shaped around cigarettes or pipes beamed down on me. These were a strange lot and I often wondered what it was like in their land. Did they have a wife, children or even a mum like mine who used to come round to collect me to take me back home for supper. At night I sometimes remembered what those sailors told me and also looked at maps to find out where they lived and stare at the vast ocean they had crossed to get here. The die was set. My father, Ronny was, in his spare time, a piano player in one of the sailors pubs and he was given foreign coins and curios from these lands that were the root of many a story my father told me while looking at maps of the world and looking at strange far away islands like Socotra and Aldabra, places I would visit one day in my adult life. More useful was the groundwork he gave me in astronomy as we lay in my Nan’s garden looking up at the stars – he knew all the northern constellations and key stars and we said them out loud. Little did I know that one day I would be relying on those same stars to calculate where my ship was on the high seas. Nan and Gramps would wonder what was my dad thinking of – putting silly ideas into my head. Silly ideas! – they were my leading lights to a life on the high seas. As I got older I used to cycle down the docks and watch the ships working and gradually, from talking to the sailors on their ‘smoko’, was inducted into the many ways of getting a job at sea. For one I had to be 16 so at 15 I worked on Barry Island on the fun fair in the school holidays to get money to buy my ‘Discharge Book’ – a valuable Seaman’s Document that enabled you to look for a job at sea. Eventually my father had a word with the Personnel Officer of a company in Barry called the ‘Research Ship Unit’ and I sailed as ‘Galley Boy’ on THIS SHIP – the RRS Discovery. This was April 1972 – I was 16 years 1 month old. I HAD MADE IT. Since those days I have mostly liked my life on the high seas – visiting those places I dreamt about as a lad, meeting nice, indifferent, dour, menacing, jolly people along the way. But what is the very BEST thing? Just like ‘Star Trek’ we are ALWAYS on a voyage of ‘Discovery’. I have seen the sea at its very best with moonlight phosphorescence bewitching your soul and I have seen the 30 metre waves driven by 90 mph winds tearing and testing the very fabric of my vessel. We have named features on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (there is a small feature named after my late hamster, Rupert believe it or not!), we have sampled the sea bed 4 MILES BELOW with enormous logistical support using giant piston cores 25 metres long and weigh 5 tonnes when they are down on the sea bed. Pulling out the cores from the sea bed can see 10-15 tonnes registered on our winches which are very special pieces of machinery. I have taken my ship to the Arctic and the Antarctic and cut the waves alongside whales, dolphins, penguins and flying fish. I have seen so much BEAUTY and RAGE on this precious planet called Earth that I can honestly say I feel a very lucky man. But who has made this possible – The SCIENTISTS and their need to understand more of this wonderful planet.
This cruise is called Discovery Cruise D325 and involves scientists from the University of East Anglia and Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Although this is the first time I have sailed with Gillian Malin (the boss we call the Principal Scientist or Expedition Leader), I have sailed with many of her team before on other expeditions to many far flung, some beautiful, some hostile places. Scientists like Andy Rees, Malcolm Woodward and Laura Goldson are long time colleagues. My job and that of my officers and crew is to take the ship onto the area of interest (in this case, in and around the Cape Verde Archipelago) and hold the ship on position while the instruments are lowered into the water. No doubt the rest of the website will explain the instrumentation and what they measure. I hope I have given you an insight into the Captain’s role in this great undertaking of ours. Roger Chamberlain (Master, RRS Discovery)
George the Chief Engineer suggested the title for this blog, but if he doesn’t know I’m sure the scientists stand no chance! The RRS Discovery’s Engineering department are a mysterious lot. They appear on deck for ‘smoko’ at certain times of day and then disappear back into the hot and noisy realms of the 2 lower most decks of the ship to tend the engines. Maybe George will pen a better explanation later…….watch this space….
The redoubtable crew of the 'Discovery' 'More data! More data!' they constantly mutter The throb of the engines briefly permeated This continued data frenzy is making me falter Deckies here, deckies there, deckies everywhere So you see the gathering of data and processing too Capt. Roger Chamberlain
In Blog # 4 we introduced you to the Engineering team. Here we re-introduce 2 of them out of their boiler suits and in something a bit smarter, alongside some of the other officers on Cruise D325. The photos were taken on the Bridge of the RRS Discovery.
Malcolm does the 12-4 (noon to 1600 and midnight to 0400) and is the medical officer. Mike does the 8-12 watch. You can read Roger’s biography ‘Captain Roger Chamberlain remembers’ under INSPIRE Blog #3.
