64PE365 - Day 9

After a lively group discussion yesterday evening, we came to the conclusion that we actually didn’t have enough measurement days left to measure all the interesting aspects at transect 2 (the Terschelling transect). So what to do, with 1 day of measurements left? We could measure at the edge of the plume or at an area with interesting vertical stratification. Instead of just flipping a coin and letting fate decide, more debate followed after which we decided to measure the area with vertical stratification.

So with that last-minute plan, the last day of measurements (/the day of Pi: 3.14) started this morning at 05:00 with some snow. Fortunately, the weather improved quickly and by the afternoon, some were working in their t-shirt already. It definitely helped that there was almost no wind, it almost felt like Spring! Along the survey, we measured some nice vertical stratification with fresher and colder water in the upper part of the water column and saltier and warmer water at the bottom.

Besides doing measurements the whole day, we also did some sightseeing. Yesterday, to Meinard’s dislike, we were ahead of schedule by 1 hour due to our good work ethics. Today, the captain prevented this from happening again by taking us at 11am on a touristic route, so we would see a bit more than only the 10km long stretch of the transect. Afterwards, we were a bit behind on schedule but in the afternoon we caught up again. The nice weather and the fact that all the measurements went well, made today a really nice and relaxed day.



To celebrate that the cruise went really well and because today was Pi day, there was pie. Rik en Hein made an awesome cake which was definitely one of the highlights of the cruise. After each having had a chunk of Pi-energy, we completed the measurements for the day and spent the night packing up all the equipment. All in all, it was a busy and at the same time relaxed day at the North Sea.