Katie Gonzalez's Blog

The sights I saw were extremely amazing, and even though I was awake for 20 hours, I would love to do it all again.

Katie Gonzalez, from Clallam Bay, will be a freshman at the University of Washington Fall 2017 where she will study Oceanography and work with Deb Kelley. Here, she is cleaning an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler recovered from 2900 m water depth at the Slope Base site. Credit: M. Elend, University of Washington.

Katie Gonzalez holds juvenile scallops she recovered from the Shallow Profiler platform at Axial Base. Credit: M. Elend, University of Washington, V17.

August 4, 2017

0730 – Breakfast
0800 – Shift
1130 – Lunch
1300 – SPA and PIA cleaning
1500 – Working on project
I created three more video clips and showed Alex and Hanis how to do the entire process of video editing to help their projects.
1700 – Dinner
1800 – Continue working on Project

Katie showed me how to add the Interactiveoceans logo and video title to the videos I’ve edited so far. I’ve spent five hours working on my project today, so I feel better about my progress. I will continue to do what I can before I get back to land and have to wait for Katie to give me access to the videos, elements, and Final Cut Pro from the UW campus.

Not much to be said about tonight other than I’ve worked hard and may actually get to bed at a decent hour. Having fun and learning many new things daily. With love, to momma and shy-shy.

August 3, 2017

0730 – Breakfast
0800 – CTD sample collecting

0830 – Fifth shift
The shift was short because it didn’t take much time to cut the cable holding the PIA in place. Once it was recovered, Jason ascended and the shift was over.
1130 – Lunch
1230 – Fire drill
1700 – Dinner
2100 – Project working
I’ve reviewed the refence videos and selected timecodes to make short clips to use in my documentary and to add to the biology catalog. I’ve completed three excellent clips to be used in my projects. Having learned the process in editing the dive videos will allow me to help Mitch and Katie by saving them time spent on editing the videos for me. I am now also capable of helping other students who need dive video clips. To continue my project off the vessel I will write a script to go to my short documentary and research the biology I wish to add to the catalog.

I will create a final video for my outreach project and hopefully add new information, video clips, and pictures to the biology catalog. I will use the sound lab at UW to record the audio for my documentary in my finalized project. I plan on helping Katie create the coastal and possibly separate hydrate biology catalog for the Interactiveoceans website. Research and video editing to create rough drafts for both my projects will be the longest process in my final goal.  I’ve started making progress on my project within the last four hours by creating three excellent shot videos to be used in both my documentary and the biology catalog. Much more progress to be made these next few days.

August 2, 2017

1130 – Lunch
1200 – Naked dive
Jason was sent on a naked dive at Southern Hydrate Ridge to survey for suitable sites to place bubble plume sonars funded for installation along the cabled array next year. They will record data of the bubble plumes horizontally and vertically. At Einstein’s Grotto methane seep, we saw a graveyard of Neptune snails. Two years prior, Neptune snails had been spotted laying their eggs at the top of their egg sack towers. My favorite site marker was an actual pink lawn flamingo that had been brought down on an MBARI cruise. The dive lasted until 1730 and we saw many rockfish and hagfish at the seafloor. I got to take control of the camera duty for Brendon to eat dinner near the end of the dive.

1700 – Dinner
1800 – Transit to Slope Base
2100 – Cribbage with Julie

Julie taught Alex, Hanis, and I how to play cribbage with four people. Alex and I were on a team and won both rounds. I never thought I’d learn so many different card games in a short time, but I love spending my free time with the other students, crew, and science party sharing stories, pictures, information, and teaching each other different games.

2330 – Reference videos and research papers with Katie
Katie and I rendered the Jason Dive 974 through 978 reference videos and put them on the science party shared folder accessible to everyone onboard. I asked about the Neptune snails that we saw during the naked dive and she shared some research papers on them with me. Katie also gave me some insight on university living and what to expect my first year on campus in a side conversation.