Gill Malin
The ac-9 is really as simple as a, b, c. It allows us to determine the amount of absorption (a), backscatter (b) and attenuation (c? – eh who gave attenuation the symbol ‘c’) at nine different wavelengths from the blue through into the red. It allows us to see how clear the water is at these different wavelengths; by putting flow filters on we can even hazard a guess as to what materials are absorbing or attenuating at these different wavelengths. The CTD measures conductivity, temperature and depth and allows us to correct the ac-9 signal for temperature and salinity. Finally the UV sensor tells us how the ultra-violet light is behaving through the water column; that is the reason I need the cloth cap. If the sun is obscured for a moment (even a long moment) behind a cloud then the light changes considerably, effectively taking a “bite” out of the profile and making data analysis harder. Light and straight lines – that’s all we are interested in. There are a few other things I do: we are continually monitoring surface UV and also water reflectance from above the CTD winch cabin. This does mean that I have to be up at 7 am to switch on the instruments before the sun rises every morning (no sympathy then – ok). I also have a microtops sun photometer on loan from the NASA AERONET project which, by pointing it at the sun, can determine the amount of aerosols (small particles) there are in the atmosphere. It also tells you if it is sunny or not; quite an exact science and handy to know if you want to sunbathe. What am I going to do with all these data? Well I am hoping that it all agrees with the coupled atmospheric / in-water / chemical model I have been developing. Obviously if it doesn’t the data is wrong and I will go back to sitting behind my desk living in my own little model world. On that note I found a very apt quote in one of the dusty reference books in the Discovery library (which is now propping up all the books on my shelf so that they don’t fall over) which runs thus: Truely a rare and marvellous affair. A Philosopher not in his Study but on the High Seas, far away from all Scientists and among Sailors, not in Quiet and Solitude, but amidst savage shoutings, not in Peace but in Danger of Life! So much trouble it took to write this work to which he devoted his time … Come on then, make use of the same and profit by all this which was compiled by such efforts, for which you would look in vain elsewhere and which is found here in such Abundance. Translation of part of the preface by H. Boerhaave, to his Dutch edition of the works of Count L. F. Marsilli (1786). Tim Smyth
The title for this blog will be a familiar every day phrase for most of you. However, we have found on INSPIRE cruise D325 that getting everyone from the RRS Discovery’s Deck Department in one place for a photograph requires many days of planning. To be fair this is not because they are camera shy – rather that most of them work watches (shifts 4-8, 8-12 or 8-12 day and night) so that there are always some hands on deck to help with our science. The photo you see here was taken just after an Emergency Drill involving everyone onboard. The Deck Department are an essential part of the INSPIRE team: they helped us unload all our boxes and set up our equipment when we arrived in Tenerife, they help us to deploy the equipment we use to collect samples (the CTD see Blog #7, the optics rig see Blog #8, the SAPS, rigid inflatable boat, near-surface sampler), drive the winches and cranes and help with the numerous everyday tasks that running a ship requires. Many thanks to all the ‘Deckkies’ for your support! INSPIRE Blog 10: Birthday on-board!
INSPIRE Blog 11: A bird's eye view From the Bridge of the RRS Discovery there is a great view of the deck levels below and the seascape around. It’s an ideal place for spying on the birds that visit the ship. Mike Hood the 3rd Officer is a keen photographer and, with one exception, he took the took the photos below. The odd one out is an artistic reflection on Blog #2 - see if you can spot it!
INSPIRE Blog 12: The "gunk" experiments
INSPIRE Blog 13: Murder on the high seas From the 4th to the 5th of December, alongside the science, the whole ship was engaged in ‘The Murder Game’. This was first devised by Captain Roger Chamberlain in 1986 and has been played many times on scientific research cruises under his command. You can read the full rules here.
