Work on Maria S. Merian 在瑪麗安號上的工作

Sorry about the delay but we have been very busy preparing samplers. Let me show you some photos of our preparation wok during the past 10 days.

Receiving University of Hawaii equipment (收到我們的貨櫃了)

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See the big “ALOHA” sign on the container. After so many days of waiting, we have finally got our container on April 13, 2012. That was a long trip for our container from Hawaii to Freeport.
看到貨櫃上面的”ALOHA”了嗎？ALOHA是夏威夷文的歡迎、你好，真經過漫長的等待，我們終於收到我們的器材了。

We packed our container with equipment and lab ware. There is no space for people to walk in. Our super responsible and supportive port agent in Freeport, Kent Wards, had to stand on top of our equipment to help to secure items to the forklift.
我們寄了好多好多的器材，把整個貨櫃給裝滿了，船運公司在巴哈馬的承辦人，肯特先生，必須爬到我們的器材上，才能幫忙固定東西讓堆高機把器材運下來。

Lots of items to be unload. We have shipped pretty much the entire lab.
超多東西的吧！右後方的女士是巴哈馬的海關人員，她一直問我說這些都是妳的？

The most important items are our GeoMICROBE instrumented sleds. We are so happy that they are here and we get to deploy them. The two sleds are going to collect very precious crustal fluids for scientific analysis. The data will help us to understand how microbial community and fluid chemistry change with space (two study sites) and time (20-months deployment). Please note that the GeoMICROBE is build using titanium, fiber glass and plastic sheets.
從夏威夷運來最重要的器材就是我們的採樣雪橇了，這次要施放兩個採樣雪橇在兩個不同的水下觀測站，然後在未來的20個月內，每經過2 ～3個月採一次樣品，每次會有水跟顆粒的樣品。

The other very important equipment is our Mobil Pumping System (MPS). They are now mounted on the front basket of remote operated vehicle JASON. MPS can help us to collect crustal fluids and bring back the fluids to the ship for quick analysis and sample processing.

另一個重要的儀器，就是我們的超強打水系統啦。現在採水系統已經被固定在水下潛水艇傑森號的前方菜籃子上。

Gastight samplers (or Gastights) are other important samplers for deep sea research. Thy can hold gas inside the sampler. The complex design and the use of expensive metal (titanium), each Gastight costs lots of money and effort to build.

另一些耗費高昂的採樣器材是這個全部用鈦金屬製成的” 氣密採水器”，主要可以避免氣體在採完樣到分析的過程中溢散掉，每一個的造價都足以拿來買一台車子了，所以教授們給這些採水器保了險，以免有狀況，採水器掉到海床上找不回來！！

Related questions:

1. Why do you think it is important for the design of a Gastight?  
2. How is the pressure in the deep ocean compare with the pressure on the surface ocean? 
3. What happens to the dissolved gas in the deep seawater when you bring deep seawater to the surface? (Hint: think of opening a soda can. What happens when you open your soda?)  
4. Challenge: How can we bring a high gas content fluid (black smoker vent fluids) to the surface without losing the gas?
5. Why do we use titanium or stainless steel to build water sampler? 
6. Can you use your camera in the water? Why or why not? How can you use a camera in the water without damaging it?  
7. Why does electronics break when they get wet?
8. Similar to the camera question, on the GeoMICROBE and MPS, we have lots of electronics for us to control and to communicate with the sampler. How do we bring down electronics without getting them wet and damaged? (There are at least two different ways to do so.) 

相關問題：
1. 為什麼花那麼多的經費設計並製造氣密採水器？
2. 深海的壓力跟海水表面的壓力相比為何？
3. 當我們把深層海水，或是我們採到的海下地下水帶到船上來，溶在水裡的氣體會發生什麼現象？（提示：當你把汽水瓶打開的時候，起水裡的二氧化碳會怎樣？）
4. 挑戰：我們要怎麼做才能把海底高氣體含量的水（例如黑煙囪的海底熱液）帶到海表面而不失去其中的溶解氣體呢？
5. 為什麼我們選擇用昂貴的太金屬呢？
6. 我們可以把一般的相機放到水裡面嗎？為何可以？為何不行？那我們要怎樣才能把相機放到水中作水下拍照或攝影？
7. 為什麼電子器材放到水裡就會壞掉？
8. 我們的採樣雪橇跟超強打水系統都有很多的電子器材在上面，讓我們可以從船上的控制室，操控放在海床上的系統，我們怎麼辦到的呢？（我們採用至少有兩種不同的方式）。

