Jungle and Cliffs

Good morning. We spent yesterday on the north side of Tutuila for our first day of dives on that side. I can't say that the underwater scenery was spectacular. There was a large amount of sedimentation and definite reminders of the tsunami. There were several large tree trunks and branches at our last site, which is an unusual finding. But the view from on top of the water was beautiful. The American Samoa Islands are volcanic in nature and we ate lunch next to a volcanic cliff covered in lush jungle foliage. There was an abandoned house on a beach next to the cliff and at the back of a small bay. It would have been a perfect Robinson Crusoe house, except maybe a bit too modern. I couldn't even make out a road that might have led to it. So except for the threat of tsunamis and cyclones, it would be a wonderful place to stay. Maybe it should have been built on top of the cliff instead of next to it.

We are off today for more north shore diving. I hope this finds you well and warm.

Take care,

Cristi

Sending Ben Home

Today was a rest day for us and a change in leadership. Ben has completed his portion of the Chief Scientist duties and is unfortunately on his way back to Honolulu. He headed off in a small boat today for the Pago Pago harbor and then on to the airport. The head of our program has joined us to be the Chief Scientist for March. I think Ben wasn't quite ready to leave the ship, but he is looking forward to this month of quiet time to work on his dissertation. Although C.A.T. can be quite demanding, I imagine that he will get much more done in a quiet house and work place. I will of course miss him, but I'm looking forward to seeing the rest of these islands, spending some time in Western Samoa at the end of the cruise and then returning to Honolulu at the end of March. Other than that, it was an uneventful day. We are back in the water tomorrow for another 8 days of diving.

Thanks for the e-mails that I've been getting. I always love reading about what you guys are doing and it helps me feel more connected. I hope you are doing well.

Take care and good night,

Cristi

Back on the water

Anthias' at Howland Island

We are back on the water after a brief and hectic stay in Pago Pago, American Samoa. It is good to be diving again and I've taken on a new role as a 'working' diver. For this portion of the cruise I will be filling in as a diver to install various instruments and structures, which requires hammering stainless steel pins into the substrate. This is a very different role than just recording what you see along a measuring line and so far I've come up from each dive having seen nothing more than the instrument I've been installing. It's been a bit odd - it seems that if a school of Orcas passed next to me, I probably wouldn't notice. I keep track of my buddies by noticing who is working across the instrument from me (I mostly only see their hands) and how many different directions I'm getting kicked from! There are four of us that work in close proximity and as long as the kicks are from different directions, I know they're still there. But not to worry, the water slows the force of a fin kick and it doesn't hurt. It also makes hammering pins a little interesting. You have the force of the water to push against and things seem to be in slow motion. There are two main type of structures we're installing and they will be recovered in two years. One set is the ARMS, autonomous reef monitoring structures, and the other are the CAUs, calcification acidification units. The ARMS allow cryptic critters to settle on the structure and be identified once the unit is recovered. We've been finding all sorts of small creatures that we haven't seen before. The CAUs are to monitor the effects of ocean acidification and how it is affecting calcifying organisms. The CAUs are the project that I've been organizing for the past few months.

That's about all for now. Once Ben returns to Hawaii, I'll be taking over his role as the Official Blog's organizer, so be sure to follow it for more of my posts. I hope you are well and not too snowed in.

Take care and good night,

Cristi

Run away! Run away! Well, only slightly...

Sea Urchin Hanging Out Underneath a Table Coral at Johnston Atoll

We have just come out of a satellite shadow where we didn't have internet for a few days and are now steaming circles around Samoa. In case the weather stations have been showing Pacific storm activity, I wanted to let you know that we are all safe, healthy and only being sloshed slightly. We are currently crossing paths with a minor storm and although we were supposed to arrive in Samoa this morning, we are now turning around to hide in the western lee of the island chain. The current forecast is that we will be able come in to port on Sunday morning. Things out here really aren't that bad and we are all busily working on the cruise report (so it can't be that sloshy). The main reason that we aren't going in to port is that the Captain doesn't want to be tied up in Samoa during the storm and have the ship bouncing against a solid pier or other boats. The way the storm is travelling, it looks like wind and waves will be funneling directly into the port where we are supposed to be so the ship could take more damage tied up then out in the open water. Other than that, I don't have much to report. I'll write more about Howland and Baker after the cruise report is finished. Until then, I hope you are all well and not snowed in.
Take care,
Cristi

Squalls and other such fun

Can you see the ship? Neither can I. It's big and white and less than a mile away. This was during one of yesterday's squalls.

The weather decided to give us a turn yesterday and we spent most of our above water time bouncing around in a little orange boat. It seemed a reminder that it can't be all fun and games. But once getting in the water, it wasn't too bad. By the afternoon we had found a lee and although everything around us was still foreboding, we didn't quite feel like Tiggers. Squalls continued and at one point I heard the ship come over the radio and mention that we were about to get hit by one. I didn't think much about this until looking left and seeing a wall of rain approaching across the water. One other small boats tried to outrun it unsuccessfully but we had divers in the water and had no choice but to wait for a good rinse down. It was quite impressive to watch its' approach. Today the winds have died down again and hopefully it won't be quite as bumpy.

I hope things are quite as cold and snowy for you as what I've been hearing about.

Take care and keep warm,

Cristi

We found Clownfish!

They weren't exactly Nemo, but they were awesome! We dropped in to our 3rd dive of the day and it looked like huge clumps of blue cotton candy had fallen on the reef. This was our first sighting of anemones for this cruise and we were duly impressed. These anemones are usually brown but are being affected by the same warm water bleaching that has affected so much of the coral. As anemones are related to corals they usually have algae living within them to photosynthesize and create their color. However anemones are also able to capture food by paralyzing small fish with their stinging tentacles and then moving it to their mouth at the base of all of the tentacles. Only clownfish and a few species of damselfish are immune to the stinging toxins. So being able to capture food will hopefully allow these anemones to survive this period of bleaching.

As we don't get to see these very often, the clownfish darting in and out of the tentacles definitely kept me amused while I was waiting on my dive buddies! And as a picture says a thousand words, a movie must say even more.

Enjoy and sleep well!

~ Cristi

Howland Island

One of the healthier reefs at Howland...

We have been transiting south from Johnston Atoll for the last four days and it is abundantly apparent the minute you step out on deck. The days have been getting longer and even the mornings before daybreak are hot and muggy now. We are currently only 15-20 miles north of the equator which has meant a refreshing change in water temperatures. The dives at Johnston, although quite beautiful, were getting colder as the days went by. Our first dive today felt like bath water. It was wonderful. The underwater portion of Howland is amazing! Most of our sites are on a steep wall that drops into blue water within 300 feet of the beach. We stay at 40-50 feet and even with 100+ feet of visibility, we couldn’t see the bottom. There was an incredible diversity of both fish and coral, however a large portion of the coral has been bleached. This happens when various stressors, normally high water temperatures, cause the algae that live within the coral and create the color, to either die or leave the coral tissue. This leaves the coral completely white and it may or may not survive the episode. According to our Oceanography team, water temperatures are about 5 degrees higher here than normal which is more than corals can normally withstand. Hopefully these will survive otherwise there will up to 80% mortality along the entire east side of the island. Although our team hasn't made it to the east side yet (currents would have been too strong for our surveys) we've been told by the tow team that it looked like a pine forest after a snow. Although our dives were wonderful now that I’ve shed my Baby Seal suit (5mm wetsuit plus vest), I would rather be a bit chilly and have the dive look a little less like a winter wonderland. It will be interesting to see what this area looks like when we come back in two years.

So now it's time for breakfast, safety meeting and then boat launches.

Take care, CR