I started off my sea going career with BP tankers as a cadet then moved on up to junior then forth Engineer, when BP made us all redundant I found myself working for Wallems ship management but still on BP tankers, but had a go on chemical tankers as well getting to the dizzy heights of third Engineer. I left Wallems to join James Fishers coastal tanker fleet. That was a wee bit of a change from working with BP tankers deep sea, with Fishers I was sailing as Chief and as cook, as in them days they did not carry cooks and we all had to take turns at cooking (some more than others). I had my old cook book from my college days – something like “student meals for one” all I did was to increase the ingredients by eight, and that seemed to work OK – well nobody complained or died of food poisoning. From the coastal fleet I was transferred to their offshore fleet where I had to sail as second until I got my Chief’s ticket which I got first time (that was a good day). On the offshore fleet I sailed on dive support, drill and cable ships - all good stuff. I was made redundant along with everybody else one day, and the next day the personnel manager phoned up and asked, since he knew I was interested in science and trying to do a degree in engineering with the OU, if I would like a job with a scientific research ship for just one trip; and here I am 3 years later. I've been round most parts of the world, except for the corner where China, Japan, Korea and the north Pacific part all are. I've sailed up in the gulf during the first Gulf War where Iran and Iraq were blowing bits out of each other and the merchant navy was losing ships and nobody was too bothered. I've sailed down to the Falklands during that little conflict in BP tankers. At least that was a British war and I had a good reason to be scared. I've been fired at by native Indians in Brazil with bow and arrows and very nasty missiles in the Gulf by somebody? And by the Royal Navy – twice – due to the fact we crossed into their live firing range when nobody told us it was there!!!!. I've had a good few beers in some of the strangest bars and met a lot of very interesting people, and in general, so far had a good time (you tend to forget the bad times quickly). Why did I want to come to sea, well there was this programme on the telly ages ago called “Para Handy” about a wee Clyde puffer and watching the ships engineer “MacPhail” with his oily rag in his back pocket and his penny novelette in his top pocket (I did say it was on a long time ago) I thought there’s the job for me – and here I am. Total time at sea 1977 to 2007 - if I committed a "murder" I would be out by now! INSPIRE Blog 15: Linking marine microbes and climate Green plants are the basis of all life on earth; they provide us either directly or indirectly with the food that we eat and help to regulate our climate. On this research cruise, I am measuring phytoplankton photosynthesis and, with colleagues Gareth Lee and Claire Hughes from the University of East Anglia who measure the iodocarbon gases, we are trying to tease apart the link between phytoplankton carbon fixation through photosynthesis and iodocarbon production. We have various systems of doing this including on deck incubation chambers and photosynthetrons or light boxes which are set at different light intensities to see how much carbon the phytoplankton fix at different light levels. Using a carbon tracer we can detect its uptake by the phytoplankton at different light levels and measure the corresponding release of the iodocarbons. If we find this link to be true, then we may find that the phytoplankton play a dual role in regulating our climate, by not only absorbing CO2 from our atmosphere, but also by releasing compounds that form clouds which reflects heat back to the atmosphere thus helping to cool our earth and slowing down the accelerating global warming. Gavin Tilstone (Plymouth Marine Laboratory)
Well spotted sunbathers, “10 out of 10” but did anyone see that sailing yacht “attacking” our starboard side, while we were hove to on Scientific Station Bravo, off the northern shores of the Cape Verde Islands, last 25th November? The indignant yacht, heading towards the nearby main Port of Mindelo, quoted over the VHF Radio my almost stationary course and speed and wanted to know where we were heading, and, effectively, what we were doing in his way! After all, power must always give way to sail, mustn’t it?! Actually no! Certainly not in the case of vessels restricted in their ability to manoeuvre, as is applicable when we are hove to, or nearly stopped in the water, conducting Scientific Operations and displaying our black ball, diamond and ball shapes. The shapes act as day marks, warning other shipping in the vicinity, to keep clear. At night, the equivalent meaning of the shapes is displayed by the “Red White Red” all round lights, shown in a vertical line, one over the other, on the main mast, above the Bridge. I had to point out the significance of our shapes to the approaching yacht that, in fact, the duty was his own to keep clear! Whereupon, the VHF at last lapsed into an embarrassed silence and the yacht, that shall remain nameless, altered course around our stern! The conduct of all vessels is bound by the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea of 1972. The requirement for this ship to exhibit the shapes you see over the fo'c’sle, while conducting Scientific Operations is contained in Rule 27(b)(ii) of these Regulations. Annex 1, to the same Rules prescribes the positioning and technical details of these shapes. For instance, the ball shall have a diameter of not less than 0.6m, while a diamond shape shall consist of two cones with a common base diameter of 0.6m, also equal to the cone heights. The vertical distance between the shapes is required to be at least 1.5m. The colour of the shapes is required, under the 1972 Rules, to be black. But it is an interesting fact that prior to that time the “ball diamond ball” shapes were coloured “red white red,” respectively, in order to match the colour of the equivalent lights, as exhibited by night. This part of the Rules was amended in 1972, to black, because it was hard to distinguish the white diamond, between the two red balls, by day.