Getting ready 準備儀器的下放

ON THE JASON (MPS, MVBS and Gastights) 
放在傑森號上的器材 （超強打水系統、採樣水袋以及氣密採水器）:

Jimmy is a very experienced JASON pilot. He helped us to mount the MPS on the basket and is working to secure gastight sampler on the other side of JASON basket. Everything has to be tightened down on the basket; otherwise, we risk of losing them during the dive.
所有的設備器材都要好好的固定在傑森號的菜籃子上。傑米是非常資深的潛水艇機長，他很努力地幫我們的忙，因為我們的器材一到船上，船就開了，通常固定器材都是柯恩教授在弄的，傑森號的機長們希望科學家們能夠盡量把自己的器材固定好，但是也不放心給沒有經驗的人用，畢如果器材沒有固定好，弄壞了，這次的航次就泡湯了。

This is what they look like after MPS and Gastights are completely mounted and secured.
左邊的牛奶籃（milk crate硬翻）就是我們的超強採水系統跟右邊的牛奶籃裝的是三個氣密採水器。

Getting a Medium Volume Bag Sampler (MVBS) ready in the lab. All the tubings need to be filled with clean water (deionized water).  Why do we need to fill the tubings with water? What happens when you bring an air balloon down to the deep ocean?

我們很努力的把中型採水袋在實驗室中準備好，我們非常的怕污染，所以盡量避免在船的甲板上作業。圖中的每條管子在儀器下放前都得灌滿水，知道為什麼嗎?（提示：跟水壓有關喔!）

In the back side of the white 24-port valve system are several filters attached. We will filter crustal fluids and add preservative reagents to the filters while the particles are collected. That way we know the samples can be better preserved and our data will better represent real crustal environment.
我們也放了很多的過濾裝置，讓我們可以收集海下地下水中的顆粒，水中的微生物比濾紙的孔隙大很多，所以會被保留在濾紙上。藍色蓋子的過濾裝置，甚至放有藥劑，可以讓微生物細胞中的RNA（去氧核醣核酸）不被分解掉。我們可以利用收集到的DNA跟RNA，幫助我們了解怎樣的微生物生活在海洋岩石圈中，它們可能作些什麼活動來維持生命。

MVBS mounted on the back side of JASON.
中型採樣氣架置在傑森號的後方菜籃子中。

See our samplers in JASON’s front and back basket.

這次傑森號的停泊方式，真的很難拍全景，但是勉強可以難到前方菜籃的超強打水系統，跟後放菜籃的中型採樣袋系統。

GeoMICROBE sled 準備採樣雪橇

Whole fluid sampler. There is a 500 mL Tedlar (clean, Teflon like) bag inside each of the acrylic tubes.
準備放置在採樣雪橇上的採水袋子。這些袋子是鐵弗龍材質，所以很乾淨，可以讓我們做水質的分析。有的袋子裡面放有福馬林，可以保持細胞不被分解。

Filter sampler. Each of the filter holders is pre-charged with RNAlater (ammonium sulfate) that helps to preserve RNA on the filter. (RNA degrades very quickly after cells die).
放在採樣雪橇上的過濾裝置，每一個過濾裝置都放有不讓RNA分解的藥劑。我們想要有RNA的訊息來得知海下岩石圈中的生物可能進行的活動有哪些。

Samplers mounted on the Sled.

我們把採樣奘置放到採樣雪橇上。

In order to send the sled down to the seafloor, we need to add combination of weights and buoys. These are the weights we use. Each weight is 16 lb. and has a rope tightened so that JASON pilot can take a piece of weight out at a time. ** Please see the ppt file about how to use the combination of weights and buoys to deploy and recover an instrument.**要把採樣雪橇放到海床上，然後在20月後要把採樣雪橇收回到船上，我們必須要用重鎚跟浮球結合，照片中的重錘每個重達8公斤左右，分別有繩子綁住，所以傑森號可以在海床上把一個一個的重錘給拿出來。**請看這個附加檔案，幫助你了解我們如何使用浮力與重力把儀器下放或是回收到船上。

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We put SEVEN pieces of weights on the top of the sled. These are used to help the sled to descend. JASON pilots can remove several of the weights in order to make the sled lighter for JASON to carry around on the seafloor.
重錘放在採樣雪橇的上面。

