|
Although we have some really
great pictures of Christchurch and Lyttelton, New Zealand, most
of our time was spent unpacking our supplies and setting up our
lab space on the ship. When we arrived on October 22, the Bio Lab
was so full of boxes that we couldn’t all be in there at the
same time. And there was another pile of approximately the same
size on the fantail of the ship. I wish we had pictures, but we
were too overwhelmed to think of taking any at the time! Both WHOI
and USC groups brought several boxes of
essential equipment from home, but these comprised only a small
portion of the supplies necessary for our work at sea.
Why so much stuff? No, it wasn’t clothes - all of our cold
weather gear (jackets, gloves, boots) was given to us by Raytheon
once we arrived (we have to give it back to them at the end of the
trip). So many supplies are necessary because we are essentially
setting up a fully functional laboratory from scratch. That means
we need certain equipment, reagents, kits, disposable plastics,
and chemicals (supplied by the ship, NSF and ourselves). Most of
these things cannot be brought from home due to shipping restrictions
and requirements, so they are ordered and sent to the ship. This
process
requires a huge amount of coordination and cargo consolidation,
and it is sometimes amazing that anything gets to where it is supposed
to be going at all. Take a look at the picture of the cargo pier
in Lyttelton. Those containers are used to transport cargo all
over the world, by ship, truck and airplane. The good news is that
all of our supplies arrived and we managed to get everything unpacked
and in place before leaving the dock.
You’ll notice that everything is attached to the benches in
some manner – mostly by bungee cord. When we go out to sea,
the ship will start rolling and pitching, and even in calm weather
things can slide or roll off of the benches. We also make sure that
everything is secure before leaving the dock because most of us
get seasick for the first few days of the trip, and one of the last
things you want to
be doing when you are nauseated is trying to secure instruments.
Our group made an offering to King Neptune as we left port to ensure
smooth sailing, although what passes for calm seas in the Southern
Ocean is lumpier than most of us are used to. We are hoping he likes
the Pringles chips.
-Matt Travao
|
