Wednesday, 25 February 2004

Gulf of Papua

Today is day nine of this cruise. We have had a variety of challenges with problematic research equipment as can often happen at sea. Here, we are far from land and so when problems with equipment occur, we are limited to resources found on the ship. We will be back in the Port Moresby's harbor on the 1st of March and will have access to some of the parts needed, but until then we are making the most of our time at sea by collecting as many cores as possible, and collecting seismic data from the sea floor using the ship's 3.5 KHz echosounder. The echosounder uses acoustics to create a picture of the sea bed.

Despite these technical difficulties, I am impressed by the energy of this group and by how enthusiastic they are about mud! Perhaps I should clarify, it's not just mud, but it's the work they are doing, the channels they see on the Chirp and 3.5 KHz data and the ideas that they have about what they are discovering. In my interviews and conversations with the scientists onboard, as well as attendance at their after-dinner discussions about coring sites for the night to come, I see a common theme; they are passionate about their research. They enjoy work in the field and the opportunity they have to discuss ideas with colleagues and pass on the knowledge and work with students and people just entering the world of oceanography. Although I am not a scientist, this trip has shown me that science is not dry, boring stuff, instead it is a different way of seeing our world, one that we often take for granted, and understanding it in ways I never dreamed of!

I'm off to see what new ideas and discoveries they've come up with. Visit our People page to read some of the interviews with scientists and crew aboard the ship and come by tomorrow for another look at life aboard the R/V Melville.