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1. CTD frame with socks

2. My cup (middle) compared to the original size

From: Graham Quartly
Date: Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:35
Subject: Too much pressure!

As we reach the end of the deep section, there's time for some frivolity amongst the work. A fun experiment, beloved of oceanographers, is to attach a few polystyrene cups to the CTD water sampling frame. The last two CTD deployments on Thursday were festooned with almost a kitbag of socks - the ideal container to hold your cup when it is lowered to the ocean floor.

Mags and John both devoted time to decorating their cups with drawings of penguins, whilst Matt went for a checkerboard design, and I drew a school badge.

Actually, it was not just the oceanographers at it. All the passengers on the ship (plumbers, electricians, the artist in residence) developed a sudden interest in our CTD work and turned up with their designs too.

These deployments were to about 3500m depth, which means that the cups were subject to a pressure of 350 atmospheres. They come out of this treatment significantly shrunken and hard, but with the design still intact.

Graham