Tomorrow I will watch the reference videos of Dives 973 through 978 to find the best clips of the biology we’ve seen so far so Katie can show me how to cut them out to use in my projects. I hope to be very productive tomorrow as I’ve felt like I could be doing more these past two days. I plan on getting up for breakfast tomorrow morning and helping with the CTD cast around 0800. After the Cribbage games with Julie, Carlos taught me how to tie some knots. I’ve already forgotten their names, and he’s gone to bed, but I remember how to tie them! I’m going to get some sleep as well now too. Morning comes bright and early.

August 1, 2017

1130 – Lunch
I slept in until 1100 because I didn’t go to sleep until after 0330. After lunch, I played poker with Carlos, Monique Bell, and Alex in the library. After the game, I watched an episode of The Walking Dead before I was told I could help Julie in the analytical lab.

1430 – Oxygen titrating
We titrated the precipitated oxygen, from the CTD samples we collected last night, in the analytical lab with Julie. First, we took the samples and added a 1ml of iodine, then we stirred the solution and added sulfuric acid until the solution went from a dark yellow color to a pale-yellow color. Next we added 1?ml of starch. The starch turned the solution a blueish/purple color, because the starch created a complex carbohydrate, which reacted with the iodine.
1700 – Dinner

July 31

0730 – Breakfast
0800 – Fourth shift
Things went better today with Jason’s dive. Aside from a camera that needed to have minor adjustments to it, nothing else went wrong with Jason or other equipment during the dive. After Jason was recovered from 2500 m around 10 a.m., we had a two-hour transit to Axial Caldera.

1130 – Lunch
1400 – Preserving chlorophyll samples with Julie
Instead of having a student meeting today, we helped Julie preserve chlorophyll samples in the analytical lab. These samples had been retrieved from the previous CTD dive. To filter out the seawater we measured 500 ml of the sample into a graduated cylinder, then we poured it into a chlorophyll filtration rig. After we filtered the seawater we took the filter off the filtration system and preserved it in a test tube with 10ml of acetone, we then placed the test tubes in the -20°C science freezer in the main lab.

1530 – Naked Jason dive
When we reached waters above the International Dstrict Hydrothermal Field, Jason dove as a naked dive, which means that no packages were attached or would be recovered. The dive lasted about 6 hours and explored multiple vent sites. Jason started at Diva, the El Gordo, Tiny Towers, Escargo, 9 Meter Chimneys, Pagoda, El Guapo, Village point, and Skadi was the last survey point. We collected rocks from near the El Guapo site and from the basalt pillars at the lava flow fields for student Alex Andronikides to study its geology. Being in the control room for over 8 hours was extremely thrilling! I liked to imagine that the control room was the inside of a manned submersible like Alvin.

1700 – Dinner
1730 – Continue watching Jason dive
0000 – CTD deck personnel

At least one person is needed to stand on deck while the CTD is deployed and keep watch. Alex, Kelsey Cain, and I were on duty. We helped set up the CTD before it was deployed, and were “pickle scouting” during our downtime. The “pickles” are actually pyrosomes, which are usually only seen near the coast of California, in warmer waters, but something has brought many of these “pickles” to the Oregon coast. This sighting is very rare, so any and all information we can collect on the pyrosomes will help their research. We spotted only about four pyrosomes, and didn’t get to collect any, but we may see some tomorrow that we will be able to collect. We collected samples for oxygen, nutrients, salinity, chlorophyll, and CO2 from the CTD to be tested in the analytical lab. While in the computer lab with Co-Chief Orest Kawka, I learned more about the incoming data from the CTD on the screens. The CTD dive took about 3 hours from beginning to the end of cleaning up after collecting samples.

I’d say today was a good day. During my downtime between 2000 and 0000 I watched a few episodes of The Walking Dead with Carlos and Alex, and did a load of laundry. The sights I saw were extremely amazing, and even though I was awake for 20 hours, I would love to do it all again. I may have time to take a nap tomorrow while we wait for the weather back at the Slope Base to hold. Once we begin our transit, it will be 19 hours until we arrive. If I go to sleep now, I’ll get three hours of sleep before breakfast. With everything I’ve been doing I think I need a day to catch up on my sleep and get some more progress done with my project. I should have plenty of great video to choose highlights from, and turn into reference videos. Katie may also show me how to create the highlight videos. Time to get crackin’.

