Move in day!
First impressions
Amidst the hustle and bustle of the continental breakfast at the Staybridge hotel, we all gathered in the lobby at 8:30 am. After strictly meeting digitally via zoom and going on our daily walk with our designated buddy, it was motivating to see all the scientists together, almost as if we were the next “Avengers”. Todd, one of the science officers, made short time of our drive to the port as we all gave introductions. Upon arriving we were welcomed by the mighty starboard side of the Langseth. At first glance it looked like something out of the TV show The Deadliest Catch with its own set of unique tools – cranes, cables, air guns, ocean bottom seismometers (OBS’s for short), and more. After our group picture and we began to carry our gear up the gangway, I could tell the vessel was much more than a glorified fishing boat. Mechanics, engineers, technicians all wove in and out of the Langseth’s doors and scaffolding, kind of like the whizzing gears of a fancy wristwatch.
Science Party!
Lab and safety tour
Entering the “Snake Pit” we were met with a common area that branched out into four modest rooms. This wasn’t any sort of Carnival cruise you hear on TV– we all knew that—so the accommodations were accommodating. Plus, we were right next to laundry and the galley, maybe that will give us an advantage to good food and clean clothes (midnight snacks maybe?). After settling into the “Snake Pit” we all congregated in the lab and spoke with some of the protected species observers (PSO’s for short…there’s also a lot of interesting lingo out at sea, I’m keeping record and trying to decipher them all) with whom we share some of the lab space with. The lab is no joke, a semicircle of monitors lined the adjacent entrance wall and even more individual monitors along the sides and back walls. I can only imagine what the lab will look like once we start collecting data! After our short group up we had burritos for lunch, not a bad welcoming meal from the galley. We then got a safety and life at sea run down followed by a tour of the main parts of the vessel. We also learned what was ok and NOT ok to touch. There are several places on the boat that mean serious business, but if we asked the right people, they would be more than welcome to give us a tour what they do.
The “Snake Pit”
Life at sea is far from glamourous, but ammenties come at the cost of collecting cutting edge data on a vessel with a rich history on the open seas. The Langseth, for many, was their office and temporary home, and for the next 40 days it will be ours too.
- Lazaro Garza
Main lab, something straight out of James Bond…