Today at 2am I saw the Northern Lights for the first time. It started as a hazy ambient light on the horizon and grew to a foggy grey arc in the distance. Then it distorted along the top and before I knew it, a greyish-green stripe appeared in the middle of this pseudo-fog bank. Very cool. I can now half cross it off the life checklist...I'm holding out for a full blown dancing display.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Saturday, July 23, 2011
COSEE Part One
COSEE: A 8 day cruise packed full of scientist agendas, working like crazy around the clock. Oh, and high school teachers get to learn how science is done on the Great Lakes. My shift is 8pm to 8am (special thanks to Max for taking this trip off to move).
Prior to this cruise though, I manage to drop a 100+ lb stainless steel filtering apparatus on my shin/foot resulting in significant bruising and minor bleeding. Lesson learned, take the time to disassemble, rather than the time it takes to kill one's self.
After a couple days of teachers and scientists coming aboard with their luggage and equipment respectively, I was itching to leave port. After too many days, there is very little to do. Things are clean. Broken things are fixed. Time is spent idle and uncomfortable. Finally, after some teacher field trips and orientations were finished, we were set to depart.
Immediately, one of their 'test instruments' a 'Manta trawl' was an initial failure. Obviously so. The design gave to no chance to skim the surface for plastics. Dive. Dive. Dive. We were the first to try this method of sampling on the Great Lakes (and it eventually worked, with some design improvements) so that was pretty neat.
The first night out of Duluth, we were doing sampling just off the coast of the city. It looked great from the water. The boat's safety officer (kind of an odd fellow) spent the first 23 years of his life in Duluth and yet could not tell Duluth from 'Port Black', a false name given in response to "what city is that?" by the ordinary seaman, Russ. High comedy.
At this moment, I am in Houghton, Michigan. Look it up. Pretty remote place. We decided to duck in here, because there was a weather event that started during the night. Russ and I dominated it, thought. 6 ft seas, 30kt winds and we were loving it. Eventually, the Captain and the science team decided it would be best to stop sampling until the event passed. So here we are, Houghton, Michigan. Yet another location protected from the intense heat wave hitting the rest of the country at 56 deg F.
Prior to this cruise though, I manage to drop a 100+ lb stainless steel filtering apparatus on my shin/foot resulting in significant bruising and minor bleeding. Lesson learned, take the time to disassemble, rather than the time it takes to kill one's self.
After a couple days of teachers and scientists coming aboard with their luggage and equipment respectively, I was itching to leave port. After too many days, there is very little to do. Things are clean. Broken things are fixed. Time is spent idle and uncomfortable. Finally, after some teacher field trips and orientations were finished, we were set to depart.
Immediately, one of their 'test instruments' a 'Manta trawl' was an initial failure. Obviously so. The design gave to no chance to skim the surface for plastics. Dive. Dive. Dive. We were the first to try this method of sampling on the Great Lakes (and it eventually worked, with some design improvements) so that was pretty neat.
The first night out of Duluth, we were doing sampling just off the coast of the city. It looked great from the water. The boat's safety officer (kind of an odd fellow) spent the first 23 years of his life in Duluth and yet could not tell Duluth from 'Port Black', a false name given in response to "what city is that?" by the ordinary seaman, Russ. High comedy.
At this moment, I am in Houghton, Michigan. Look it up. Pretty remote place. We decided to duck in here, because there was a weather event that started during the night. Russ and I dominated it, thought. 6 ft seas, 30kt winds and we were loving it. Eventually, the Captain and the science team decided it would be best to stop sampling until the event passed. So here we are, Houghton, Michigan. Yet another location protected from the intense heat wave hitting the rest of the country at 56 deg F.
Monday, July 18, 2011
Superior sailing
My first trip to Lake Superior was courtesy of Clarkson University faculty and student (from Uganda, working on his pH.D), who were investigating the relationship between atmospheric pollutants (pharmaceuticals/personal hygiene products) and the Great Lakes. We set up high volume air filters and ran lakewater through 3 different pumps (surface, midlevel, mercury filtered) for these people at two 24 hr stations (Keweenaw Point and the Apostle Islands). Everything went as planned. No excitement at all.
We dropped the science team off in Superior, WI instead of the original plan of Duluth, MN due to a Maritime Festival with an abundance of tall ships in port. This meant that for most of the crew, travel was restricted to Superior, a poorer suburb of Duluth about 15 min by car outside the city.
However, I was very lucky. My awesome girlfriend decided to come visit in Duluth and booked a hotel and rental car!
This made for a much richer experience for me, not just sleeping in a bed I could actually sprawl out in. We both toured the city by foot, checked out the local eateries before taking a scenic drive about an hour north to see the sights. Unfortunately, due to the economic strain, Minnesota decided to shut down their government during her stay. We were unable to see Split Rock Lighthouse (settled for a very very foggy picnic) but we were able to enjoy the lovely Gooseberry Falls and the Two Harbors Light. Definitely a nice trip. The roads reminded me of the drive to Quebec from Skowhegan, ME, very rural, with the presence of urban sprawl.