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There are NINE pieces of weights at the bottom of the Sled. These are called “ascend or drop” weight. They are now attached to a thimble that is attached to a release system on the sled. When we are able to recover our sled, JASON pilot will pull a pin which will release the weights. After the weights are dropped, the entire sled + float package will become buoyant and can ascend to the surface on its own.
有一些重錘放在採樣雪橇的下方。我們很精準的計算浮球的浮力，跟採樣雪橇的重量，20個月後，我們準備把採樣雪橇送回船上時，傑森號只需要把pull pin（鈦金屬拉環）往外拉，採樣雪橇下方的重錘就會跟雪橇分離，這個時候，雪橇就會被上方的浮球給帶到海水表面上來了。

Dr. Brian Glazer was checking the cables and electrodes on the sled. Everything has to be tested before the deployment.

格萊哲教授在檢查裝在採樣雪橇上的電線跟探針。每個元件都必須要經過仔細的檢查跟測試後，我們才能放心的把採樣雪橇下放到海床上。

To test the communication between our sled with JASON, we need a really long extension cable because there are three containers (~60ft) in between the two.
這艘船太大了，傑森號跟採樣雪橇放置的位置差了快二十公尺，因此我們必須要用很長的延長線，才能測試雪橇跟傑森號之間的通訊狀況。

Luckily, our extension cable is long enough.
運氣很好，我們帶的延長線剛好夠長。

Our supertech, Oliver Hsieh, is connecting the ODI connector to the sled. ODI connector is like our USB port in our computer. When we plug the ODI connector to the sled, we are able to “talk” to the sled through JASON. Different from your USB thumb drive, the ODI connector can be used under water.
志強正準備把水下通訊接頭裝到採樣雪橇上，接上以後，我們就可以通過傑森號，跟在海床上的採樣雪橇通訊。

Getting ready to “talk” to our sled in the JASON control van. We are trying to simulate the communication after the sled is at the seafloor. If there is an issue, we can still fix it when the sled and JASON are still on the ship. We don’t want “ohoh… we got a problem” when they both go down to the seafloor. The water depth here is ~4000 m (~12000 ft). It takes ~3 hours for us to get JASON back to the surface. We will not just waste the time but a lot of money and effort too. To be more efficient, all equipment is TESTED again and again on deck before the deployment!!!

接好水下接頭後，我們轉換到傑森號的控制室，接上電腦，試試看能不能操控我們的採樣雪橇。這個測試是相當重要的，因為即使我們在實驗室或是在船上可以用電腦直接跟採樣雪橇通訊，但是當採樣雪橇下放的過程中，我們不知道是否會有零件鬆落，或是因為溫度跟壓力的改變，而有不正常的運作情形，因此，透過傑森號可以幫我們進一步知道採樣雪橇下放到海床上都還是沒狀況的，即使有狀況，還有辦法試著了解可能的解決，而不需把採樣雪橇帶回船上。這裡的水深四千米，下放跟收回都要花上個三個小時，而且耗費相當的高昂，因此，我們都會努力在儀器還沒下放前就作好通盤的測試。

Ready for deployment  準備下放採樣雪橇

Attach sled with the first set of buoy.

採樣雪橇上面先掛上一組浮球。

Ready to put sled into the water. The two lines attached on the side of the sled are to hold the sled in position; otherwise, the sled can rotate and swing. This sled is more than 1400 lb and a rotating/swinging sled can easily hurt people working around it and also damage the instrument.
準備把重達700公斤的採樣雪橇放入海中了，水手用繩子幫忙維持平衡，避免使採樣雪橇旋轉或搖晃而傷到人，或是破壞掉裝在雪橇上的儀器。

The boson and ship screw gentelly lowered our sled into the water.
船員非常專業，很小心的把雪橇放入海中。

Sled is in the water now. You can clearly see the descent/travel weight sitting inside a milk crate tightened on top of the sled. 採樣雪橇已經在水裡了，雪橇上方的重錘顯而易見。

Attach the second set of buoy on to the sled-buoy package. 連接另外一組浮球。

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The third set of buoy is attached. The third buoy set has beacon and flasher attached. That way we can “listen” to know where the sled is through the beacon and “see” the flasher to help locate. The flasher is very useful during night time recovery. 第三組浮球。這是最上方的浮球，因此我們加裝了雷達放射器跟閃光器。

Entire sled package in the water. We will see the sled in few hours on the seafloor via JASON’s cameras.
整個採樣雪橇跟浮球都到海裡了，我們幾個小時候，就可以透過傑森號，在海床上看到我們的採樣雪橇了。