The pool

The deep test pool at McLane

 "You haven't seen our pool before, have you?" Tim asked. Clad in a hard hat and steel-toe shoes, he had just moved a crane to lift a 60-kg pump into the water. The pump hung suspended just below the surface, while a rubber duck floated alongside. I peered over the edge, expecting to find the bottom just below the pump's frame - but I didn't. It was 50 m below, down a long, clear column. 

A few minutes passed, and the pump came to life, sucking water through an inlet at 30 L per minute. The small plastic ball that normally blocks the inlet disappeared into its chamber, and small bubbles revealed the level of turbulence. I was excited to see this evidence of the pump working - since I had set it up. 

Earlier this week, I had the opportunity to visit McLane Research Labs in Falmouth, MA and get trained on a new piece of equipment: high-volume underwater pumps. WHOI scientists, including my old postdoc lab, have used McLane pumps to collect larvae from deep-sea environments over the last two decades. They're effective, relatively simple tools that allow researchers to collect samples from remote environments. As I establish my own lab, I can leverage this institutional resource for my own objectives.

Over the course of two hours, one of the McLane engineers gave me a comprehensive tour of the pumps: changing the batteries, sealing the housing, communicating with the software, assembling the filter. I feel confident handling them on my own now. I'm grateful for the time Tim dedicated to helping me and look forward to using new equipment in my research.