Another remarkable fact is that our shapes were constructed by blind people, at the Royal National Institute for the Blind, in Cardiff! It is wonderful that those without sight can be employed to help those with perfect sight to navigate the Seas safely, through their visual recognition of these signal shapes. The use of shapes and flag signals originates from the days before VHF Radio and, more recently, the Automated Information System (AIS) were introduced. Our shapes were used in conjunction with International Code Flags such as “letter India over Romeo” and “letter Kilo over Juliet.” These signals still serve today as a very efficient way of describing, without risk of misinterpretation, the precise activity upon which vessels are engaged, without the need for a lengthy and distracting VHF conversation. For instance, “IR” means, “I am engaged in Submarine Survey Work (Underwater Operations.) Keep clear of me and go slow.” “KJ” means, “I am towing a submerged object.” The advantage of the new Automated Information System (AIS) that utilises a Transponder is that ships and suitably equipped craft, well beyond visual range are warned of our Special Operations electronically, through their AIS Receivers and interfaces to Radar display equipment. This System is a real bonus when conducting Scientific Operations near to high concentrations of vessel Traffic and significantly reduces the time spent in both identifying and calling individual vessels that would require adequate warning, to safely avoid our vessel and any outlying gear. We are still required to exhibit our shapes and also available are International Code Flags but such visual signals are dependent on visibility in different weather conditions and may not always be seen at sufficient range. Hence the need to supplement these with other means of communication. So now you know! Malcolm H. Graves.
My PhD, and the work that I've been doing on this cruise, is to measure trace metal concentrations and fractions in the Atlantic. Specifically this cruise I have mysteriously disappeared into my air-conned clean container, stayed there for varying amounts of time and emerged some hours later blinking in the sunlight. In fact there is no mystery, rather an awful lot of rinsing with Milli-Q (purified water), seawater and hydrochloric acid, much filtering of samples and a bit of pipetting to acidify my samples until I get back to the lab in Plymouth, where I will be analysing the metal (iron, zinc, cobalt and Copper) addition bioassay incubations of Andy, Jo and Darren (Plymouth Marine Lab) to determine the concentrations of the dissolved and particulate phases of the trace metals of interest. We're now coming towards the end of the cruise (it is now day 4 of station E - just one more station to go) and I've loved every minute of it – well perhaps not the 0330-0400 starts! I've learnt a lot, met some fantastic people, made new friends, collected enough samples to keep me out of trouble for a while - and can't wait until next time...oh, and the food's been something else (thanks guys!). Rachel Shelley
Our knowledge of the ocean has increased dramatically since the advent of satellite sensors that allow the ocean to be observed from space. The INSPIRE D325 research cruise has been guided by satellite imagery supplied to us daily by email by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) Earth Observation Data Acquisition and Analysis Service (NEODAAS) which is based at Plymouth Marine Laboratory. Examples of the images we have received are included here. The images show ocean colour in the surface layers of the Atlantic Ocean. This can then be converted to chlorophyll concentration – the photosynthetic pigment found in the unicellular plant-like organisms in the sea using equations that have been derived from data collected from many research cruises over the years.
The colour scales on the images represent chlorophyll in mg per metre cubed and then this can be related to primary production levels. For the INSPIRE cruise we have studied 6 sites for 4 days each choosing 2 low, 2 medium and 2 high productivity water sites and we used the satellite images to choose sites that we could reach in the time available for our cruise. Our data from analysis of waters from different depths from these sites suggests that we achieved this aim. I would like to take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to the whole shore-based NEODAAS ‘Cruise Support’ team, especially Rory Hutson, Jamie Shutler, Peter Miller, Stephen Willey and Mike Grant who sent the images through to us each day. Gill Malin
Finally we docked back in Tenerife on 17th December 2007! The science concluded on Saturday 15th December and we had a ‘Turkey and Tinsel’ dinner on Sunday night followed by a party to celebrate the end of the research cruise. After the science was done the job of packing of the equipment commenced. The INSPIRE team did not travel light and we have just finished loading 2 shipping containers worth to get back to the UK. The data has been backed up and we have one final evening in Tenerife before flying home tomorrow 19th December. The email system will be switched off in less than an hour so this is being written in haste!
