09/09/26

Today was again spent looking at the first few centimeters of the sediment cores for life, followed by lots of washing. Besides foraminifera, we have been finding lots of other interesting things in the mud. We have found many worms (especially nematodes) of various sizes, polychaetes, and even a slug. Some have been found dead, but many alive which is so fascinating to watch and admittedly has slowed me down in the picking process because I can’t look away.

Another interesting event today was the Alvin recovery which brought back two squid with it. Unfortunately they cannot live very long out of the water so they were used for science and bait for the fisherman on board.

Tonight we had the first batch of bad weather for the entire journey. We hit some rough seas and it made it very hard for me to concentrate as I got a little sea sick. Around 1am I decided to call it and go to bed “early”.