It should be noted that the average heat index was in the mid-90's with a humidity of around 80% minimum during my time here. Very sticky. Next time I stop in Duluth, it has work to do.
We dropped the science team off in Superior, WI instead of the original plan of Duluth, MN due to a Maritime Festival with an abundance of tall ships in port. This meant that for most of the crew, travel was restricted to Superior, a poorer suburb of Duluth about 15 min by car outside the city.
However, I was very lucky. My awesome girlfriend decided to come visit in Duluth and booked a hotel and rental car!
This made for a much richer experience for me, not just sleeping in a bed I could actually sprawl out in. We both toured the city by foot, checked out the local eateries before taking a scenic drive about an hour north to see the sights. Unfortunately, due to the economic strain, Minnesota decided to shut down their government during her stay. We were unable to see Split Rock Lighthouse (settled for a very very foggy picnic) but we were able to enjoy the lovely Gooseberry Falls and the Two Harbors Light. Definitely a nice trip. The roads reminded me of the drive to Quebec from Skowhegan, ME, very rural, with the presence of urban sprawl.
It should be noted that the average heat index was in the mid-90's with a humidity of around 80% minimum during my time here. Very sticky. Next time I stop in Duluth, it has work to do.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
The Saga Continues...
The problem child was at it again (the Triaxus, Max, not you)...Max, the MT whose shift I relieve, knocked on my door after 4 hours of restless sleep. It was only 9.30pm, my shift starts at 11.45pm, what was going on THIS time?
Apparently the Triaxus had managed to fly into a piece of debris or something, causing a significant tension spike on the smartcable. The plan was to bring it on deck for a quick inspection and then release it if nothing was damaged too badly (all of the data recording instruments continued to work flawlessly). We were all ready to execute this plan until we both realized that the smart cable was not working anymore, stranding the Triaxus behind us. We tried switching the winch controls to remote and then local locations, turning the winch off for a 10 count, but none of this was working. Soon enough, the whole boat was awake. The Captain looked at the inside wiring, but everything checked out. Eventually, we turned the winch off for a longer period of time, say 2 minutes, and somehow this worked. With the winch operational again, we brought the Triaxus on deck to find that one of the 4 pontoons had taken a direct hit to the front, crumpling the cone shape flat, as you might see a defective milk jug base. Embedded in the wound was a few chips of old looking wood. A tree? A mast? Any guess is as good as the other. I told Captain I would make him a T-Shirt stating "Nearshore Towing Rules!"; he had previously stated that he hates nearshore towing, because its a suicide mission. Not exactly what he envisioned when he requested the Triaxus to match the people at UMinnesota (who do deep water measurements, as the Captain wanted). Apparently this damage was quite minor compared to other incidents in the past and the Triaxus was redeployed and was not troublesome during my shift, at least.
Side note: The Triaxus is made of carbon fiber, and there is a local RaceCar body repair guy in Milwaukee who is on speed-dial for these occasions. The last bill was for only $3,500, a small sum in my estimation, especially seeing this most recent 'ding' and it being called a scratch in comparison.
Apparently the Triaxus had managed to fly into a piece of debris or something, causing a significant tension spike on the smartcable. The plan was to bring it on deck for a quick inspection and then release it if nothing was damaged too badly (all of the data recording instruments continued to work flawlessly). We were all ready to execute this plan until we both realized that the smart cable was not working anymore, stranding the Triaxus behind us. We tried switching the winch controls to remote and then local locations, turning the winch off for a 10 count, but none of this was working. Soon enough, the whole boat was awake. The Captain looked at the inside wiring, but everything checked out. Eventually, we turned the winch off for a longer period of time, say 2 minutes, and somehow this worked. With the winch operational again, we brought the Triaxus on deck to find that one of the 4 pontoons had taken a direct hit to the front, crumpling the cone shape flat, as you might see a defective milk jug base. Embedded in the wound was a few chips of old looking wood. A tree? A mast? Any guess is as good as the other. I told Captain I would make him a T-Shirt stating "Nearshore Towing Rules!"; he had previously stated that he hates nearshore towing, because its a suicide mission. Not exactly what he envisioned when he requested the Triaxus to match the people at UMinnesota (who do deep water measurements, as the Captain wanted). Apparently this damage was quite minor compared to other incidents in the past and the Triaxus was redeployed and was not troublesome during my shift, at least.
Side note: The Triaxus is made of carbon fiber, and there is a local RaceCar body repair guy in Milwaukee who is on speed-dial for these occasions. The last bill was for only $3,500, a small sum in my estimation, especially seeing this most recent 'ding' and it being called a scratch in comparison.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Adrenaline shift
Today's 6am-noon shift was one to put into the books.
