Man, am I bushed. Shortly after my last post, I got called away to help Paskie with a different site: CEPR (Cerberus - Perret Ridge). We (Bill and I) picked him up from the staging area up on the beach.
We set up CEPR while dancing in and out of fog. It was still nice enough that Bill slung our hut up to us. Poor guy was run absolutely ragged today; he slung 3 huts to the three groups of us (Guy & Max, near Cerberus; Ed & Cyrus in the NE corner CEAP - Cerberus-Anvil Peak; and Paski & I). Also crawling about the caldera were the geology crew, each in a different spot. Not only did Bill have to get all of us out there and sling huts, but there were other loads of goods that needed to go out also; batteries & cement & solar panels, for example. Then, to top it off, each of us had forgotten something or other and he had to haul it all back to whomever it was. Paskie & I forgot water; Guy didn't have a drill or a VCO, Ed needed solar panels... )
The site setup went pretty well; the hut is facing mostly south, with the antenna shooting the signal just under the solar panels. I spent all my time digging holes for the hut's j-bolts and for the seismometer. Then I mixed and poured the cement for each of the huts corners.... Getting the right consistency was a challenge.
Another challenge was finding the proper place for the seismometer. The digging was great, but my first hole (3' deep) was about 3 feet too far from the hut: the cable wouldn't reach. The next hole was better. I learned that when you bury a seismometer, leave a coil in the cable, just below the sod level. Don't pack the instrument itself at first, rather pack the soil gently around it. John did the wiring of stuff. We had a small glitch in the water (already mentioned) but also with the nuts for the J-bolts; they were just a tiny bit too small. We used nuts from the eye-bolts instead and siliconed the hole.
Cyrus caught a tiny halibut (don't mention it to him...), and then played me some more backgammon. He finally won one, after a 7-game loosing streak; now I'm up only by 6...
Went out to look at the moon this evening. It is beautiful and bright and full. The sea is looking inky black, yet still reflects the moonlight in a ghostly, yet pretty, manner.
Tomorrow, were going back to finish the site (30 mins tops... I need to finish burying the cable, and John needs to change out the voltage controller. Then, weather permitting, we'll head over to CESW and install a hut there.
The rest of the crew will scatter around the island installing the rest of the sites, while the geologists do a mad scramble for their last bit of information.
Weather looks like it'll be getting worse, so we're planning on pulling up anchor at 7pm tomorrow, and skidattling back to Amchitka. Hopefully we can do it before the seas get too rough. Bill will, meanwhile, fly to Adak and get the replacement pump for the boat. Looks like a long day for all of us. G'night.
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