Perks of sampling at sea

Spending weeks at a time on a single boat, working long days in the blazing sun and battling sea-sickness, can be a rough experience (but still worth it for the samples! And data!). There's some definite perks to being out here, though, and working long hours means we get to experience all sorts of things I would never see otherwise. When I'm up at 2am troubleshooting a piece of equipment that I need to get to work, with no way to go buy tools at a Home Depot, there's nothing like a school of flying fish to get my spirits up.

I thought I'd share some of these magical moments with you so you get to experience the beauty without suffering the sweat and tears! Please enjoy :)

Sunset over the Pacific

Some sleepy sea lions on our way out of San Diego

A visit from some curious dolphins who want to be scientists too!

Another gorgeous sunset

A sunrise over the Pacific

A Nazca Booby soaring overhead

One more sunrise for good measure

And yet another sunset

A Masked Booby taking a break on the boat's railing

A visit from a small shark off the back deck

A truly magnificent Magnificent Frigatebird