Day 4: Bad weather
By: Callum Hollingsworth
A 4 -5 metre swell, with 30knot winds, producing wind chop on top of the swell in Bass Straight.
Today we have hit some bad weather as we start to make our way back towards the coast and into Bass Straight. We currently have a 4 -5 metre swell, with 30knot winds, producing wind chop on top of the swell.
Due to this weather, some studies have been hindered. Scientists are finding it hard to use sensitive equipment such as microscopes with the vibration and roll of the ship. There have been a few bird sightings, but again due to the weather and reduced visibility there has not been as many sightings as in previous days. In saying this, first thing this morning a sunfish was spotted off the bow and an unidentified fish jumped out of the water when I was on the bridge.
Today Dr Eric Woehler explained some more about his research. He explained how fascinating it is that 30 per cent of the earth is land, with 70 per cent of the earth covered in water. Yet only 3 per cent of the world’s bird species are seabirds! Dr Woehler believes this is indicative of a hard lifestyle at sea.
An interesting fact about this research is that each sighting is added directly into the ship’s database, allowing the sightings to be referenced against other data the ship may be collecting.
This allows bird sightings to be correlated with wind speeds, water temperature, salinity, currents, seafloor, swell, plankton density, and aerosol sampling.