Iron Profile. The first vertical iron profile from this cruise (in pink). Compare the surface iron levels with measurements taken in September during a low dust period.

We're busy collecting data, even busier fixing instrumental problems. A valve failed on the aluminum system yesterday. I thought I would find which of the three electronics modules in the valve was bad by swapping them into Ginger's iron system. Oops, that fried her valve too. Steve has fixed the aluminum system with a little 'McGiver'-style engineering and Ginger's system is now working again, but with no valve position display, which keeps her on her toes. I wasn't too popular yesterday for that one. Chalk it up to experience.

Despite the problems, data are rolling in. Ginger and Josh have analyzed the first vertical iron profile. It is identical to a profile collected during the month of September during the VERTEX program at depths below 400 m. However, our profile during the high dust input season has a nice maximum at the surface, while the September profile, which was collected during a low dust time of the year, does not. Is that a dust input signature? We'll have to keep collecting more data. Surface water iron and aluminum concentrations, that we sample with the towed pumping system, are also elevated when we compare them to concentrations measured at the same locations on the out bound leg of the expedition. We'll plot that data up when we get things a little more under control.

Time for lunch. That's all for now.