Alvin 2000: Dispatch 9

Tuesday, April 25 - Alison's final report, heading on to Mexico.

Hello, Gulf of Maine Aquarium. It's early in the morning, and I finally seem to have changed back over to a daytime schedule. No more all night chemistry sessions, as we should be into port in Manzanillo, Mexico today. We've had eleven Alvin dives on this cruise, all of which were extremely successful. The biologists are leaving with vent specimens and other deep sea animals to study at home in their labs, as well as hours of video and digital imaging to study. We have packed up ~70 samples of stinky hydrothermal fluids to take home for analysis. We've had several science writers aboard from National Geographic and American Scientist who have spent the cruise asking questions for upcoming research articles. Many of us out here were lucky enough to take the ultimate trip in Alvin to the deep sea floor, and to observe, in person, the hydrothermal systems that we spend our time at home thinking about and studying.

The cruise has been very busy for us, but also a success. Unfortunately, it's all over and time to go home. We spent a busy day yesterday re-packing our 21 boxes of science gear. We stowed the last box in the hold of the ship at 5:29pm, just one minute to spare before the galley crew provided a wonderful barbecue on the fan-tail for us. The menu included barbecue beef, homemade corn bread, and freshly caught grilled calamari from the squid fishing event of a few nights ago.

I have been on ~8 cruises since I've been studying at UNH, and it is difficult to pick one part of going to sea that I like best. Going to visit the sea floor in a submarine and doing oceanography out here on the open ocean with no land in sight is definitely a great perk. But even better is the opportunity to meet so many interesting people. This (and any) cruise would never be possible without the expert assistance of both the crew of the R/V Atlantis as well as the Alvin Operations group. They are always ready to jump in and help the scientists with whatever seemingly strange experiment we want to try in the deep sea. It is also a great chance to meet other scientists, often from disciplines other than my own and to have an informal chance to talk about how our data might be related.

We should be in Manzanillo in a few hours. Time to clean our cabins, pack our bags and finish cleaning up the labs on the ship for the next group of scientists. Our plans for tonight include a final get-together for the science party and crew in Manzanillo. And tomorrow we start the multi-airplane trip back to New Hampshire. I haven't seen any land in three weeks, but I think I'll head up to the bow now and wait for Mexico to come into view.

Other dispatches:

First dispatches from April 9th and 10th
Project overview and launch information!

Dispatch from April 12th
While heading out to dive area 9 North, the crew spots a few interesting sea animals. Much of the time is spent unpacking and testing equipment.

Dispatch from April 13th
Atlantis reaches 13 degrees latitude. Alison and crew test and retest the titanium collection bottles.

Dispatch from April 14th
The first dive of the expedition-Alison joins the crew! Researchers collect anenomes and fluids surrounding hydrothermal vents.

Dispatch from April 15th
Three dives have been completed. The day is spent retrieving cameras, analyzing hydrogen sulfide samples, and training new Alvin pilots.

Dispatch from April 17th
Not all time aboard Atlantis is work! Although shifts are often long, breaks allow for games and relaxation.

Dispatch from April 23rd
Temperature probes are placed near the vents. A lottery to join the crew of Alvin!

Dispatch from April 24th
The last dives of the trip...See how water pressure affects ordinary objects at extreme depths!

Dispatch from April 25th
This incredible voyage aboard Atlantis comes to an end. It's on to Mexico, and finally, back to New Hampshire to analyze our samples.