A day in life: This is quite possibly the best job I have ever had. I wake at 8 AM, dress and get ready. Breakfast is prepared for me by the other crew members and we eat together as we watch news and plan the day. We then drive an average of an hour to one of three or four lake sites. At each sampling site I can choose to either Dive or Kayak. The dive: consists of zig zagging back and forth along the shoreline and dead zone (where plants no longer grow) along the lake near the boat ramp. We are timed to swim only 30 minutes in the water to gather plants. My goal under the water is to gather every different plant I see, and if I can't ID something- I grab it anyways. The survey we are preforming is designed to identify where the invasive plant populations are occurring, but it is also good to see how many natives are in any particular lake, specifically to get a general idea of the abundance and diversity of that lake's plant biomass.
The Kayak: Being a kayaker is very important. Besides enjoying the sunshine, the water, and working on my arms, when I kayak for another diver I have to make sure they don't get run over by a boat. I also have to be their eyes above the surface. If there is an area that has curious-looking floating plants, or submerged terrestrials, I have to inform the diver so they know to hit that area and gather plants. I also have to preform several measurments. Using a succi disc (it looks like a black and white cookie on a rope) I record the depth of the lake and the general clarity. I take a water temp, a water sample (used for pH and conductivity), note the wind and cloud cover presence. The kayaker also keeps a GPS unit on board in which they track the divers track and their time so we know that they only collected for the allotted time and how much area they covered.
We usually end the day around 4 or 5 and we spend some time playing Frisbee, entering our data, shaking our heads at oil spill news, BBQing, test our water samples, and planning out the rest of the work week. I am very happy in this job so far, and I hope the rest of the summer goes as well.
(Top of page: Me diving in Spring Valley Lake, IN. Middle page: Our trusty steed, the Spitfire kayak, SV Lake IN. