August 13th – We survived the night!

Our first task of the day was to do a “shakedown” deployment of our CTD, a scientific instrument that measures ocean properties and collects water samples from different depths in the ocean. The purpose of the shakedown CTD is to test the system and help train the Early Career Researchers on standard operating procedure, health and safety, and how to collect good samples.

At 7PM we reached the mooring – the scientific instrument that has been measuring ocean properties for a year, and that we are here to service, and redeploy for another year. The fog had rolled in, and the ship was sailing slowly. We all waited with baited breaths to see if we could spot the mooring floating on the surface. At last – we found it! The team worked together to haul the scientific instruments on board and collect and safely store the samples.

Julia Muchowski, ECS-program Coordinator