Actually, it was a research vessel on Lake Michigan! Our second day consisted of a rough day on the lake. Not rough in the sense that I got sick, but rough in the sense that the lake was experiencing "rare" Easterly winds and it was stormy. But we got our vessel safety training and then headed out on the R.V. Neeskay (it means clear waters in a Native American language).
Basically, IT WAS AWESOME! I felt like a scientist (and not a student), even though I am a student and still have a lot to learn! It took about 1.5 hours to get to our first stop where we spent 2 hours collecting samples and data. After that, the lake got really rough so we just took surface measurements at our stops on the way in. Dr. Cuhel (pronounced Dr. Cool)...we call him Russell though, because "we will learn not to respect him just for his title, but for what he knows." He and Carmen are SO knowledgeable. Between yesterday on the vessel and today in the lab, I have learned such a large quantity of information I hope that I can remember it all!
Some of the stuff I have done so far:
- Used a Secchi disk
- Taken water samples from as far down as the bottom of Lake Michigan
- Taken PONAR Samples
- Taken and analyzed CTD measurements
- Measured CO2 content in the water using an electrochemical method
- Measured and categorized Quagga Mussels (benthic bivalves)
- Got my first lab notebooks!
- Trained/Authorized to work with Radioactive Materials!
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