Day 11

Day 11

Ooops…I said last sampling was yesterday! Well, we had another one today. Just for the bulk, easy one, CO2, nutrients, chlorophyll, POC, flow cytometry…we had a final meeting all together, to discuss latest results, follow up, and have some cake and wine together and then we went to visit the Cretaquarium! That was great! Great end of the experiment! We said goodbye to Eleni who was going back to Athens – by ferry, overnight! We will miss her.

We went back home, walking by the sea-side. We cooked and went to bed and maybe, for the first time after two weeks, we really slept like stones! In the next days we’ll be around at the institute.. packing, some office work, checking samples.. then a few days of holidays in Crete and back to Italy.

With the hope to come back here one day, maybe for another mesocosms experiment…That has been really an amazing experience!

    

Day 10

Day 10

 

Last day of sampling! Last cleaning of  the equipment, last filtration of microplastics, last analysis of chlorophyll and the metals, and flow cytometer… Last goodbye to all the funnels and all the glass plates… Well, maybe we won’t miss them so much! But all the experiment was such an emotion to me, and very interesting! The balance is very positive in every case… I learnt many techniques and many information useful for my biological studies and I known very nice people here… I feel very lucky to be part of this team! Now Luisa can finally relax and enjoy after the whole work! She has just to gather all the results and make a complete summary of the experiment… but we will see in the next months! Thanks to everybody, great job 🙂

Luisa, Ioanna, Eleni and me in the lab for the last filtrations

Day 9

Day 9

 

This morning was very very hot and the SML sampling was very  challenging! It’s Sunday, we were very few at the institute and there was a strange silence inside! However we did all the analysis and we managed to finish not so late just in time to have a bath! The experiment is going to end soon, as nutrients are low and everything is going to come back to normality… It was such a beautiful adventure! But maybe it’s better to leave the comment for tomorrow, after the last SML sampling!

Day 8

Day 8

Today we are only Luisa, Arturo, Anastasia II, Santi and me at the institute. It is Saturday and we’d love to go the the beach, but mesocosms are waiting for us, so, the beach will wait! Anastasia II is ready to make

Santi working in his lab

all the chlorophyll analysis after the filtration of Santi and to use the flow cytometer alone… thanks to all the teachings of Anastasia I who has just take one day off after all these days working. The values of the chlorophyll are very low but it’s the normal decrease towards the depletion of the nutrients and in perfect time with the end of the experiment…

Day 7

Day 7

Last day for Steven! After the SML sampling under a very hot sun, we had a meeting all together… the thoughts of all the team seem positive for the future results. After a picture all together in front of the mesocosms, we say goodbye to Steven with an ice-cream at the bar of the aquarium (Cretaquarium)… Does someone else want to be greeted? 😛

Cretaquarium and HCMR behind

 

Day 6

Day 6

 

The dinner last night was great, we all love Cretan food (and wine ;P). We went home pretty late, but it’s a more calm day today, with the bulk sampling made by Anastasia II and Manolis and all the other analysis. About the organisms in the filters of the SML, Vivi discovered that they are a species of Ciliate, common for coastal water and seems that they are blooming now, and we only see the in the very surface! How strange.. Maybe it could be an interesting discovery!

Day 5

Day 5

 

The whole team in Archanes

Half way through the experiment… how fast days are passing by! This morning the glass plates were waiting for us! But 55 dips were enough today! We get more and more water with less dips now… there are lots of sticky “things” in the sea surface! And Luisa can confirm it also by the analysis with the microscope of the filters she coloured with the blue stains… today she also found some strange organisms just in the SML, not in the bulk water. What could they be? Vivi came to check them but they are so strange, the research starts and maybe tomorrow we’ll have the answer. In the meanwhile… this evening we’ll have a dinner all together in such a nice and traditional tavern in Archanes, a village close to Heraklion… I’m looking forward it!:)