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This page links to blog articles as they are posted from CoralFISH research cruises at sea.
CoralFISH Cruise Blog
| Day 6 - SCAMPI goes astray |
Monday 19th October
Today we are moving to a new location and I have been told that the weather is going to change and to expect some windy weather as the day goes on. As I write this in my cabin there is much more movement than before, not quite enough yet to start moving things about but certainly to test the effectiveness of the anti-seasickness patch I am wearing which has worked very well up to now.
Last night sections of the 1 meter lengths of first core from Calypso were being removed for x-ray. It is very difficult to differentiate between the different layers with the naked eye. When the section is x-rayed it makes it easier to see the different interfaces.
 Michel Cremer (Left), Alexis Rochat and Linda Rossignol busy removing central sections of the cores for x-ray.  A piece of iceberg debris found in the sediment, it came from an iceberg that was breaking up some 16,000 years ago as it passed over the Bay of Biscay  Valentine Lanfumey and Michel Cremer check over the core slices before packing them away for sending to Bordeaux University where they will be x-rayed.
A second core from Calypso was also recovered in the evening. This time the Calypso hit rock about 12 metres deep into the sediment and had to be brought back up. However, the core of sediment will still be of interest.
SCAMPI was deployed last night around 10.30pm. I joined the team in the SCAMPI control room at around 11.30pm to watch the video as it came in. Brigitte Guillaumont and Sophie Arnaud took turns of being in control of the digital camera as they watch the video carefully and pressed a button to take a photograph when they saw something that might be of interest. This went on until around 4.00am when SCAMPI was brought back onboard. I felt guilty when I left them at 1.00am to go to bed. At lunch today Sophie told me that they had seen some living corals but not a lot (See the pictures below).
 you look closely you can just see Brigitte (left) and Sophie as they watch the video screen closely for any signs of coral.  Live corals growing on the side of a ravine.  A small chimera get caught on camera. If you would like to know more about this fish then Click here
SCAMPI was deployed again this afternoon and caused a bit of concern when it became entangled in what was thought to be fishing lines. It took around 2 hours of gentle persuasion before it broke free and was brought back on board.
SCAMPI gets checked over for any damage after its ordeal. |
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| 19 Oct 2009 - 20:43 by CoralFISH |
BobGeo Cruise
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