Activities on Board - Working together - Christmas - Weight

The Pistoncore comes out of the water

The last few days saw the beginning of the daily routine that is to be followed for the next two months. The testing of various scientific equipments began and first few cores were collected. To name a few and explain the basic parameters of these systems:

·   Parasound: The sea floor is observed through this system up to a depth of 200 m. Sound frequencies of 18 kHz and 22 kHz are used and the data received through this system are relayed on to a computer in the lab which shows the sea-floor and sediment structures up to a depth of 200 m. This helps in checking which areas of the sea floor are interesting for studying further and for potential coring sites.

·   Multi-Corer: This device cores sediments from the surface of the sea floor up to a depth of 1 m.

·   Piston Corer: This corer is used to drill deeper into the sea floor to get cores of up to 30 m. This is one of the main references of geo-scientific studies as it provides sediments for the scientists to analyze. It provides a platform for an in-depth study into the Earth's past.

·   CTD: This device measures the temperature, salinity and depth of the water column.

·   Plankton Net: Through this device, plankton is collected from different depths in the water column.

·   Water Collection and Filtration Device: This device collects water from different depths to be analyzed in the lab. The filtration devices on board collect water, in volume of 60L and it is passed through a 0.45 micron filter, which is analyzed for information.

·   Bathymetric Mapping system: This system collects information of the sea-floor and projects them into a bathymetric map, which provides details such as depth of the sea floor, ridges and so on.

·   Magnetic properties measurement devices: This system measures the magnetic susceptibility, resistivity, p-wave magnitude and Gamma ray count through the cored sediment segment. This is done in order to get a quick idea of the core that was drilled and create plans for potential coring sites synonymous with the Parasound and the bathymetric readings.

Result of the Parasound Shows the layers of sediment

During these days, the first cores were recovered and were prepared by the sediment coring team by cutting segments of 1 m from the long core, capped and then taped. Then these were given to the Magnetic Properties measurement team to do the physical property tests. After which, they were cut into halves, photographed, scanned and stored in the freezer for further analyzing in the future. Hence, the last few days were busy with all the groups getting their act together, setting up working plans and easing themselves into the routine that is the scientific expedition. There were lot of hits and misses as some equipment worked and some needed further testing. During this phase a lot of plans were made and discarded and made again and a lot of people changed hands to keep the work at an optimum level. This was all done in good spirit in view of helping each other out which is the motto of such a working environment.

"You work for all and not just for yourself."

The unavailability of good information previously of the area that we were to look through next, made it even more difficult to work with a strict plan. The reason was that the area called Eltanin Impact area, which is an impact area of an asteroid 2.5 millions years ago (and the only known impact area in a deep ocean setting on the planet), was unchartered and understudied by previous expeditions. It is normal for such things to happen due to the vastness of the ocean and the newness of the recent developments in ocean studies which now makes such expeditions and studies possible.

The highlights that were found in the first cores were presented during our regular 11:00 clock meeting on Sunday. In one of the cores, the remains of the Eltanin-Asteroid were especially clearly visible and even the effects of the impact. Under the microscope both melted and unmelted pieces were found. It's unimaginable, that this material is as old as the sun system. Also, part of this core had larger lumps of Manganese, as well as a basaltstone. His origin can be explained by transport by icebergs. A further stone from another core shows scratches of movement. However, the origin of the icebergs itself is uncertain.

Synonymously also, the festive season of Advent and St. Nicolas Day were observed during these days. With the good food already served on board, the candies and the 'surprise' chocolates left in front of the door on St. Nicolas Day was very well received among the scientists and the crew. With the first week, usually being the most stressful and also the most exciting, already under way, the next 7 weeks don't seem very long anymore.

And finally updates from the weight club. Just to remind you, last week Ulrich weighed 78 kg and made a bet, that it will remain. Unfortunately, he had to pay 0,50 € because he actually lost weight. There is a simple reason for this: There are no sweets on board. You have just read: The first Christmas goodies have been announced. So the weight will go up. We will see next week.

Authors: Abhinav Gogoi & Ulrich Breitsprecher