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The Project Part 1: Part 2: Part 3:
| Daily JournalJanuary 26, 2005:
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The white arrow shows the location of the New Horizon, as seen from space. |
Today we are still en route to our main station in the Gulf of California. We will not arrive for three more days. In the mean time, we made a brief stop to check the CTD, which will be used to collect water samples and measure water properties of salinity, temperature, fluorescence (which is related to plant abundance), and transmissometry (a measurement for how clear the water is -- how do you think an increase of plants will affect this measurement?). Chris also used the opportunity to make sure his ‘GoFlo’ water bottles are ready to go. These bottles remain closed until a certain pressure is reached in the water column, which trips open an entry port for water. These tests required help from the ship’s crew: Rob, the science technician; Bill, the A/B (able-bodied seaman); and Roger, the first-mate.
The depth of the water where we stopped is over 900 fathoms. Scientists prefer to use metric units for their measurements, as it’s an international system of measuring and makes it easy to compare data from scientists from other countries. (On our cruise there are scientists from Mexico and the Netherlands.) Considering there’s six feet in a fathom, and 39 inches in a meter, how many meters of water is 900 fathoms? How many miles (assuming 1 km = 0.63 miles)?
Chris tests his equipment – a ‘GoFlo’ water bottle which is attached to a weighted cable, enters the ocean closed and opens a few meters below the surface by rubber springs that are activated by water pressure. |
First-mate Roger waits in the winch-room for the scientists to ready the instruments. |
We meet many kinds of vessels during our transit. How many pineapples do you think this one carries?
