Entry 09
February 26 2025
Wirewalkers and gliders. Green tape, parafilm, and a power drill ~ can you tell what it is yet?
Another dawn CTD, but this time a full run-through, enabled us a dress rehearsal for our long-anticipated pre-dawn. Sampling went off without a hitch (surprisingly there is not a huge amount of competition for sampling at 0400!), and while my samples were running I decided to embark on a DIY project to see if I could optimise my filtering set up. As a minimum I have 12 samples to do at a time, and only 6 lines on my inline peristaltic pump set up, so I wanted to try my hand at constructing a manifold vacuum filtering rig, which would give me an additional 6 sample slots. With some help from a power drill, my trusty green tape and lots of parafilm (if you know, you know), I had a pretty neat-looking rig assembled. Happy to see my filters turning green, I soon had my first full set of genetics samples safely tucked away in the -80. Happy scientist.
Today I also had a couple of ‘phone home’s, which was very comforting. It can be hard watching your life carry on without you. Another call was made to discuss sample processing and analysis; a collaboration with one of my lab postdocs for whom I’m collecting samples. Finally I spoke with one of my supervisors so they could live vicariously through my porthole view from the chemistry lab! Most gratifying as well as encouraging. Choose your supervisors with care, a supportive one is priceless.
In the evening we were able to watch another couple of deployments - the wirewalker and glider. The wirewalker contains similar sensors to the CTD, and it works by allowing the main body to be ratcheted up and down the wire by wave action on a surface float attached to it, measuring a number of parameters including the temperature and salinity of the water as well as the chlorophyll in the water. We'll leave it out here, profiling about twice an hour, and collect it in around 3 weeks.
After the wirewalker we deployed a glider - another of my favourite 'yellow toys' as they are affectionately called (think - Boaty McBoatface!). The gliders are free-moving - not attached to a chain or buoy - and have much more control over their movement. They can alter their buoyancy to change their position in the water, and move forward and backwards. They also measure temperature, salinity and chlorophyll, amongst other things, sending some of this data by satellite, and keeping some of it locally for us to unpack upon recovery.
