The breaking day:
The breaking day
A beautiful morning in Dutch Harbor, Alaska
This morning we finally got to board the Healy. Standing in the pre-dawn darkness, it appeared through the mist, fog, and snow in the harbor of the Dutch Harbor. The US Coast Guard or "Coasties” are another example of great teamwork in action. Everyone had a role and knew their assignment. We have met a lot of fascinating and friendly people with the USCG.
The Healy Arrives
The Healy Arrives
The Healy arriving in Dutch Harbor, Alaska
The weather was 20 mph winds, light snow (or at least it was trying to snow), about 15F and the waters in the port were relatively calm.
Discussing strategy
Discussing strategy
*Lee Cooper, Clarence Pautzke, and Craig Kasemodel (left to right) at the dock in Dutch Harbor, Alaska * We were debriefed upon embarking on the ship. We received our berthing arrangements (where we will sleep) in the staterooms or crew quarters. We received our individual pagers for communication or "comms”. It is easier to contact someone via pagers than to try wandering around to locate them or trying to communicate over all of the onboard ship noise.
It will take at least a full day to know the ship, learn the layout, and to find the shortest or quickest route. Right now it seems like a big maze of stairwells and corridors! In addition, the Coasties have their own language for communicating, i.e. portside, starboard, stern, and bow. Why do you think that will assist the communication?
The scientists were hard at work trying to set-up their temporary labs. Everyone has his or her own space and equipment in the lab. Most equipment came aboard with the ship from Seattle. The hold or warehouse had everything in their containers on large pallets. Lee Cooper mentioned that I am experiencing the "dirty side of science”, by getting dirty and organizing the equipment for the upcoming sampling and processing of the samples. It is important to realize the coordination and organization that is necessary for such a large-scale multinational endeavor such as the Bering Sea Ecosystem Study.
Putting together a sampling net
Putting together a sampling net
Scientists, Boris Sirenko and Rebecca Neumann, working on thier sampling net.
While the USCG was busy preparing the ship for the next couple of weeks in the sea ice, the scientists were preparing the labs and equipment. I assisted with the set-up. By the time we arrive at our first sampling station, the lab will be ready to process the samples either onboard or to prepare them for them for shipping. Why do you think you would want to process the samples at a lab "back home"?