In spite of the new techniques put into play today, which always require some adjustments before they run smoothly, we were able to get a lot done. The most significant observation today was the presence of hundreds of dead velella (by the wind sailors). These aren’t all that common in the Gulf so it was a surprise to see so many of them in one place and all dead. Of course we cannot conclude that they were killed by the oil but you can see that there was clearly oil associated with
them.
Our most significant new activity today was the collection of water samples for trace metal analysis. The intent for these samples is to determine if the oil contributes small amounts of metals to the water, and
if so, whether these metals can be used as tracers for the oil plume. It is conceivable that the dispersants will coagulate the oil and cause it to sink, leaving behind clear water with elevated levels of trace metals. Collection of these samples requires the sampler (Dongjoo Joung, a graduate student at USM) to use a small, inflatable boat to sample at a distance from the ship in order to avoid contamination from the ship. These samples will be analyzed using a mass spectrometer and will be compared with those taken later in the year to see what the long term effects of the oil may be.
We also deployed the HARP (High Frequency Acoustic Recording Package) at the MC118 observatory site. This package was provided by John Hildebrand at Scripps Institute of Oceanography and Chris Garsha met us at the ship and showed us how to deploy the gear. This package will remain on the seafloor for at least several months after which it will be recovered and the records downloaded and analyzed. Although all sound is recorded, the focus of the science will be to monitor marine mammals to determine the extent to which they are being affected by the spill.
We are expecting the weather to worsen over the next few days so we are working all night to meet as many of our objectives as possible before work on deck is impossible.