I woke up at 5.15am and soon thereafter the MT I was relieving knocked at my door, telling me we were 'on station' and needed my assistance. So I hurriedly ran down to the wetlab and got everything ready. Skipping breakfast. Not good. Still in the am fog (in my head, not outside), we deployed the Rosette, flawlessly and then moved to the Triaxus. This is where things got interesting. I was in charge of the Triaxus once it entered the water, and I acted within protocol to a 'T' from my end. Unfortunately, the inexperienced mate, in charge of the boat during my watch, had come up to towing speed faster than I could safely pay out cable to the Triaxus and the result was a machine that was 90 deg off center, trying to right itself, while skiing behind the boat at 6 kts. The result of this was an intense amount of chirping in my ear questioning my actions. I was just happy I could see the Triaxus, I told the mate to slow the boat down until the Triaxus submerged, when it did, everything ran smoothly (almost). There were some glitches in the software that were not interfering...yet. At this point, I was wide awake, and ready for breakfast.
The next fun time came exactly 6 hrs later, when I was being relieved. Tell me if this sounds familiar: Rosette went spectacularly, Triaxus in the water, everything going well. Yes? Well as soon at the MT that was relieving me went to change into comfortable footwear and fetch some iced coffee, the software froze in front of me. This is kinda awful. And it froze at the bottom of an undulation. About 2 m from the bottom. No communication. I started running through failsafe options. Click. Nope. Click. Nope. Pay in cable? Nope, not that. I look up and there is the Triaxus, at the surface, correctly oriented. Apparently, if communication is broken this is what it does. I tell the Captain to slow down while I sprint out and reel the sucker in. Looks ok? Maybe? The other MT returns and reboots the software, we re-pay out the cable and start the program...it seems as though I was able to avoid being fired TWICE in one day. It could possibly be a miracle, if there ever was one. I hate this machine. Stop towing it nearshore, EPA, it is not reliable.
I woke up at 5.15am and soon thereafter the MT I was relieving knocked at my door, telling me we were 'on station' and needed my assistance. So I hurriedly ran down to the wetlab and got everything ready. Skipping breakfast. Not good. Still in the am fog (in my head, not outside), we deployed the Rosette, flawlessly and then moved to the Triaxus. This is where things got interesting. I was in charge of the Triaxus once it entered the water, and I acted within protocol to a 'T' from my end. Unfortunately, the inexperienced mate, in charge of the boat during my watch, had come up to towing speed faster than I could safely pay out cable to the Triaxus and the result was a machine that was 90 deg off center, trying to right itself, while skiing behind the boat at 6 kts. The result of this was an intense amount of chirping in my ear questioning my actions. I was just happy I could see the Triaxus, I told the mate to slow the boat down until the Triaxus submerged, when it did, everything ran smoothly (almost). There were some glitches in the software that were not interfering...yet. At this point, I was wide awake, and ready for breakfast.
The next fun time came exactly 6 hrs later, when I was being relieved. Tell me if this sounds familiar: Rosette went spectacularly, Triaxus in the water, everything going well. Yes? Well as soon at the MT that was relieving me went to change into comfortable footwear and fetch some iced coffee, the software froze in front of me. This is kinda awful. And it froze at the bottom of an undulation. About 2 m from the bottom. No communication. I started running through failsafe options. Click. Nope. Click. Nope. Pay in cable? Nope, not that. I look up and there is the Triaxus, at the surface, correctly oriented. Apparently, if communication is broken this is what it does. I tell the Captain to slow down while I sprint out and reel the sucker in. Looks ok? Maybe? The other MT returns and reboots the software, we re-pay out the cable and start the program...it seems as though I was able to avoid being fired TWICE in one day. It could possibly be a miracle, if there ever was one. I hate this machine. Stop towing it nearshore, EPA, it is not reliable.
Friday, July 1, 2011
The jobkiller encounter
Its name? Triaxus. A million dollar piece of data collecting machinery that gets towed behind the ship at 6kts moving up and down and up and down and up and down...a line on a computer screen...but I cannot fall asleep, because if it breaks from the program for one second....its claimed 3 jobs already...almost one job that wasn't even involved. Thankfully, watches were not staggered for us MT's and 3 heads are better than one rookie's guess and the result was the first successful Triaxus survey in a year! We are legends. I get to do it SOLO for the first time next week...should be interesting. No pressure.
Back here in Milwaukee...
My first paycheck went through! How exciting! I can take a deep breathe of increased financial stability...
...but I can't breathe TOO deeply. Today, with high winds from the south, the coal field/hill/mountain next door lost some of its product and as a result, it rained coal all day today. Hair, skin, eyes, throat. To recap: winds from east = sewage, south = coal rain.
We also filled the boat up with fuel for the first time since I arrived 3 weeks ago...at about 2/3 empty...the bill was $100K...our trip to Lake Erie and back accounted for $31K of that total. I'll just put that on my Mastercard....
Back here in Milwaukee...
My first paycheck went through! How exciting! I can take a deep breathe of increased financial stability...
...but I can't breathe TOO deeply. Today, with high winds from the south, the coal field/hill/mountain next door lost some of its product and as a result, it rained coal all day today. Hair, skin, eyes, throat. To recap: winds from east = sewage, south = coal rain.
We also filled the boat up with fuel for the first time since I arrived 3 weeks ago...at about 2/3 empty...the bill was $100K...our trip to Lake Erie and back accounted for $31K of that total. I'll just put that on my Mastercard....
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