Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Station 4

We are now finished with our third station and are currently in a 10 hour transit to our next sampling location. Station 4 was a lot of fun for me because I got to start work on my undergraduate thesis project. I have been taking classes towards an honors degree and one of the last requirements is that I do my own research project. My project examines photodecomposition of methlymerucry in seawater, a portion of the mercury cycle that has been given little attention. While there are many experiments in freshwater systems, including a study done by Dr. Hammerschmidt and colleagues in Artic Alaska lakes, little has been done to understand the mechanism in seawater. My research models experiments of methlymercury photodecomposition in freshwater systems and applies them to seawater.

Before arriving at a station, I have to "order" water to use for my experiments. Because my project is studying photodecomposition, I need to make sure that I am getting seawater from the surface and the from the top 10 meters which receive the most sunlight. The water sampling Rossettes are programmed at each station to open and close at different locations, enabling us to collect water from various depths. Once I have my water, a majority is filtered and transferred into 500mL Teflon bottles. The bottles are then spike with known concentrations of methlymercury and stored in incubation chambers. The incubation chambers are clear plexiglass boxes that have a constant supply of fresh surface sea water being pumped in/drained out (I'll try to post pictures soon!). Light is able to penetrate both the incubation box and the Teflon bottle and this will be assured by using a device to measure photosynthetic active radiation or PAR inside and outside of the box.

I will be running four different experiments with variations in initial methlymercury concentration, filtered v. unfiltered seawater, different amounts of PAR, and different locations/sources of seawater. I will collect and freeze my samples at sea to bring back to Ohio for analysis at Wright State! It will be exciting to see how much methlymercury is broken down by the sun and to compare that process to what we have observed in freshwater.
-Katlin

Dolphins

We saw a pod of dolphins today! There were plenty of seagulls around, too. There must have been a school of fish they were all feasting on.


~Lisa

P.S. Tristan says "Hello" to his Nana :)


Station 4

Yesterday, we completed Station 2 and now we are at Station 4. The seas are still a little rough, with 4-8 feet swells, but it is sunny outside and the sky is crystal clear. We are crossing our fingers that we might see some whales today. We are still on the continental shelf, somewhere off of the coasts of Maine and Nova Scotia. The diagram below shows the different parts of the ocean floor and the terminology used by oceanographers to describe it. The next station, Station 6, will also be on the continental shelf and the following station, Station 9 is in the deep ocean. After that, we will head back toward land to sample water, zooplankton, and sediment from the continental slope. Then we will head back out to the deep ocean before finishing near the coast.

Research conducted by Dr. Hammerschmidt and his colleagues shows that methylmercury (MMHg) concentrations are greater near the coast and on the continental shelf and decrease as you move toward the deep ocean. Our stations on the continental shelf are important, because these samples will have the highest levels of MMHg. Samples from the continental slope and deep ocean also are valuable, because few research efforts collect samples this far from the coast. In general, such comprehensive sampling of the entire water column and sediments is performed rarely, particularly for mercury analyses. We all are excited to see what we will discover!

~Lisa

Monday, September 28, 2009

Station 1

We arrived at station 1 about an hour ago and are working out some kinks with the CTD before getting started. "CTD" is a water sampling Rossette and stands for conductivity, temperature, and depth - it measures each of these electronically while also bringing up water samples. Once the CTD is complete, Michael - a Ph. D. student from UConn - will be collecting zooplankton samples. Once Michael is finished we will use a trace metal clean (TMC) Rossette to collect more water. The TMC Rossette has acid cleaned bottles and a special metal-free line to assure that the collection process is not contaminating the water samples with any trace metals. Once the Rossette surfaces, the bottles will be transferred to our on-deck clean lab to retrieve the samples. Lastly will be the sediment sampling, which is the team myself, Dr. Hammerschmidt, Geraldine, and Lisa will be working on.
It's about 8:30PM now which means we should be starting box coring around 12:00AM! The coring should take 1-2 hours so it will be a late night but also very exciting as it is our first station!


Pictured above is the water team deploying the Trace Metal Clean Rossette earlier today. The Rossette was filled with seawater and left to soak all day to condition the bottles. Each bottle (long column) is programmed to open and close at a specific depth and can detach from the frame to be emptied in the clean lab.
-Katlin

