Einpacken: part 2

Inside one of my cruise boxes
Friends, it's that time of year again! I just packed and sent off two giant boxes of supplies for a summer research expedition. I spent a lot of time (admittedly much less time than last year) building my samplers to send, buying containers to bring samples back in, writing my customs declaration, and putting everything in the boxes. But I got it done! My packages were sent off today.

One challenge I ran into was figuring out how to pack up my fouling panels. The frames they're on are too big for standard boxes. I had custom-built one for them in 2012, but it is currently sitting in a warehouse in Norway with some spare samplers from a cruise last year. I needed another solution.

That's right. Plastic wrap.
I called the shipping department at WHOI to ask for advice, and within a few hours, someone showed up at the door of my lab holding what looked like the world's largest roll of Saran Wrap. I was able to bind small groups of my panels together, then wrap the groups in plastic like a cocoon. It worked!

It feels great to get all of my things sent off finally. I'll see them again in Norway in a few months. Check back for stories from the field!

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