Poison Ivy and Air inside of Air

June 16th, 2010

Typical Day:
So It's been almost a week on the river. Basically my days begin at 530 when i wake up to get ready for breakfast at 6 to leave the hotel at 630. Then we drive out to a port, board the Tiger Shark (a small boat that helps us out all day, pictures to follow), and enjoy the windy ride to the Strong. Upon arrival the Strong will drive to wherever we're beginning acquisition and I either show off my huge muscles by helping put the streamer and airgun in the water or go help in the lab turning on and getting ready the five computers we use to collect data. After everything is set up I either spend most of the day on the back of the boat keeping an eye on our streamer and airgun to make sure they maintain a proper distance from each other, that no logs get stuck on them or drag them down, etc. Its hot back there but we've got a fan and pass a lot of time playing cards, reading, talking, and of course everyone's favorite napping. If I'm in the lab I keep an eye on the chirp data coming in as well as the different profiles. Basically just making sure that everything's coming in alright. Today Steffen explained all the programs to me as well as taking me through a detailed explanation of how we process data. I got to do some picking but must say its even trickier then it was back in Socorro. Looking at the results we could tell there had been some pretty large errors but I intend to get better. Everyone says its a matter of experience and I've got plenty more days to get some of that. At one point one of the crew members makes lunch and being in the South it tends to be something fried which my stomach is growing accustomed to. When we finish the number of miles we want to get done (generally 12, which doesn't sound like a lot but since we're going at 2 mph its at least 6 hours and generally more since we often hit some technical snag and have to stop or backtrack). Then when we're done i put on another batch of sunscreen and help pull everything in or help convert the chirp data from .jsf to .spy  and turn of the computers. We pack up our stuff, get back on the tiger shark, make for land, get in the van, drive to the hotel and then take a refreshing jump in the pool. Then we head out to some restaurant before collapsing in my bed to begin again the next day. 

Sleep deprivation:
This has led to my getting between 5-6 hours of sleep a night for the past week which is not exactly conducive to patience during picking but I intend to get in bed earlier tonight. Granted I've been saying that every night.... 

Technical Difficulties:
We've been having some different issues. Everything from the streamer buoy getting stuck in an eddy to our latest issues with the Compressor. It gives the high pressure air to the airgun (excuse me, pneumatic energy source) and hence is rather important. When they did the pilot study for this experiment in 2008 their compressor broke down and they fully replaced it. The new one is now having some of the same issues so everyone is getting worried. .. One of the hazards of the field. Also every computer has special rules about how it has to be turned on (what can and can not be plugged in at the time).

Poison Ivy
So today Brian (one of the P.I's), Guolei (phd student of Dr. B), and I took the tiger shark to go visit some interesting bluffs enxt to the river. While discussing the sediments present Guolei and I ran into a pretty nasty patch of Poison Ivy. We scrubbed our legs and hands when we got back so hopefully no damage will be done but we'll find out tomorrrow...

Air inside of AIr
You all may recall that at the orientation when Beatrice was describing the method they use to image the Mississippi they use an airgun that creates an air bubble to generate the waves. To get rid of some noise they use a special airgun that puts an air bubble inside of another air bubble. Then I can't remember who I was talking to but we realized we really didn't understand how you put air inside of air and kept it different. The answer: Pressure gradients! So yes there is really just air inside of air so if you looked at it you wouldn't see the second bubble but! Because of how they're released at separate times with different volumes they do actually remain distinct. CRAZY!

Asian leaping carp
Today while visiting the bluff we scared up some giant fish! These are the much heralded Asian leaping carp! They're at least three feet long and jump at least one foot out of the water. We saw three during our short little voyage. Apparently during the pilot voyage they had one jump up on the tiger shark! Still waiting for that to happen one morning on our way to the Strong. Its one way to wake up!

Website
Want to follow the official blog for this voyage?
Www. Memphis.edu/riverproject

P.S.
Switzerland For The Win!!!!

I'm Swiss by birth and of course we're watching quite a bit of the World Cup on the boat since Dr. B is Italian, so it was really exciting to see them win their first game, and then that they beat Spain...SPAIN! SO GREAT!