Quarantine in St. Thomas: A tale of love by Ali Siddiqui

As the A20 was underway in the North Atlantic, simultaneously, there was a bunch of people from all over the country scrambling to get to the end point of the 1st leg, which was the St. Thomas island.

 

Just like the 1st leg, we were also asked to be in quarantine for 2 weeks, before we could board the ship. In this post, I will try and paint a picture about how all of us managed to complete our isolation.

 

Like most places that call themselves home to a population of around 50,000 people, St. Thomas has a small airport, which for some reason was situated right at the south-west corner of the island. The thrill of entering the island, was soon overshadowed by a split second of fear, when I thought that the plane was going to land in the water. Such is the makeup of the airstrip, which is located right at the edge of the island. Meanwhile, once you enter the airport, you can see people who look like they've dressed for a carnival, greet you as you enter baggage claim. Propped up on stilts, they were dancing for the incoming passengers. I remember thinking to myself whether this was a traditional welcome dance or were they just excited to see tourists coming back to the island after the longest year that anyone of us had ever managed to live through.

 

I soon realized that even though the island is a United State territory, its soul belonged to the people of the Caribbean. St. Thomas, like other island communities in its vicinity, seems to be in love with the surrounding ocean. Even as we finished our quarantine and set sail, we were able to spot a number of boats out in the open ocean, with a single occupant, bobbing and drifting away to sea. It almost felt like long lost lovers meeting each other after an eternity, only to be separated with the passing of a wave.

 

I still had to find my way to my accommodation. The only glimpses that I could capture, as I rode in a taxi towards my Airbnb, were those of hills with tropical growth, among which were scattered houses, all of whom it seemed to me, were built to capture the best possible view of the ocean. As I understood, some of them even succeeded in doing so. Since I too wanted to witness the beauty of the island, I made sure to book my Airbnb, which overlooked the ocean from the northeast part of the island. It was the least I could do, given that we had strict instructions to not even leave our apartments for a midnight stroll.

 

 

 

And so quarantine started. Armed with food and grocery supplies for two weeks, we were all hopping to finish it as soon as possible. The euphoria of staying on the island with a spectacular view, soon turned into debilitating loneliness. It was as if the only friends I could see were the birds and the bees outside my window. And they often came to visit. Just like good friends. Life in quarantine soon became a race to finish my pending research work and coursework before boarding the ship. It also revolved around taking our temperature, twice a day and logging it. However, possibly the best day of the week used to be when we were allowed to go for Covid-19 testing and could meet other members of the A22 leg, even if for a few minutes, with social distancing. As we would drive back and forth to the testing center, we would catch glimpses of the beautiful harbor with sailboats humming in the distance. 

 

Even though St. Thomas is undeniably beautiful, but to stay inside an apartment for two weeks straight without any outside interaction, made us all wish for getting off this island at the first opportunity.

 

Now, that we're all safely onboard, maybe I don't want to be unreasonable to the island. In fact, in retrospect, it is with absolute certainty that I think I would love to come back here and explore the markets of Charlotte Amalie, the golden sand of the Magens bay beach and even the mysterious Blackbeard's castle. I think I might be falling in love.

 

 

Imaging the Ocean by Stephanie O’Daly

I'm a PhD student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and I'm sailing on the A20/A22 US Go Ship cruises. As a part of my research working under Dr. Andrew McDonnell, I'll be deploying an instrument attached to the CTD Rosette called an Underwater Vision Profiler (UVP). This instrument helps us understand carbon cycling in the global oceans, particularly the biological carbon pump. The biological carbon pump is one part of carbon cycling in the ocean where carbon dioxide in transformed into particulate organic carbon (like phytoplankton cells) through photosynthesis at the surface of the ocean. This organic carbon then can be consumed by bacteria or zooplankton or sink to deeper depths through the effects of gravity to deeper depths. Eventually nearly all the particulate organic carbon will be transformed back into carbon dioxide through respiration. However, the deeper the particulate organic carbon can sink in the ocean will result in the longer that carbon is stored away from the atmosphere. Understanding how carbon moves and is stored in the oceans is critical during this time of rapid climate change as a result of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions.

The UVP consists of a camera and tiny computer contained within a pressure case that can withstand pressure of up to 6000m of water. Additionally there are lights that illuminate a known volume of water. The camera takes an image every second while the CTD rosette moves down through the ocean to just above the sea floor. The tiny computer identifies where in the image there are particles and saves that information. The UVP tells us information on particle sizes and concentration for particles as small as one tenth of a millimeter up to a few centimeters in length. For larger particles, the computer saves a photo of the particle itself. When I'm back on land I'll use machine learning software to predict and validate particle type. Most particles will be detritus (or dead or dying material), some will be fecal pellets from zooplankton or tiny animals that live in the ocean. I also will be able to identify different types of zooplankton like crustaceans, sea snails, and worms. All of this information helps us better understand how the biological carbon pump functions and help us predict how those functions may change with further climate change.

It's really exciting to be partnered with the US Go Ship project as an ancillary project. It's only through recent improvements in technology that we can collect all of this information without using precious resources like water or time on cruises like the US Go Ship project. I'm looking forward to collaborating with the physicists and chemists who have been working on this project for decades as I'm working with new types of data. Additionally, the US Go Ship program is a great platform for this type of research as it is one of the few programs that samples such large swaths of the global oceans.

