Bermuda Field Course 2011 :: Daily Report

Day 04 | Sunday, March 13, 2011

Five more minutes please! Day 4 in Bermuda began with us losing an hour of sleep due to the change to daylight savings time. After rushing up to the dining hall for breakfast, we were given a tour of one of the BIOS research vessels -the R/V Atlantic Explorer. Ever since the ship docked at BIOS on Friday we have been anxious to walk onboard. The crew said that, on average, the price tag to complete one day of offshore sampling with the vessel is $22,000; this year the crew will sample 181 days.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of identifying zooplankton samples, relaxing in the sun, and crunching data zookplankton data and numbers from yesterday's ecological field sampling. A few of us also learned how to operate Primer - a statistical program commonly used in the UK. Groups from yesterday also got together after dinner to discuss their game plans for tomorrow's sampling in the seagrass beds or mangroves.

- Ashley, Heather & Jenn

R/V Atlantic Explorer at BIOS