Thanks for reading our blog! There are so many great photos left that we may add a few more in the New Year to round it all off. Thanks to all the scientists and marine Techs for all their hard work. Thanks to the shore-based support team. Huge thanks also to the Deck Crew, Catering & Steward, Engineers, all the Officers onboard for their fantastic support of cruise D325. ….and finally many thanks to the NERC UK Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) for the funding for D325.
|
INSPIRE stands for the Investigation of the Near Surface Production of Iodocarbons: Rates and Exchanges. We are here in the tropical Atlantic (around Cape Verde) studying the production of trace gases that contain iodine. These gases are produced in the surface of the ocean and, as they are volatile, transfer in to the atmosphere where they play a role in controlling the ozone budget and the abundance of new particles (or possible cloud condensation nuclei). Our job during this cruise (D325) is to work out what the iodocarbon concentrations are in this region, where they’re coming from and how much is being emitted to the atmosphere. To achieve this we will be carrying out a combination of water column sampling and incubation studies.
surrounding seascape. On 14/11/07 whilst we were in transit between Tenerife and our first sampling station, I had just printed a document and stood up to collect it from the printer that sits near the window behind the table where I have my computer. There was quite a large bird on the rail just outside no more than 1.5 m in front of me and immediately I recognised the unmistakeable large yellow eyes of an owl were staring back at me. A real Harry Potter moment though he didn’t tap the window or have a message in his/her beak! I have never seen a non-captive owl so close and never expected to see such a sight at sea. It continued to stare whilst I quickly grabbed my camera and the picture. I was just about to zoom the camera in for another picture when it took off and swooped elegantly alongside the starboard side, towards the aft end of the ship and away into the distance. Three people were sitting along the deck, but sadly they were engrossed in their papers and conversations and did not see the owl’s swooping fly past. I am glad that I managed to get a photo as a couple of the scientists seriously doubted my sanity before they saw the proof! 
When I was a boy I used to live in a bustling Seaport called Barry in South Wales. Places called Thompson Street and Dock View Road was where the sailors came, getting ashore from the many ships that were moored alongside the grimy and bustling quaysides. There was a myriad of tongues, foreign hues and features that made me question what was it like to be a sailor quite early in life.
So far during the INSPIRE research cruise we have analysed, processed and done incubation experiments on seawater samples taken from depths between 2 and 450 metres. Most of the time we focus on the top 100 metres of the water column. Taking seawater samples at depth is done using the instrumentation package shown in the photographs below. We call this the ‘CTD’ and we have 2 of them onboard. One has a stainless steel frame and 20 litre size bottles and the other a titanium frame and 10 litre bottles to allow trace metal clean sampling being done by one of the research groups onboard. They also carry a range of instruments to measure conductivity, temperature, depth (this is 
We have 4 technicians onboard from the National Marine Facility in Southampton and one of their jobs is to keep the CTD’s functioning, prepare them for deployment, help to get it into and out of the water, fire the bottles via the computer system and save the all-important data files. You can see 2 of them, Chris and Dave, in one of the photos – sorry guys we promise to show your faces later! In another photo you can see Denise Cummings from Plymouth Marine Laboratory collecting seawater into a brown glass bottle for analysis of volatile iodocarbons. 
The opening gambit that I get to most conversations on board ship is: “Well Tim, what actually are you doing?” It is probably because I keep to different hours to most people; there is not the communal spirit of the early morning (I’ve heard rumours that it is 4 o’clock in the morning – a time that would make most milkman wince) CTD. Others look with envy on my hour in the sun around noon, from their artificially lit labs and air conditioning. How hard can it be to stand around in the sun for an hour ordering Steve, Gerry, Paul and (Dan) Dave around as we slowly (painfully slowly) raise the optics rig up from depth? What is it that he is doing with his cloth cap and squinting at the sun in the manner attributed to Aiken and Hooker? Well the answer to it all is optics. There simply is no point to doing optics in the dark as, well, there is no light. So here’s the science bit. On the optics rig there are several instruments: an FRRF (or if you are from the Westcountry FRRRRRRRF); an ac-9; a CTD and a UV sensor. 
The FRRF is a flashy instrument which flashes short pulses of blue light and, in return the phytoplankton “flash” back in the red. A bit like a conversation really. The FRRF asks: “How are you today?” and the phytoplankton reply either “I’m really well thank you” or “Not too good today” or “I’m a bit poorly and I need a bit more light” or “Too much light aaaaaaarrrrrggghhh”. As far as we know the FRRF cannot answer back to the phytoplankton. 