July 30

0730 – Breakfast
0800 – Third Shift

Today we actually had a dive that required me to capture highlights and screen grabs. Mitch instructed me on how to use the program for the SuperScorpio camera in the Jason control room and how to record highlights of the dive. At first, I was nervous about having such responsibility placed upon me with only a few instructions, but after about an hour I got a better feel for when to snap pictures and what qualified as a highlight.

0930 –
1000 – Return to shift
1150 – Lunch/End shift
1230 – Cleaning Science pod with other students and Trina
The science pod that had been recovered was covered with biology growth and needed to be scrubbed and rinsed. We cleaned the outside of the pod and the equipment gently, just enough to make it easier for power washing.

1300 – Engine room tour

We were led through the engine room to see the engines, water purifier, and sewage plant.
1400 – Student meeting

Students shared their progress on their projects and the process they will take to complete them. I shared the progress Katie, Mitch, and I made last night setting up the student computer and learning how to use iMac’s Final Cut Pro software.

1600 – Cleaning more science pods with students
1700 – Dinner
1800 – Continue cleaning science pods
2000 – Decorating cups

We were given two small Styrofoam cups that we could decorate, along with some small basalt rocks from the ocean floor that we can keep. The cups will be placed with the CTD at its full depth (2600 m). These will be our souvenirs, along with the great memories we’ve made along the way.
Today was pretty great, but very stressful at one point. The hybrid cable was dropped while Jason was attempting to connect it to the science pod. It fell into the basket and couldn’t be reached by Jason’s arms, and backing up was necessary to retrieve the cable. When Jason backed up, it got tangled in the mooring. When trying to untangle Jason, an oil leak started from the arm. Luckily Jason was repaired in only about 2 hours and is on another dive as I type. After dinner Carlos Arcila, Hanis, Eve, and I shared family stories and pictures from our home lives. Later tonight we will be over hydrothermal vents, Eve and I requested a wakeup call to see the dive as it happens. The estimated dive time hasn’t been posted yet, so I’m hoping to be well rested tomorrow with a wakeup call at an unknown time. Here’s to sleep!

July 29

0730 – Breakfast
0800 – Second shift

Yet again some unexpected complications occurred with Jason. When I first arrived to the control van for my shift, the dive was nearing the end and I had to wait two hours for Jason to surface. After that it was discovered that a hockle in the fiber optic cable would take at least 12 hours to repair, so the 19-hour transit to the Axial Base began to keep on schedule and make progress in the circumstances.

1000 – J-Box and science pod cleaning
Although I did not get to work during my shift again, not all was lost. I was able to make use of the time by helping Instrument Engineer Trina Litchendorf clean equipment on deck. I cleaned the ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) on the J-Box (Junction Box), and helped remove and clean the PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) sensor, PH sensor, CO2 sensor, CTD, and AC-S (In situ Spectrophotometer) from the science pod. I familiarized myself with 3, 4, 6, and 8 prong female and male dummy plugs, as I continuously ran back to the main lab to grab them for Trina. The science pod had several small scallops, urchins, an anemone, and a squat lobster on the outside.

1130 – Lunch
1200 – Continue cleaning science pod
1400 – Student Meeting
I shared my project ideas and progress with the other students. I started making plans with Katie and Mitch about gaining access to the video we record and using an iMac with a video editor. For my outreach project, I plan on making a 3-minute documentary on the Phylum Mollusca that we encounter and capture video of during the cruise. I also want to help by adding information, video clips, and pictures of the biology at the Axial Base to the biology catalog, and help Katie create a coastal biology catalog with what we’ve recorded from this cruise and past cruises. Hopefully I can start right away on my projects but I’ll need Mitch and Katie to help get me started with the programs and video access.

