|
Yesterday was the roughest day on the ship for me, but I actually slept for the first time! The night before I was tired, so I turned in at 5 pm. but woke up completely awake at 8 p.m. so I got up and stayed up till 4 am. The tossing about on the waves, combined with medications makes it really hard to function at times. The scientists are so tenacious to be out here on this ship, dealing with sometimes rough waves, and still are able to perform their work.
Staying up late turned out to be really neat because I helped two people launch a radiosonde (weather balloon). They launch daily every four hours. 12 p.m., 4 a.m., 8 a.m., etc. The sonde, or "sounding" device is a small box that's attached to the balloon by a cord. The box has a delicate hair-like piece that is mounted on a small frame which sticks out the bottom. The weather balloon reads temperature, and other parts of this box take readings on barometric pressure, relative humidity, wind direction, and wind speed. We fill the balloon with helium with a tube the size of a garden hose! We tie off the balloon with a heavy duty twist tie, attach the box with a clip, and fold the end of the balloon up and over the clip and tie it off again. You have to be really careful when you let the balloon go to make sure the wind will not carry it back into the higher parts of the ship.
- Judy
|
|
