Monday, February 28, 2005...

We finished our scientific work on the cruise today with our final Alvin dive (science observers Bob Varga and new-diver Kerri Heft; pilot: Bruce Strickrott); see Kerri’s ice-water initiation. In the evening, we began steaming for Tahiti, a seven-day transit during which we will be working at a feverish pace to finalize all data collection and rock curation. We will also cross several time zones, setting our clocks back each night for several nights.