1 AM Sunday...up for my watch...gridding the stratigraphic horizons that we cored in 3D so that they can look pretty for posters at the SCEC meeting....and Figures in the cruise report and probably an EOS article....

I have the poor judgement to be reading a book about the sinking of the Fantome with all onboard during Hurricane Mitch in late October, 1998...a category 5 hurricane that killed 10,000 in Central America (mostly in floods and landslides). But, there is an interesting paragraph about disfunction during a storm...we have had very flat seas until the last day or 2 (not too bad now either...), but the symptoms seem familiar. It is "the ship and the storm" ny Jim Carrier. While a clear copy in cover design and way of telling a story of "The Perfect Storm", it is well-written.

" When a storm is violent emough, even experienced mariners will eventually suffer from a type of motion sickness, not the nausea most of us think of, but an enveloping fatigue-the "feeling that we want to close our eyes whenever we get the chance," according to Carlos Comperatore of the Coast Guards's research branch. By itself, that might not be a problem. But when it combines with sleep loss, stress, and desynchronis-the maladjustment of the body clock-endurance drops significantly. Even the most durable mariners begin to retreat into a personal shell, walled in and enervated by the motion of the ship, lack of slepp, and worry. It is the first sign of deteriorated performance that sooner or later overcomes any sailor. First, the man gets quiet. As conditions worden, he becomes forgetful. It becomes tougher to do mental arithmetic. He is apathetic and slow to respond. He might forget to check critical information, or he might act when what is called for is no action."

As I said, the motion has not been at all bad....but some combination of coffee and lack of sleep, and strange hours, definitely gives me f the symptoms described starting with the mental arithmetic part. I had this also when on the R.V. Palmer in the Ross Sea. I am making myself useful, and have been social, but I was fortunate to be working with grad students who could stay focused and get coordinates written down without typing the wrong numbers over and over. I have heard stories of researchers coming down with disfunction like described above...including a really good one....but I better not post it (was told to me by crewmember on previous cruise...and I don't know who the person was....).
Chris