Playing Catch-Up

Hi everyone! I am the last intern to arrive to the CMOP program this summer, and I'll be the only CMOP intern at the University of Washington! Let me catch you up on how my first two weeks have gone:

WEEK ONE
This week I learned the importance of communication. I found out that communication is vital, and that you need to find a way to do it...no matter the circumstances! Better communication on my end would have eliminated some of the craziness of moving in, paperwork, etc. However, the staff here at UW is incredible, and they got me caught up very quickly. A special thanks to Shealeigh Heindel at UW Housing for finding a housing option for me that literally worked out perfectly.

I was introduced to the project this week and given some literature and manuals to give me a kick-start into the rest of my project. This summer, I'll be calibrating a fluorometer that will be integrated onto an AUV. That AUV will be sent out into the north channel in the Columbia River estuary next year and the fluorometers will be measuring phytoplankton fluorescence and turbidity! I'm excited to follow this project in the coming years and see where our work leads.

WEEK TWO
This week I've started to develop some preliminary ideas as to how I want the calibration facility set up. I'm also trying to nail down the procedure (which includes some chemistry) and all of the dyes, beads, mud and cultures we'll need to order to do the calibration.

Unfortunately, there is a bit of a hang-up on our order for the ECO-Triplet pucks (the fluorometers...I'll probably refer to them as "pucks" a lot) so we are not sure if they will arrive at the lab by the end of the summer. There is another fluorometer in the lab that Dr. McNeil will be using in the Arctic this fall, and it will need to be calibrated as well, so at least if our pucks don't arrive, we can modify my calibration facility and calibrate the fluorometer that will be travelling to the Arctic soon!

It's looking like it's going to be a beautiful 4th of July weekend! I hope everyone has a great time celebrating our country's independence!