1 November
Drs. Stockton and Bowser wake up very early (5AM) and complete a few tasks.
It was lightly snowing. After morning comms with Mac Ops, Neal and Doug prepared
to make a collection dive at the ice hut. By mid-morning when the dive was made,
the snow was falling fairly heavily and the shore camp was bare
ly
visible. We have plenty of food and fuel at the hut on the ice. We were in constant
communication with the shore hut with our handheld radios. Doug and Neal dive
at the main dive site. Doug uses airlift to collect sediment from the ice Jamesway
site. Neal collects sediment cores for detailed analysis of the distribution
of forams. The dive was successful. We set about sorting the samples for the
rest of the day.
Sorting samples is the most tedious part of our field work. The mud samples are sieved over 1mm screens. The residue on the screen is placed in dishes that are kept cold and inspected under a dissecting scope. All foraminifera are removed and placed in clean cold seawater which is kept ice cold. The foraminifera are then are identified to species and counted.
2 November
There were a few helicopter flights early in the day, but there is tricky weather between here and McMurdo. By mid-morning, the weather turned worse at McMurdo -- Condition One -- which prevented all flying. The helicopters returned to Marble Point to sit out the bad weather. All was quiet for the balance of the day. We were anticipating a visitor from McMurdo, but the closing of flights prevented any further movement.
In the afternoon, a dive is planned at the "Tile" dive hole, but the seal is present, so to avoid disturbing it, the dive is switched to the "Downstream Delta" hole. This site is in front of the Wales Stream delta at a water depth of about 50 feet. Being near the leading edge of a delta, the bottom slope is steep. The sediments are similar to those at the surface of the delta, very coarse. Neal uses the portable airlift sampler to collect sediment. We find all of the species of forams there that we find at other sites in the cove, though at greatly reduced numbers. We also discover a new species of foram dubbed "Gumby" because it is green and flexible. Doug takes some nice video, which allows those on the surface to see some of what the divers see and allow us to understand the environment better.
3 November
Fine weather 22F (-6C). Sun shining, some high thin cirrus. Two helicopters arrive in the morning with some empty 55-gallon barrels and other barrels containing JP-5 (jet fuel/heating oil). The empty barrels will hold our waste water (generated by washing hands, dishes, etc.). These will be taken back to McMurdo to be handled there. A second helicopter arrived with drip pans and a replacement fire extinguisher for a defective unit here. As their name implies, the drip pans prevent oil or gas drips from contaminating the environment. There are dip pans under each fuel barrel at the fueling area, the engine running the air compressor, and the small electric generator at the dive shack. Later in the day a third helicopter returned from Marble Point with jugs filled with drinking water. We use about 5 gallons of drinking water each day.
Dr. Bowser changes the oil in the 12KW generator - a task that must be done
every 100 hours of operation. 
During
this time, the power is switched over to the backup 6KW generator, so that scientific
equipment and computers can remain on-line. Besides the scientific equipment,
the generator powers our lights, the microwave oven, and coffee maker. The 6KW
unit has developed an oil leak, and we can't seem to figure out what's wrong
[insert: tuberose\bowser\OilHunt.jpg] Time to call the repairman!
Doug collects a sample of forams for the main collection and Dr. Travis patiently picks these samples until well past midnight.
4 November
Rob Robbins, the Divemaster at McMurdo Station, arrived by helo at about 9:30am
from to install surface supply equipment for the divers. They tested the equipment
and then dove at the hut site. Neal and Doug each do check-out dives with this
equipment under the supervision of Rob Robbins. They use the check out dives
to harvest more forams from under the dive hut. The surface supply allows each
diver to operate independently; this means that only one dive is in the water
at a time, breathing air supplied by a hose attached to a large air cylinder
in the dive shack. 
The
equipment allows the diver and surface personnel to communicate during a dive.
A second diver, fully suited in scuba gear, stands by in case there's trouble
and needs to go in to help. The equipment works perfectly, and we can now get
twice as many samples per day.
In the afternoon, Robbins waited for the helicopter to arrive to take him back to McMurdo. We talked to him about the recent happenings in McMurdo, various rumors, and the diving being carried on across the Sound. He tells us of The Zen Welder who supervised underwater welding at Palmer Station on the Antarctic Peninsula: "Be the weld."
After he arrived at our camp, McMurdo weather was predicted to turn bad in the afternoon. Robbins cavalierly suggested that this meant it wouldn't. For him, today, it didn't.
Weather rules down here, particularly when you are waiting for a helicopter to take you somewhere, anywhere. The weather can be beautiful for days and then it turns bad for just as long or longer. People have been stuck in field camps, waiting for weather to clear or other flight-related matters to be resolved. In the 1980's, a colleague flew out to this camp for a three hour turn-around and ended up staying here for two weeks. This year, we waited in Christchurch for six days waiting for conditions to clear and McMurdo. We have often waited at Explorers Cove for an extra day or two for clear weather.
5 November
The day is overcast with light snow. Instead of flying back to McMurdo for rest and a hot shower, Doug and Neal dive at the site of the 1990/1993 sampling area. This is an outside dive. The divers dress in their dry suits in the dive hut and then walk out to the dive site, where all the other equipment has been assembled. Neal uses the portable airlift sampler to collect samples where collections had been made in previous years.
6 November
Doug and Neal each harvest forams from under the dive shack, using surface supply equipment. In the afternoon, they leave camp together with Dr. Stockton for a much-deserved break back in McMurdo. Dr. Travis and I remain at Explorers Cove with more than enough samples to keep us busy for several days; sorting animals from the samples is a time-consuming process. One of the things we miss most about not going back to McMurdo is a hot shower. Our laundry is sent back to be washed and brought back when Doug and Neal return.
7 November
Heavy winds appear at the New Harbor camp. Dr. Travis and I button down everything and wait out the storm by sorting through all the samples that were collected during the week. We also set up the aquarium system at the dive shack in the afternoon when it calms.
