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Journal 2 - Leanne Miller Rutten: Day 1: Monday, May 19, 2003
The first order of business today was to inspect the research sites established during last year's mission. Dione and Mark started resurveying the reef at the northeast site, while Tonya and I started searching for tagged stony coral colonies at the fifth-leg site. Ours is a one of a kind treasure hunt, since the tags have been overgrown by algae, sponges, and the like. Thank goodness we have detailed maps from last year's mission. Happily, it appears that most of the corals are still present, and they seem happy to see us again. More good news - the Aquarius crew installed a new air fill and communications station close to our sites. This new station (called the Kamper Station) consists of a Plexiglas dome that affords us a spectacular 360 degree view of the reef while we refill our tanks and check in with Aquarius during the day. It saves us a lot of travel time back and forth between the reef and the habitat… and that leaves us even more time for research! A scorpion fish has taken up residence under the Kamper Station. It is cute, but not too cuddly. We are all gratified to see an abundance of fishes and other marine creatures on the deep reef. Both teams had close encounters with turtles today (some closer than others, but you'll have to ask Dione about that). We will be taking the camera out with us tomorrow, so look for photos on the website soon. |
Mission
Date: May, 2003 Mission Summary Aquanaut Profiles Expedition Journals Mission Pictures |
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