June 14, 2009 Set Sail

6-14-09

"The sea, washing the equator and the poles, offers its perilous aid, and the power and empire that follow it... 'Beware of me,' it says, 'but if you can hold me, I am the key to all the lands.'"
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

Dutch Harbor, we have liftoff! It has finally happened. We have set sail for the Bering Sea. Funny, Rachel and I didn't notice at first because we were in the lab area setting up instruments and work space for all the samples we will be prepping and analyzing. Every now and then I would look out the window and feel like I was moving while we were still docked because of the movement of the water in the harbor. At one point the water was moving faster and it took me a moment to realize that the landscape was moving as well. That should be a pretty good indication that we had left the dock.

From the top deck of the ship we could see the breathtaking mountains and cliffs of Unalaska Island open up to the sea. The combination of the hum of the ship?s engine and the sound of the gentle waves injected new energy into the cruise. Before we left the harbor, I still felt like a tourist carrying gear around a big boat. Now that we are moving I feel more like a part of the expedition. As we admired the scenery, a bald eagle soared by the Knorr to investigate. I had been told that bald eagles congregate around the dumpsters in Unalaska like seagulls. I was pleased not to have seen this before the cruise so that my regal image of our national emblem remained intact for at least another month. The eagle made one pass over our heads and turned back towards land as if to say "Good luck, you're on your own now." I couldn't help but feel a little empowered and patriotic. It is comforting to remember that I will be working with a group seasoned experts, so I will not be alone in this incredible and challenging journey.

In the lab we have gone to great lengths to secure all of our equipment and instruments. Everything has to be tied down with bungie cords or zip ties to keep it from falling off the lab bench in rough conditions. The High Pressure Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) instrument, which we will use to measure lipofuscin in krill eyes (more on that down the road), is of special concern because it has so many intricate parts that need to remain intact for the instrument to run properly. On last summer's cruise, Rachel and company were drastically hindered by a broken flow cell in the HPLC fluorescence detector, followed by a malfunctioning gradient valve in the pump. This spring, Rachel and our P.I. (Primary Investigator) Rodger Harvey were able analyze over 450 pairs of krill eyes. Having received lab assistance from Rodger a number of times, it is not surprising that everything worked well in his presence. Call it experience or skill (probably some of the first and a lot of the second), but Rodger knows how to handle just about any instrument problem that may arise. Rachel packed a spare of almost every part to the HPLC, so I think that we have a good chance to mimic at least some of the spring's successful instrument performance this time around.

-Eli