This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Yesterday was officially arts and crafts day on the R/V Knorr. We had a very specific project: decorate styrofoam cups.
If you're wondering why, just hold on a minute. First, some pictures of our beautiful cups:
Ok, so the reason we each decorated a couple of cups has to do with pressure in the ocean. As you descend deeper and deeper in the ocean, it gets darker, colder, and denser. The deeper you go, the more pressure crushes in on you. Organisms that live deep in the ocean have special adaptations to survive such pressures. Submarines are built with reinforced sides to stay intact. Styrofoam cups, on the other hand, don't do so well.
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We tied the decorated cups to the CTD, plopped it in the water, and sent it down. All the way down to 2500 meters, which is about a mile and a half below the surface. A lot of times scientists send the cups deeper, but that's about as deep as we can go at our present location. As the CTD sinks downwards, the cups get crushed, and when they come up, they look like this:
Cool, right? Here's a before and after shot:
One atmosphere is about 14.6 pounds per square inch of pressure. Every time you go down 10 meters, you add one atmosphere. So at 2500 meters you've got 3650 pounds per square inch pushing on these cups from all sides. You'd squish too.
Apparently this is somewhat of a tradition on oceanographic cruises. One guy on board, Peter Lee, says he has about 20 shrunken cups. Anton, who works on the Knorr, says he has about "half a million." He used to give them away as Christmas presents.
In the old days of sailing, they used to display shrunken heads. We've got to settle for shrunken styrofoam cups. At least Customs won't take these away from me.
During this trip, I’ll be answering your questions about the science, this boat, and life onboard. Want to know how we search for plankton, why we’re here, or what the food is like? Just ask me! And if you’re wondering how I got here, check out the groups that made this adventure possible: Mind Open Media and COSEE NOW.
Previously in this series:
All Aboard: how you can be a part of our research blog
You wanted to know: what are these phytoplankton?
You wanted to know: what am I bringing to sea?
Greetings from Ponta Delgada! We set sail tomorrow.
Steaming North: how the scientists are trying to find plankton
The superstar sensor: what is a CTD?
Status Update: Day 3 at the Cyclonic Eddy
You wanted to know: what is this virus that infects the phytoplankton (Part One)
You wanted to know: what is this virus that infects the phytoplankton (Part Two)
Plankton hunting: Part art, Part science
You wanted to know: what’s the food like on board?
Jumborizing: a brief history of the R/V Knorr
On the importance of names. Or, “are we at the hump or the hole?”