SUB1 Log 2 - July 22nd

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It was an early start for some of our scientists, who are taking water samples. More boxes were unpacked and instruments are rigged for collection. The first samples were taken by a large circular contraption surrounded by about 15 black cylinders of 1 meter each. There are stoppers at the top and bottom, then another set of similar but smaller silver cylinders, which maintain water samples at the same depth pressure where they were taken. The sampling at #7 station was at 3600 meters deep, very deep. I have just learned that the Tyrrhenian Sea is a very deep trench: it takes about an hour and 10 minutes to lower this particular water sampling device to that depth.
Meanwhile other researchers and technicians are busy setting up their labs in various locations of the ship, mainly around the back interior which is the area where a winch hoists the devices into the water. There are literally hundreds of kinds of containers, plastic ones with cogwheel tops, ones with orange plastic tops, green ones, many different shapes and sizes, from large to small. Also many different machines that measure, or analyze the samples.

After the water samples were secured, the testing began in earnest. One test concerns microbe respiration, and has a scientist filtering the water from a larger tank through a tube to a paper filter. After it is filtered she takes the paper and very carefully folds it and stuffs it into a test tube, and identifies it, for later study.
Marc Garel and Lionel Guidi getting ready

Lionel's zooplankton nets		 While the microbiologists - from France - who are specialists in deep sea high-pressure-technology are preparing smaller silver cylinders, Lionel Guidi, who studies zooplankton, prepares his collecting devices which resemble very large wind-socks that you see along the roads or at airports. There are two nets, which will be dragged at about 200 meters behind the boat twice a day, looking for larger specimens. Mirko Magagnini, from Ancona, who is studying meiofauna, will also be taking samples of ocean floor sediment to study. Everyone is extremely busy with his/ her tasks and I look forward to dinner this evening to catch up and find out more about what they are doing.I did not want to bother them as it is our very first full day at sea. Tonight we will be heading towards station #3. I am Siri Campbell reporting from the CIESM SUB 1 cruise.
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