Day 16 by Ben Freiberger

This is the first blog post I have ever considered writing, and well outside my comfort zone, so here goes. Hi Mom.

My name is Ben Freiberger. In August of last year, I was hired on as a lab tech for Dr. Todd Martz at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. For this cruise, I am farmed out to the Oceanographic Data Facility to collect and run discrete oxygen samples. I am sailing on both legs, A20 from Woods Hole to the Virgin Islands, and the subsequent A22 back up to Woods Hole. I am enjoying my time here and feeling like I am finally getting in the swing of things. I am excited to look at the Virgin Islands from the R/V Thompson bubble, and am really hoping to get some fish on the boat sometime soon.

Last night, April 1st, we attached a mesh bag full of Styrofoam cups, a Styrofoam head, and a few Styrofoam easter eggs to the rosette. Then, they were sent on down to ~5800m. This is typically done one cast per cruise as a neat demonstration of the immense pressure at depth, and a welcome break to the monotony. Station 43 was chosen as the cups station because it is just about as deep as we will get on this cruise. I myself shrunk three Maruchan Instant Lunch cups, and one decorated cup. These will be my souvenir gifts for family and friends. I hope they think it's as cool as I do! I am hoping we have the opportunity to make a few more on the trip back up north.


 

 Another souvenir we got is a vial of salt. The folks in the galley asked for the extra water from the deepest bottles on the station 14 cast and boiled it down to salt crystals. This salt was then split into vials for scientists and crew to take as a memento. What a wonderful gift! I went ahead and took a taste of the stuff, and it is salty alright. I am hoping we will get a second vial on the trip back up north.

 

Finally, I would like to sincerely thank the crew of the R/V Thomas G Thompson for all their hard work. The folks in the galley, the deck department, the marine technicians, and the engine department work tirelessly to make sure things are going smoothly for the scientists and everyone else on board. The vast majority of this work goes on behind the scenes and seems, from the outside, to be somewhat thankless. I think it is important for them to know that their efforts do not go unnoticed. If any of the crew of this or any other research vessel ends up reading this, thank you for all your hard work!

The Ebbs and Flows of the Atlantic by Cassondra DeFoor

Figure 1: Myself in my foul weather bib and boots standing next to the
Rosette that is equipped with 36 Niskin bottles and the CTD which are
used to collect oceanographic data.

 

This is my first time on a research cruise and thus far, I have
thoroughly enjoyed it. The first few days were spent in transit to the
first station so we were able to relax and get our sea legs. I spent
most of my time reading, watching Netflix shows that I downloaded on
my phone, and getting to know some of the science and ship crew.
During this time one of my favorite things to do was to visit the
bridge, which is where the crew operates the ship. They never turn on
any lights in the bridge even as night falls. They let their eyes
adjust to the dark night so their night vision is as keen as possible.
When they need extra light, they use a red light flash light because
it is longest in wavelength and it does not cause the eyes to readjust
much. Standing up in the bridge at night watching the ship slowly bob
with the waves is incredibly peaceful.

We are allowed to use 150 MB of WiFi data usage each day, which has
resulted in my technology habits changing drastically. Whereas I was
once addicted to the zombie scroll through social media that consumed
hours of my day, I am now filling my time in other ways. I have been
reading, playing a ton of solitaire, and solving Sudoku puzzles during
my downtime. The constant text messages, social media posts, and world
news have not been missed and I have found that some days I don't even
reach my data limit. The relaxed life on the ship has been a wonderful
and much needed recharge from normal, chaotic life. I am always so
excited when we get the chance to watch the sunset during our shifts.
It is breath taking to watch the sun change the color of the sky and
the wave crests as it sets over the horizon.

 

Figure 2: the sunset on 3/22/2021. Some of the crew and I sat on the
back deck to watch the sunset.

 

 

It's a huge plus that the food on the ship, which is served buffet
style three times a day, is so incredible. We've even be so lucky as
to have a few between meal charcuterie boards (thank you Nikki and
Liz!!). As if they weren't already going above and beyond, they boiled
seawater from one of the casts and bottles sea salt for everyone to
take home.

 

Figure 3: this was one of my favorite meals we've had so far. Pictured
is shrimp creole, Mac n cheese, and brussels sprouts. Yes, I went back
for a second serving of Mac n cheese!

 

Figure 4: The sea salt sample that I am taking home. It shows the cast
number, the depth (over 13,000 feet deep!!), and the coordinate point.

 

 

I will leave you with some things to think about if you are going on a
research cruise:

• Pack for the appropriate weather. Going on this Northern Atlantic
cruise I came prepared for cold, rough, foul weather. I did not
anticipate that by the middle of the second week, it would be T-shirt
weather and I only packed about 5 short sleeve shirts.
• Scopolamine patches are the worst of anti-nausea medications. It
gives you a horrible dry mouth and blurry vision. Instead, opt for
meclizine. It doesn't make you nearly as drowsy as Dramamine and it
lasts for 24 hours.
• Head outside to the bow or the stern in your free time as much as
you can. Maybe do an exercise outdoors. Yoga out in the sun and in the
middle of the ocean is serene.
• Bring more books and more downloaded movies than you think you'll
need. I'm already on book 4/4 and trying to make it last.
• Ask questions. I am still relatively new to this field and I've
learned so much from the people around me (not only about oceanography
but also about sailing, pirates, card games, and ships).
I am hoping these next two and a half weeks crawl by so I can soak up
as much sun as possible and enjoy this unique moment.