Stacy Deppeler Day 3: Mar 1st 2013 Catching up to speed. After a good nights sleep I tried to rise for breakfast and found that the sea sickness I had been feeling on the first day had returned, which was surprising as the seas had calmed down a lot since the day before. The morning was spent in and out of sleep until I was diagnosed with dehydration, an unpleasant side effect of the anti-sea sickness medication I was taking. Some hydration salts and a few hours sleep later, I was back on my feet and ready to help out for our next sampling station at 2pm. Our scheduled morning station was again cancelled due to time constraints and in order to make the most of our limited time, all members of the scientific party pitched in on this one. Myself, Tamara and Cassie went out to the back deck with a box of XBTs and waited for the ship to be positioned correctly and the CTD to be placed in the water. When we were given the go ahead we threw an XBT overboard, while the computer system in the Ops Room recorded its temperature and depth profile until it broke free of the copper communication line (around 950m depth). We performed this task two more times and then they began dropping the CTD to 1000m. We threw in another XBT when the CTD reached 200, 400 and 800m, respectively and recorded its temperature and depth profiles. This technique was used so that the fall rate of the XBT can be calibrated against the CTD. This results in much more accurate temperature and depth profiles for the XBT, which can then be used in climate studies to record temperature changes in the oceans. We were not alone while performing our duties on the back deck, others were out there working on the CPR (Continuous Plankton Recorder) as we had travelled close to 400 nautical miles meaning that the cassette, which captures the plankton, would run out before our next scheduled stop. The CPR is positioned at the back of the ship and is towed in the water just below the surface while we are moving between stations. A special intake at the front of the machine allows sea water and plankton to flow into the machine between two silk ribbons. These ribbons are then squashed together, capturing any zooplankton and phytoplankton that have passed through, which are then fixed by a small amount of formalin inside the machine so they do not break down. These ribbons are returned to the Australian Antarctic Division, where the species are identified and added to an ongoing database of plankton location and abundance that can be used in future studies. No more stations were scheduled for the day so in the evening some of the chlorophyll samples were analysed by couple of scientists and the rest of the team enjoyed an early night in anticipation for a busy day tomorrow.

Russell Ayers - 28/2/13 The Weather turned rough over night. Strong winds and high seas are slowing progress and restricting access to the outside decks. As a consequence our voyage South to Hobart has slowed to about 6knts, we need to get our speed back up to above 9knts to allow enough time for more deployments of CTD and other instruments. In the meantime, we have been keeping ourselves busy by analysing chlorophyll measurements, oxygen and nutrients, as well as some phytoplankton and zooplankton species identification work from samples collected yesterday. Tonight we have some leisure time and watch a movie, while we wait for the weather to calm allowing the ship to move further along.

Tamara Bartholomew The Serious Science on the CSIRO Southern Surveyor day 2 At 1100 we had a science meeting in which we discussed eddies the priority stations for this expedition are four stations off the coast of Maria Island, Tasmania. The reason for this is there are permanent environmental detectors that need to be calibrated. We are traveling slowly to make it to Maria on time due to a southern swell and short waves. As a result we are unable to complete our afternoon station sampling for today. Instead we had a look at the zooplankton from a late night net tow. This proved to be difficult as the boat movement made it difficult to see the little critters some of which were clearly very colourful. There appeared to be a variety of copepods and molluscs dominating the sample with some polychaetes also present. With the conditions becoming more turbulent it became too difficult to see or identify what was under the microscope. We decided to abandon our attempts in hope of calmer weather tomorrow We hope to be back on track tomorrow morning, ocean and ship speeding permitting.

Amelia Travers - Day 2 After being rocked into a refreshing sleep by the waves the AM science crew awoke to find that the first planned station of the day had been cancelled due to bad weather. With a spot of time on our hands until the next station we prepared all the scientific equipment and had some spare time to explore the ship and attempt to email home via the somewhat fickle satellite link. In the swell the view from the bridge (where the captain hangs out) was particularly spectacular. With nothing but waves and the occasional albatross it was humbling, although exciting to be adventuring out here. Around lunch time the weather and waves had chilled out enough to start the next station. The AM shift got right into it and ran successful drops and tests in record time. Sadly the weather then picked up and all future research stations have been put on hold. This was probably a reasonable experience of genuine scientific research, no matter how well planned a project something will still go wrong. The tasks left for the day involved significant periods of time looking down a microscope at various plankton forms captured from the water column, however it must be noted that looking down a microscope on a moving ship is not for the faint hearted, nor those whose sea legs may have wandered off.