Molokai

Immediately following dropping Dan off at the airport, Yooper dropped Tanner and me off for our trip to Molokai. The two of us had the opportunity of accompanying the Coconut Island Coral Reef Team on a research trip to Molokai. Incredible really in that not only did I get to join in on the research tasks, but so did Tanner. It was too cute. His main job was to monitor the coral samples for temperature and aeration (bubbles) to make sure they were "happy" although he had several other tasks too. The two of us got to do everything from prepping and assembling equipment to tagging coral. I'll have to let the pictures tell most of the story on this one.

It's still pretty strange to me to think about the contrast of this job as compared to my last. I went from a normal (kind of I guess) office environment in a cubicle in a city to a research lab on an offshore island. Then throw in the field trips in puddle jumper airplanes with my kid in tow to remote outer islands. What a total contrast. Weird, but I REALLY like it all the same. :)

Tanner with a Brittle Star that came off of one of the coral heads.

The bin used to stain the coral. Each coral that was stained was also weighed, tagged, and returned to the field with a GPS reading. They will retrieve the same corals next year, weigh them again and saw them in half. The coral will have a pink "tree ring" that shows the growth from the last year.

Checking the temps on the bins. He also helped to fill bags with ice when they got too warm.

Paul and Tanner digging out a crab tunnel.

Tanner helping put together Ku'ulei's tent.

Assembling the aerators for the staining bins

Balancing Opihi shells on all 10 fingers at once! Look at that determination :)