Maureen Conte going over safety for the CTD garage
This morning (May 31st) we arrived at the ship at the port in Bridgetown Barbados. Dr. Conte, our cruise mentor, gave us a tour of the ship. During the tour she discussed safety at sea and pointed out that places around the ship which can pose safety hazards, like near big deck equipment such as winches and A-frames, are clearly marked with black and yellow stripes. After the tour, we had a safety briefing given by the Atlantic Explorer’s second mate Chris. By then it was already time for
Jon Cohen setting up his lab space
After lunch we began unpacking our lab equipment and setting up for our various research projects (To see more photos from today and others, check the Photo Gallery). In the afternoon, we had a visit from three Barbadian scientists: Dr. Edmund Blades and Ms. Katrina Hart, who are microbiologists at the Barbados Public Health Laboratory and Dr. Avril Williams, who is a chemistry professor at the University of the West Indies. Dr. Blades is also the local manager of the University of Miami’s atmospheric research facility at Ragged Point, Barbados. He gave us a short talk on the history of the Ragged Point tower and its nearly 50 year record of Saharan dust transported to the Caribbean from Africa, over 5500 kilometers away! Dr. Blades’s research has focused on the bacteria and fungi in theSaharan dust that remarkably survive this high altitude trip across the Atlantic.
Our meeting with Dr. Edmund Blades
We had dinner on the ship, and discussed our research plans for the cruise. Tomorrow is a big day, so many of us are turning in early. We want to be well-rested for the trip ahead!
Curious people often ask us how our work will change the world and benefit humanity. The truth is that most of the time we’re not sure. As we plan for the coming days at sea, our greatest hope is that we will learn something that no one knew before.
Post Contributed By: Maureen Conte, Lauren Seyler, and Steve Tuorto
P.s. We apologize for the late posting and replies to comments and questions. We are very busy and the internet is a bit spotty, but we promise to answer and post as soon as possible. Even though the posts and comments say they are from one person, the questions and posts are being contributed to by all the scientists, so watch for their signature. We are super excited to be interacting with you all, so please keep all the great questions and comments coming!!
Where do you go when you are on the ship? What did you find in the ocean? What is it like being a scientist?
Hi Charlotte! As part of the BATS team, I visit the BATS location about 120km South-East of Bermuda every month, where we sample the water, deploy several instruments and take many profiles of the water column for 5-7 days. We also visit Hydrostation ‘S’ every two weeks, where we focus strictly on CTD measurements of the water column. Once a year, we do an adventurous transect to and from Puerto Rico, usually in the company of other scientists from different universities and institutions. As both the BATS and Hydrostation ‘S locations have been visited regularly for many years, we were able to monitor important, long-term changes in the structure of the water column, together with seasonal and year to year changes. One of the most prominent findings is a steady increase in the salinity of the surface waters.. as a scientist, you not only wonder why, but you dedicate your time and energy to answer such questions! Scientists never stop asking, and never stop learning. It’s a very passionate, rewarding and exciting profession which feeds off human curiosity!
-from Violetta P.
What kind of food do you guys each while on board the ship
My first answer is, we eat spectacular food!!! We have a crew that is mostly from the Philippines, including the cooks, and they are fabulous! I feel like I am eating gourmet every meal, but they cook a whole variety of food from all cultures. They make great desserts and keep a constant supply of snacks and extra food around. When at sea it is important to eat because you burn a lot of energy working and living on a ship in the sun, and it also can help with sea sickness.
Thanks for the question,
Steve Tuorto
Please see our new post entitled ‘Meet the Chefs’!