on your marks, get set...

today we finished prepping our lab and sample collection devices in
anticipation of 3 momentous events scheduled for tomorrow.

first we leave our home away from home within sight of McMurdo bound
for the Ross sea and open ocean beyond. as of now it looks like we
are going to spend more time in the Ross Sea than we were originally,
as ice conditions have been looking less than optimal in our original
destination, the Amundsen Sea. but the most recent satellite looked
better so if it continues to improve we may go back to the original
plan. of course this plays a little havoc with the amount of
resources you devote to each station and location. i know that i am
not making any more helium channels and we're not going to be able to
get them shipped after tomorrow.

then after a scheduled 5 or 6 hours of steaming we arrive at our
first test station where we see if we can orchestrate the dance of
the rosette. a rosette is a collection of bottles (10 L) that are
attached to a large metal frame. the bottles open at a specified
depth (determined by temp, salinity, and current measurement on the
way down), are brought aboard, and are then rapidly claimed by
different parties to put into collection or analysis vessels. i
can't wait to see it in action.

third we have to start our 12 hour shifts. brice and I are
responsible for nutrients and the other stuff I mentioned yesterday
and each of us needs to be awake for stations and sampling, so we
have to divide up the day. the standard is 12 to 12, but we are free
to design our own schedule. i'll miss the community, but we all have
to work 24 hour shifts otherwise so...

i have had access (SLOW) to the blog over the past few days and i
wanted to thank people for their comments. i know you have to
register with google in order to comment, but it was fun to read the
ones that were there. it will be fun for me to look at them and see
what people were thinking 50 days ago when i get back.

weather: finally cold (by princeton standards). wind chill around -25
to -30 C all day. sunny! water looks beautiful in between 3 m thick
ice cubes.