What's Happening Today - Nov. 12

Just like some day's back home, things don't work out like you expect them to. Last night, with much anticipation we sent ABE on it's first dive of this cruise to the seafloor. Unfortunately, it had some problems. We launched it again and this time it went down about half way to the seafloor, 1100 meters, but then decided that it was not happy so it did what it was supposed to ­ it released its descent weight and rose to the surface. The good news is that ABE's safety mechanisms are working well. Al Bradley and Dana Yoerger are working hard to trouble shoot the system. We were planning on doing more surveying with the DSL-120A sonar system, but that work too has been delayed today because of nagging electrical problems. The expert HMRG and DSOG electrical engineers have been trouble-shooing all day­ we're confident they'll figure out what's wrong.

The good news is that all the sonar data from the first survey is processed and we hope to be looking at preliminary maps of all three lines later this evening so we can start our geological interpretations. The other bit of news is that we were visited by a sea turtle this afternoon ­ we're hoping it will bring us luck with our equipment. People lined up on the port side to watch it swim lazily by and gaze at the dive-bombing sea birds as they swoop down to the sea surface for flying fish.

Michelle Cooper is a graduate student at the Univ. of Florida studying with Prof. Mike Perfit ­ a close colleague and friend (known to his friends as "Magma PI". Mike is a petrologist and geochemist, and he and I have been working on understanding the geochemistry of EPR lava flows for the past decade. Because we need to make repairs to the sonar system and ABE, we decided to use the time productively and get 'Mighty-Mo' - the rock corer - ready for work. We're going to do some detailed sampling of a row of volcanic cones that form a 'pillow-ridge' just west of the EPR axis near 10°N. More about this tomorrow. Michelle is helping with the rock sampling part of our program and this is her first seagoing research expedition; she's contributed some thoughts about her experience on this cruise so far.

Big news today ­ Paul caught a large squid this evening.

Best Regards,
Dan Fornari

So far, the research we've been doing is completely different than any other field work I've experienced. Even though we're at our research site it still seems like we're still so far away because we can't reach out and touch what we're looking at on the seafloor. It's neat to see the data come in over the computer screen, but I still want to be there, on the seafloor and walk along it.

As in all field work, there has been some adjustment to our normal living conditions. In some respects, it's been rather nice out here because we have air conditioning, laundry, showers, and people cooking us three meals a day. On the other hand the ground moves under your feet and your head spins. I'm amazed at the amount of sea sickness medicine available and slightly confused as to what works best. It seems everyone has a different opinion when it comes to this. I've been trying all sorts of self medication - at least I now know that geology is a better field for me than medicine.

The worst part of being out to sea has been the separation from the loved ones. However, one of the best things about being out here are the e-mails you get from them. They can brighten a whole day. Even though we're thousands of miles away it's nice that we can still communicate daily.

-Michelle Cooper

Al Duester inspecting ABE's electronics.

Mark Rongstad working on the DSL-120A sonar electronics (shown in the foreground) in the Hydro Lab on R/V Atlantis.

Akel Sterling (right) is working with Tomoko Kurokawa on processing the sonar data in the Computer Lab.

Brook Stembridge (right) is picking the latitude and longitudes of rock core positions we plan to sample this evening. Kate Buckman is writing down the positions.

Dave Sims, one of the SSSG techs. (right) and Dan Fornari launching 'Mighty-Mo' the rock corer this evening over the starboard (right) side of R/V Atlantis.

The business end of Mighty-Mo the rock corer. The white stuff is surfboard wax that is stuck in the steel cups which are inserted into the face of the corer. This gets bashed into the seafloor at a speed of 60 meters/minute using the ship's hydrographic winch. The chips of volcanic glass get stuck in the wax and are recovered when it comes on deck. We use a microwave and water to melt the wax and recover all the bits of glass. These are analyzed back on shore to determine the chemistry of the lava flow sampled.

Dan removing the cutters after the first rock core. You can see bits of black glassy chips in the wax. So far tonight we've done two very successful rock cores. Each station takes about 1.5 hours.

Brent Garry wishes his mom Betty a Happy Birthday!