Log - August-11-2003 by Robert McCarthy Previous | Next Expedition Expedition | People Walking on the land Robert McCarthy See my log from August 3rd “Heroes Down Under”! No, really, see my log from August 3rd! These divers are Heroes! Now see my log from August 6th, “Ride of a Lifetime” (different ride, but same sentiments.) And finally see my log from July 28th, “Thank you, thank you, thank you”. All of those were rolled up into one fantastic journey yesterday. Gerhard Behrens and I were privileged to accompany Drs. Humfrey Melling and Helen Johnson on a small boat excursion to Offley Island, just north of Petermann Glacier, to place a shallow pressure sensor mooring down about 60 feet. Let me just say that Petermann Glacier is impressive. It is about 10 miles across, between two huge walls of rock (Petermann Fjord), and it extends about 60 miles into the Greenland Ice Cap. We spent the morning heading into Petermann Fjord, and then I got “the call”. The call to the bridge for the small boat operational briefing. Another chance of a lifetime; one I’ll never forget. After dinner, we got suited up in the Mustang suits, and climbed down the 30-foot ladder to get on the Healy 3, the small boat. The wind had been blowing all day (coring operations postponed due to too much wind), and the waves were about 3 feet, but on the small boat they seemed more. The boat powered away, and the ride was awesome. We were heading into the waves, and every so often, we hit a wave just right and “caught a little air”, and came crashing down. The wind and the spray, it was definitely fun! Getting near the rocks, the immense size overwhelmed me. The layered rocks and the erosion from years of scourering by glaciers were amazing. When we got behind Offley Island, the waves died down, and they pulled the Healy 3 into a region that Humfrey had scouted out from the helicopter a few days before. Placing the camera down, we could see a rocky bottom that sloped too steeply for the pressure mooring. We pulled up the anchor and brought back to the surface large leaves of kelp. Kelp like a hard bottom substrate to attach themselves to, and so we moved on. The next stop appeared better from the camera. It almost reminded me of snow; it looked smooth and white, and we could see shrimp swimming away. Here’s where things got intense. The dive crew started to get Todd Gillick and Dave Grob (“G”-Rob) suited up. Everything had been packed with care, and getting the dry suit on was a feat in itself. Each diver had a double tank on his back, with an extra regulator in case of difficulty. The hooded mask tried to keep them dry, but they say their heads get wet anyway. Imagine jumping in knowing that the water temperature is in the low thirties. Fear was not shown, but you could tell the divers were getting focused, and going through the dive in their heads. Todd was the first in, and he went down the anchor line to start the mooring base that has to be driven into the bottom to hold the mooring secure. Dave was next, and when he jumped in, his air started leaking. It turned out to be fine, but everybody was on edge at this point. Neil Amaral was the dive commander, and he could talk to each diver from above, but the divers couldn’t hear each other. This is where it got very TENSE! Waiting for replies and not knowing what was happening down below, it got very quiet. The bottom proved to be too soft, and after a 30-minute dive, Neil called the divers back. He didn’t want them down any longer, and thought that the bottom was not suited for a secure mount. When they came up, you could tell that they were frozen---hands lose dexterity first, and then it’s hard to work. After getting their packs off, they went into the cabin to warm up. You could tell they felt bad, but they had no control over the bottom conditions. Then Humfrey had to make another crucial decision (he’s had to adjust his plans more than once on this cruise, and has stayed collected), where to next? After some careful thought, he chose another place to investigate. The camera was sent down again, and this one looked like a happy medium between the two previous locations. Now it was the other two divers’ turn. Neil didn’t have his suit with him, and Todd’s didn’t fit, so he asked if Todd would go down again. That’s exactly what Todd was hoping for. A chance to do it again. AMAZING! It wasn’t anybody’s fault the last dive wasn’t successful, but he wanted another chance to get that mooring in for the scientists. Suzanne Scrivens (“Scribbles”) then got suited up. I was cold just watching them. Neil got out his dive manual, and was calculating Todd’s next repetitive dive. The U.S. Navy Dive Manual has charts for repetitive dives, and Neil was extra careful for Todd’s wellbeing. Neil has a tremendous responsibility to keep his divers safe; one he takes very seriously. The other divers know this, and that’s comforting to them. This dive then went extremely well, and Todd was busy getting the mooring into the seabed when Suzanne went in. Her hood was not part of her dry suit, and water rushes in immediately, and then her body warms the water next to her head. Think of ice-cold water on your head---guts! She went down, then once Todd had the mooring post secured to the bottom, Humfrey and Helen sent down the instrument package. Suzanne and Todd worked well together, and they both came up in about 20 minutes. SUCCESS! Between dives, Dale Hubbard, from Oregon State University, had some water samples to collect. He brought a Niskin bottle along, and he took a water sample the “old-fashioned-way”, by hand. He opened the bottle, sent it down by hand, and sent a weighted “Messenger” down the line to trip the bottle release. That was fun and he enjoyed it too. Also, Dr. Andreas Muenchow wanted me to make a few CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth) casts between dives. I lowered the sensor in the water, and Dale and Gerhard helped me bring it back up. Mentally, it justified my being on the boat, but really we were just there to watch and document their dive. BUT, our ride still wasn’t over. Dale luckily was with us, because he needed to get a freshwater sample from a stream that drains directly from the Greenland Ice Cap! So they drove the small boat right up to the beach. While Dale went for his sample, we were able to get off and walk around the beach area until Dale returned. That was a welcomed experience, walking on land! I was like a boy again, walking along the water’s edge looking for special stones and shells to bring back as souvenirs for my family. Thanks again to the Principal Investigator, Dr. Kelly Falkner for giving me “The Call”, and to all who were on the boat that made the excursion unforgettable. Please read Gerhard Behrens log entry for this day for more details of our trip, and complementary photos.