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| Charlotte and her first Argo Float |
My name is Charlotte and I am a PhD student in Hamburg in
Germany. Back at home, I am working on
understanding the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), the
mechanism responsible for carrying warm waters from the equator to higher
latitudes. Despite its importance for the climate, measuring the AMOC is very
difficult and the RAPID array (where we are headed) provides the very first
continuous measurements. So I was very excited at the prospect of
experiencing the data-collecting first-hand.
Unlike everyone else, I didn’t get to sleep in my own bed
the last nights before the cruise, but at least that meant that I also didn’t spend
the last days agonizing about things that I might have forgotten to pack. Once
I had waved rainy Hamburg goodbye from the airplane, I knew that I better have
all important documents with me – or there was nothing to be done about it.
As I hardly knew any of my fellow scientists before, I was a
bit nervous when I arrived in Southampton, but everyone turned out to be really
nice! The ship itself was also a pleasant surprise (larger than I thought it
would be!), as was the weather, which was considerably better than in Hamburg.
This is my first time being on a ship for more than one
night, and it has been quite an experience so far. Thankfully, the seasickness
left me after a few days on board, so that I could really start to enjoy the
journey. There are a lot of unexpected
delights: The food is very good (and I do not have to cook myself), we have
seen dolphins more than one time, and there is no better place to watch sunsets
or the stars than on a ship in the middle of nowhere!
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| Dolphins off Discovery's bow |
So far, we have deployed a drifter and an ARGO float, and
mooring operations are underway since yesterday, which is also pretty exciting!
I am really looking forward to the next weeks!
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