Check out dive done - ready for science

The last few days have been filled with training and preparation to start the field season in earnest. It is also when the sun has really stopped setting and we only get a few hours of evening glow - The next real sunset will be around 5 months away.

The culmination of the work thus far is our check out /shakedown dive. We start each season with a dive to make sure all of our gear and comfort levels are ok to allow the science to begin. Even though the divers this year (especially my colleagues the dive supervisors Steve and Alex, pictured here) are incredibly experienced, with that experience comes the knowledge to start slow and regain comfort in this alien land. You can see our dive hole from the previous post, now wearing a nice dive hut that is heated and comfortable, out of the wind, and with a variety of extra safety measures, including ladders, emergency oxygen, and a hauling system just in case. Tomorrow, weather willing, we will begin working underwater and slowly add tasks for the next few days, until we are really ready to make significant progress on why we are here. If the weather holds, we will make it out to our main dive site this week.