1:45 am, our daily alarm clock sounds: “Marcus, Anna, your watch is up in 20 minutes...” Despite Marjolin’s sweet, gentle voice, we groan in protest. For several days, finding a safe position to fall asleep in without being thrown out of our bunks has been a losing battle. We’re all sleep deprived. Aside from our skipper Clive, these are the heaviest seas any of us have seen.
We haven’t had a chance to observe the subtle changes in the oceans surface for the last few days, distracted by massive waves. We now notice: no more floating patches of Sargassum. We wonder if we’re still in the “Atlantic garbage patch”. A quick glance at our trawl answers our question: the same collection of small plastic fragments, 3 nurdles, and a few surprises:
“Look at that! 3 Portuguese Man of War!” Marcus picks one up by its inflated air bladder, careful to avoid the deceptively alluring, still stinging tentacles. A small piece of plastic is nestled amongst the bright blue tentacles. These potent creatures are actually comprised of a colony of different polyps, each with distinct functions, that work together. A very cool, cooperative survival tactic. Just keep your distance!
We’ll trawl one more time tonight, during our 10:00 watch – our 35th and final trawl. We’re now less than 300 miles from the Azores, and beginning to reflect on the last 6 weeks. The same questions echo from friends and crew: have we found what we expected? Is this similar to what we've seen in the North Pacific? What comes next? We'll touch on some of these tomorrow, now back to research!
7 comments:
Helloo Im Jess from University High School. That must've been so hard for you. But you guys are making a change in the oceans and it really means a lot to the community as well. >:D A quick question, is it really hard to find the creature you're looking for?
Hi iam chris form university high school is it hard to do what you do? Is it hard to find the animals?
i hope you can get a successful mission and help the animals in the sea.
hi this is anthony again from university hs 9th grade and i was wondern if throwing waste in the ocean is bad for the blue whales sense they swim so close to the boats and also how often do blues whales get strikes by boats
university hs
united stats
9 grade
iam glade that your mission was successful this is realy cool that that you are helping are plant stay clean but what tips of thing cause pullution that turn the water a different color and makes it bad for for us to swim in.
Enmmanuel
how long have you guys been out there saving the marine life?? is it emotionaly difficult to see the animals in danger? los angeles c.a university high school.. 12th grade.anuar
Hi, I'm from University Highschool in Los Angeles, California in the 9th grade and I was wondering; When you found the Portuguese man of war, did you do any tests on it and if so, what kind?
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