9St questions and answers: 30th March 2008

9St questions and answers: 30th March 2008

She is 70 m long and 13.8 m wide. Some other Tangaroa facts: she was made in 1991 and mostly works around New Zealand but can work in the sub-tropics as well as travelling to the far south (e.g. the recent voyage to Antarctica, made possible because she has an ice strengthened hull).

Nhi: Has anyone ever fallen over the side?

Hi, Nhi.

Noone has ever fallen over the side of Tangaroa but this is a risk that is taken very seriously. Before sailing it is compulsory that everyone does a safety tour, and part of that tour is the “man overboard drill”.

If you see someone fall over the side it is essential that you do not lose sight of that person. The Bridge will be notified immediately and the Officer will push the MOB (man over board) button, which stores the exact coordinates of where the person fell off.

Someone else will also activate the Man Overboard Buoy – also called the orange smoke buoy, so named because when released it sets off orange smoke at the location where the person fell in. The buoy can be used day and night, as the ship has strong search lights. The life ring is released at the same time.

As soon as the call has gone up for "man overboard" everyone stops work immediately and heads up to the upper bridge (also called monkey island). This is the spot with the best view of the water and everyone will start looking for, or maintain sight of, the person overboard.

The ship Z-boat (Zodiac) will be then be launched and our man or woman overboard rescued.

Everyone on deck wears a life jacket but really the most important thing is to avoid falling in – when equipment is being launched the crew will make sure it is done safely, and that they are safe too. You may notice on the daily shots what the Tangaroa motto is...

Claudia: Has anyone ever got so angry with someone else that they have thrown them over the side?

Ha ha. As you might imagine going to sea can be quite an intense experience, with lots of people contained in quite a small area. The people who go to sea tend to be a pretty mellow lot and get on with everyone – though after long periods most people do start to go a bit stir crazy and start counting down the days till they reach dry land.

Mr Valentine: Has anyone been seasick yet?

No-one has admitted to this – but some of us have felt a few lurches of the stomach. So far the weather has been pretty calm but if you spend time at a computer screen or looking down a microscope it's quite common to start to feel sick. This can normally be fixed with a break and some fresh air.

Sarah: Have you ever found a "Dinosaur Fish"?

We haven’t found any dinosaur fish Sarah, but last year on the Chatham Rise “Oceans 2020” voyage we collected several fossilized shark teeth from samples taken with the same epibenthic sled being used on this trip. They were pretty neat, the largest one being about 4cm long. After the first one was found the sample sorters paid extra close attention to their job in the hope of finding one for themselves.

There is also a group of deepwater fish called Halosaurs (literally meaning salty lizard) and this sounds a bit like dinosaur so I thought I would mention it. These fish are related to eels and are long and slender and have been recorded on remote video swimming gracefully along near the deep  ocean sea floor. There are 3 or 4 species in our waters; the abyssal halosaur is found in waters up to 2.5 km deep.

Another answer Sarah from Pepe Cortese: If by "Dinosaur fish" you mean "Ichtyosaurus", no, we probably won't find any of them. These have been extinct for a long time (since the Jurassic) and are now mostly found in rock outcrops on land.

They would have died in the sea and been buried in the sediments that eventually became rock. Tectonic movement meant that eventually this rock became uplifted and part of mountain chains. So we are unlikely to find any "Ichtyosaurus" fossils under the sea".

Tess: How long does it take for a big iceberg to form?

Icebergs around Antractica take thousands of years to form. The ice in icebergs comes from snow that has fallen on Antarctica and is then squashed by later snow that falls on the ice. The ice then flows off Antarctica onto the coast. On any part of the coast small icebergs calve (break off) frequently. But bigger icebergs calve less frequently, with the biggest icebergs calving about one every 50 years.

Lizzy: Can you send us some pictures of the ugliest fish you find?

Lizzy – we sure will. So far we have not collected any animals at all (though have seen lots of Albatross). Our first sampling of a seamount is on Sunday morning, so there may well be some exciting animals to report on in the coming days.

9 St have decorated some cups that will be sent to the bottom of the ocean. Here they are comtemplating the trip ahead!

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