12th August (part 2)

Sunday 12th August (part 2)

Karen Wilson is a SAMS/UHI undergraduate just completed 2nd year. She hopes to do semester 2 at UNIS in the Arctic next year. Her laptop has recovered after its operation so here is her blog.

Along with the task of sampling the Ellett Line and servicing the Wyville-Thompson Ridge mooring we have been charged with deploying 4 Argo floats in the Iceland Basin as part of the United Nations World Climate Research Programme. At the end of my eight to midnight watch last night we dumped the first one into the fog. It wasn’t quite the photographic opportunity it could have been as the fog closed in mid afternoon and 24hrs later it’s still with us.

 

Argo floats are free drifting devices used to measure the temperature and salinity of the upper 2000 m of the ocean.  With over 3000 floats in operation at any time it allows continuous monitoring worldwide.

          Cruising depth and cycle time is pre-programmed before deployment .Metoffice.gov.uk

The depth of the float is controlled by an oil and bladder system which alters the buoyancy of the device allowing it to rise or fall within the water column. Although depth can be controlled the floats are at the mercy to the ocean current. The data gathered is useful for studying the influence of ocean currents on climate change.

Apart from the excitement of CTD sampling the highlight of any day is if any wildlife is spotted, some of the crew are particularly interested in the seagulls. Today was my first mammal sighting in almost a week, one lone common dolphin that joined us at the side of the aft deck for a while. Hopefully there should be more wildlife sightings before we reach Iceland at the end of the week.