1700 – Dinner
1800 – Setting up student iMac and learning how to make reference videos

Katie and Mitch helped me set up the student iMac in the main lab and taught me how to use cut pro software to make reference videos from the Jason dive videos. I now have the ability to help if reference videos are not made within a few dives, before the videos pile up. Now I must look over the reference videos and time stamps from the virtual van to create a draft of the video clips I would like to use for my project. I will give either Katie or Mitch the before and after times of the clip I’d like to have created into a highlights video. I can’t wait to get started pouring over video of the dives and searching for biology to add to my documentary project and the Axial biology catalog. Good night everyone!

July 28

0730 – Breakfast
0800 – First shift in control van
Unfortunately, due to complications with Jason’s latching mechanism, Willem’s and my help was not needed. Jason was not restored and deployed until after 1200 when our shift was over. All though we did not get to help capture and log events from the dive, we did get to sit and watch others perform their data logging and camera duties during their shifts with Jason.

1130 – Lunch
1300 – CTD recovery
The other students and I were able to help collect oxygen, saline, chlorophyll, and nutrient samples from the CTD. (Device that measures Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth)

1400 – Student project meeting
We shared our ideas for outreach and science projects with each other. Chief Scientist Deb Kelley attended the meeting and helped me form a project idea from my interest in biology. She suggested I speak with Ocean Technician Katie Bigham and Data Manager Mitchell Elend about resources for my project. I would like to do a short documentary and/or add to the Axial Seamount biology catalog using the videos and captures from this cruise.

1500 – Dive J2-971 Deploy PIA and Jason
1600 – Science pod and Jason recovery
Seeing the ROV being deployed and the recovery of the science pod was especially amazing from the different camera views in the control room. When the science pod was recovered, Willem and I were able to identify and store brittle stars, urchins, and a feather star from the PIA (Platform Interface Assembly).

1700 – Dinner
1800 – Dive J2-972 Deploy science pod and Jason
2300 – Transit to Slope Base

I began my morning having slept very well with the gentle swaying of the vessel throughout the night. I’ve enjoyed helping with and watching events with the CTD and Jason as much as I can. I’ve learned more about the biology living at the shelf. Ocean Technician Julie Nelson has just notified me of another fun opportunity to help clean more PIAs and science pods tomorrow morning. I am very excited to discuss my project ideas more with Katie and Mitchell later tonight. Willem has shown me some of the awesome time lapses he’s taken of the science pod and Jason recovery, CTD recovery, and control room screens during deployment and recovery. During my downtime, I played a game of Dutch Blitz with Captain Christopher Curl and students Hanis Zulaikha and Eve Hudson. I just love bonding with other students and having interactions with the crew and science party and can’t wait to do it all again tomorrow!

July 27

0730 – Breakfast
0930 – Safety PowerPoint (Fire safety, man overboard procedures, abandon ship procedures)
1130 – Lunch
1230 – Abandon ship drill (Immersion suit demonstration and lifeboat procedures)
1400 – Jason and control room tour
A tour of the equipment and operations of the single manned ROV Jason was given with a look inside the control room and live footage from the cameras. A brief description of the data logging and camera recording and captures for our shifts was given, an in-depth tutorial will be given on our first shift. I’ve been assigned camera duty for shift 0800-1200 with Willem Weertman on data logging duty.
1530 – J2-970 Dive
1700 – Dinner
2100 – J2-970 Dive Recovery
The ROV Jason was retrieved from 200m dive
2230 – J2-971 Dive

Things are going very well aboard the R/V Roger Revelle. I’ve enjoyed learning many new things about the research being conducted on this cruise and bonding with the other students. Many of them know what direction they want their research to take their lives; I am just discovering the many different career and study opportunities available in the field of oceanography. I feel as though I know almost nothing compared to everyone else, but everyone on board has a positive attitude and is very helpful. I’ve even been able to help some of my fellow students with internet and student blog access. Seeing the live feed from ROV Jason’s cameras on many different screens throughout the vessel has been extremely fascinating, and the thought of capturing special moments in the control room during my shift tomorrow has me ecstatic. I will certainly have many pictures and stories to share with my family.