Leaving Port

Today, we left port to be greeted by rough seas -- the swells were about 5 feet high! In the morning, we held a safety meeting inside of the main laboratory. During that time, seasickness struck several of the scientists, including myself. The benefit was that we "grew" our sea legs quickly. This was in contrast to the last cruise during which it took me several days to get my sea legs. At least we will all be ready to begin research when we reach our first station around dinner time this evening!
This is an opportune time to introduce you to the 14 scientists that are conducting research on the biogeochemistry of Hg in the ocean. Those of us from Wright State University include: Dr. Chad Hammerschmidt, Assistant Professor in the Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES) Department; Dr. Geraldine Nogaro, who came from France and now holds a post-doctoral position in EES; Katlin Bowman, an undergraduate senior majoring in Environmental Science and technician in Dr. Hammerschmidt's laboratory; Melissa Tabatchnick, a second-year Masters student in EES; and myself (Lisa Romas), also a second-year Masters student in EES. We also are joined by Dr. William Fitzgerald, our Chief Scientist, from the University of Connecticut (UConn). He was Dr. Hammerschmidt's Ph. D. mentor and has made profound advancements in Hg research throughout his career. Prentiss Balcom, a Research Associate from UConn, is joining us again on the cruise. Tristan Kading is finishing his Masters thesis at Wesleyan University, but made time to participate in the cruise again. Michael Finiguerra and Jenay Guardiani Aunkst also are from UConn. Michael is working on his Ph. D. and, after graduating with a B.S. in psychology, Jenay is earning her undergraduate degree in Coastal Studies. Allan Hutchins earned his B.S. degree at UConn and has continued his work as a Research Assistant there. Susan Gichuki is a Ph. D. student who works with Dr. Robert Mason from UConn. Kathleen Munson is a Ph. D. student in the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute program and she and her advisor, Dr. Carl Lamborg, are joining us as well. We are fortunate to be surrounded by approximately one-dozen crew members of the R/V Endeavor. On the last cruise, they did a fanastic job of keeping everyone safe and helping us achieve our research goals. We look forward to be working with them again!
We are traveling through Buzzards Bay and will be cruising through the Cape Cod Canal soon. These will be our last views of land for the duration of cruise, so I am going to head outside to enjoy the sights. I will take plenty of photos to share with you after we complete our first station.
~Lisa


Some members of the scientific party -- From left to right: Dr. William Fitzgerald, Prentiss Balcom, Lisa Romas, Tristan Kading, Michael Finiguerra, Katlin Bowman, Dr. Chad Hammerschmidt, Melissa Tabatchnick, Dr. Carl Lamborg, Jenay Aunkst

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Some more pictures...




Katlin unpacking and setting up equipment in the main lab.


Michael working on his computer


Chad is setting up the glove box


Tristan is connecting the fancy pH meter than can be connected to the internet
(you can check your e-mail and measure pH at the same time!)



Melissa is installing her experiment


The main lab


Melissa and Lisa are unloading the van


Melissa, Katlin, Lisa and Geraldine at Marthas vineyard


Marthas vineyard

Loading and Unpacking




Greetings from aboard the R/V Endeavor. Excitement is in the air as we finish unloading our equipment onto the vessel (picture left). Despite the rainy weather, we still managed to find time to experience the local New England Culture. On Friday, the team visited Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute to meet fellow scientists and toured the world class facilities. We also took a ferry out to Martha's Vineyard and partook in a bus/walking tour of the island. On Sunday, a few members of the team visited Newport, Rhode Island, where we visited one of the famous mansions, Chateau-sur-mer (picture right). Upon arrival back onto the R/V Endeavor, the scientists met for introductions and a brief discussion of experiments that will take place throughout the duration of our trip. Though the horizon looms gloomy, the creative brilliance of these scientists shines like a beacon that cuts through the haze of uncertainty.
~Melissa

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Welcome Back!

Greetings! In August of 2008, the WSU Mercury Team participated in a two-week long, oceanographic research cruise. During that time, we had the opportunity to blog about our experiences. We soon will embark on another two-week long research cruise at the end of September 2009 and blog about our discoveries once again!
The scientific purpose of this cruise is essentially the same as the last cruise. For those of you who are just joining in to follow along with our blog, here is a description of the purpose of the cruise. For those of you who followed us last year, you will realize that this is an excerpt from our first blog. The purpose of our research is, "to study the biogeochemistry of mercury in the oceans. Like many things about our oceans, not much is known about the behavior of mercury. Since the 1990s, a significant amount of research has been conducted on mercury and a lot of progress has been made in perfecting sampling procedures, improving detection limits and increasing our understanding of its cycling in the environment. In fact, many freshwater ecosystems, the atmosphere above the Arctic, terrestrial systems, and some coastal environments have been studied. However, not much is known about mercury in the oceans. This is ironic, because, as most of you recognize, the main route of human exposure to mercury is via the consumption of fish and, yet, the majority of the fish we consume globally is derived from the oceans! Clearly, studying what happens to mercury in the oceans is an integral part of understanding potential human exposures to mercury."
Since the August 2008 cruise, some amazing advancements have been made in our field. For example, our advisor, Dr. Chad Hammerschmidt, improved the detection limit for measuring methylmercury (MMHg; an organic form of mercury that accumulates readily in humans and other organisms) in seawater to 2.0 fM. As part of the NSF funded "GEOTRACES" program, Dr. Hammerschmidt and his students measured MMHg at much lower levels than previously achieved. This allows us to see new trends and provides new insight into how mercury is cycling in the oceans. We also analyzed some of the data collected on the August 2008 cruise and much of that information has been used to improve our plans for the present cruise.
Right now, we are packing all of the materials we will need for the research cruise. We have been washing bottles, finishing important analyses, and making sure that all of our supplies from last time are in prime condition. Surprisingly, this year seems more hectic than the last! But, I think there is even more excitement in the air than last year!
As time gets closer, we will post about who is conducting research on the cruise, where we will be traveling in the northwest Atlantic, what the research vessel looks like, etc.
We look forward to sharing our experiences with you!
~Lisa