Celebrating your birthday away from the folks back home is never easy but it makes a big difference when the people you are with make every effort to ensure that you have a fantastic time. I celebrated my 31st birthday on-board RRS Discovery on 30th November and the captain, crew and scientists made sure that it was a very special day. I left my cabin on the big day to find a trail of ‘Happy Birthday’ banners and balloons around the ship. If that wasn’t enough I was treated to a special birthday dinner later that day and the most fantastic ‘death by chocolate’ birthday cake prepared by Tulip and Peter. Thank you to all on board for making it a day to remember!
Thanks to George Parkinson (Chief Engineer) for the photo and caption and Gerry Cooper (Seaman) for the idea.
Although the oceans are full of life there is lots of dead stuff in there as well. As phytoplankton die they clump together and form large particles that are hotspots of microbial activity. A few years ago I found that this dead stuff produces the iodocarbon compounds that we’re out here to study. On this cruise I’m collecting this dead stuff known as aggregates (or affectionately termed ‘gunk’ by Dave Teare) from different depths in the water column and investigating if this is a significant source of the iodocarbons in this ocean region. I’m sampling the aggregates using stand-alone pumps or SAPS that p
ump large volumes of seawater across filters and concentrate particles to provide me with enough material to carry out my incubations. I measure the iodocarbons using a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer, a big machine that tells me which chemical compounds are in my seawater samples and at what concentrations they’re present. So far so good …. it seems that aggregates from the tropical Atlantic do indeed produce iodocarbons!
My name is George Parkinson and at present I’m the Chief Engineer on board the RRS Discovery. I’ve been permanent Chief here for the last six months and sailed as temporary Chief about three times. I have been with the Natural Environment Research Council for about three years, so I still find science and all that goes on interesting.
If it were not for plants, we would not have been able to colonise the earth as through photosynthesis, they give us the oxygen that we cannot survive without for more than a few minutes. On land we are accustomed to majestic green fields and forests, which remain static, in the same place from year to year. The sea is inhabited by microscopic plants called phytoplankton. They get their name from the Greek words, ‘phyto’, meaning plant and ‘plankton’, meaning wandering. They are the wandering or drifting plants of the oceans and drift around these vast expanses of water driven by the winds, currents and tides. There are literally hundreds of thousands of phytoplankton in a single drop of sea water. Imagine looking up through the leaf canopy of a forest seeing the dappled light through luminescent green leaves. If you were 200 metres below the surface of the ocean and looked up, you would encounter millions upon millions of these single celled plants which collectively are denser than any forest on planet earth. Some of them float suspended in coiled chains whilst are able to ‘swim’ through the water using tiny flagellae. The phytoplankton absorb more CO2 from our atmosphere than all land plants, and thus play an integral role in regulating our climate.
We have been at sea sampling between Tenerife (20°N) and Cape Verde (16°N) for the past month, trying to unravel some of the mysteries of what makes the sea produce certain climate change related gases. We are studying a group of compounds called the iodocarbons, which are iodine based gases that are thought to play a role in mitigating climate change by producing cloud forming nuclei, which seed clouds, and in turn, shield the earth from further heating, thus reducing global warming. There are various possible mechanisms by which these compounds are produced in the ocean: either from phytoplankton; from bacteria that are either free living or that feed on the phytoplankton; or by photolysis, a light driven process which splits dissolved material in the ocean into gases. 
The black ball, diamond and another ball, in a vertical line (well nearly) one over the other and all over our fo’c’sle, what do they mean?
After a five year implementation period, in June 1977, the present Master, Captain Roger Chamberlain remembers painting shapes, similar to those on the fo’c’sle, from the “red white red” colourings to all black, while serving on this same ship, as an Efficient Deck Hand!
My name is Rachel Shelley and I'm in the first year of my PhD at the University of Plymouth. I've been very lucky to have had the opportunity to come to sea at such an early stage. I was very excited about coming on
my first cruise - and one to the tropics during a cold, wet UK winter was just the icing on the cake - although it was also slightly daunting...have I packed everything I'll need, both in terms of equipment and personal
effects was the major concern - oh, and keeping everything 'trace metal clean'.
The work of the INSPIRE project doesn’t end here……we have lots of data to analyse and the modellers will commence their part of the project once that has been done.
|
|