Monitoring the Sea of Japan

A typical day on the boat

The boat

We headed down to the boat at about 9:00 AM for a day at sea on Peter the Great Bay.

Blue mussels: the object of the investigation

The level of trace metals and other pollutants in mussels is a good predictor of the health of the bay. Divers on our team collected blue mussels from several sample sites.

Vladimir, Andrey, Alex, Polodya rowing to the sample site

Often the boat couldn't get in close enough to the site and we would have to row into the shallower water.

Sample site: the landfill

We expected this sample site at the local landfill to show traces of the anthropogenic factor.

Janet (that's me) cleaning samples

The mussels were often encrusted with barnacles and seaweed, attached to rocks, mixedwith other types of organismes. We cleaned the samples (contained in the blue plastic tray shown here) with knives and put them in sample containers for later analysis.

Andrey and deck hand fixing the winch used to collect bottom sediments

Bottom sediments can also reveal pollution content of the bay. We used a winch to lower the scoop down to the bottom for samples.

Alex scooping bottom sediment sample into plastic bag

Sediment samples went into plastic bags labelled with the date and sample site location.

Scenes of Vladivostok

Amursky Bay at sunset

On my first night in Vladivostok I watched the sun set with awe. The whole bay glows with a shimmering silvery light.

Kitten in the Market

Anything and everything was available in street markets: kittens, windup toys, car parts, fur coats, underwear, shoes, puppies, you name it. The woman selling this kitten tried to convince me it was a Russian Blue.

Beaux Arts Style Train Station

The train station is the most recognizable landmark in Vladivostok. The Transiberian stops here. The Beaux Arts style contrasts with much of the Soviet era architecture around town.

Starfish from the bay

One day when I was diving for mussels I saw a huge purple starfish, bigger than this one even.The most visible marine life at most of the dive sites was mussels (surprise), sea urchins, starfish, moon jellies, and crabs.

The Team

Team picture by Alex. Vladivostok in background.

Maurice

Alex relaxing for a moment between sample sites.

More to come

The boat	We headed down to the boat at about 9:00 AM for a day at sea on Peter the Great Bay.
Blue mussels: the object of the investigation	The level of trace metals and other pollutants in mussels is a good predictor of the health of the bay. Divers on our team collected blue mussels from several sample sites.
Vladimir, Andrey, Alex, Polodya rowing to the sample site	Often the boat couldn't get in close enough to the site and we would have to row into the shallower water.
Sample site: the landfill	We expected this sample site at the local landfill to show traces of the anthropogenic factor.
Janet (that's me) cleaning samples	The mussels were often encrusted with barnacles and seaweed, attached to rocks, mixedwith other types of organismes. We cleaned the samples (contained in the blue plastic tray shown here) with knives and put them in sample containers for later analysis.
Andrey and deck hand fixing the winch used to collect bottom sediments	Bottom sediments can also reveal pollution content of the bay. We used a winch to lower the scoop down to the bottom for samples.
Alex scooping bottom sediment sample into plastic bag	Sediment samples went into plastic bags labelled with the date and sample site location.

Amursky Bay at sunset	On my first night in Vladivostok I watched the sun set with awe. The whole bay glows with a shimmering silvery light.
Kitten in the Market	Anything and everything was available in street markets: kittens, windup toys, car parts, fur coats, underwear, shoes, puppies, you name it. The woman selling this kitten tried to convince me it was a Russian Blue.
Beaux Arts Style Train Station	The train station is the most recognizable landmark in Vladivostok. The Transiberian stops here. The Beaux Arts style contrasts with much of the Soviet era architecture around town.
Starfish from the bay	One day when I was diving for mussels I saw a huge purple starfish, bigger than this one even.The most visible marine life at most of the dive sites was mussels (surprise), sea urchins, starfish, moon jellies, and crabs.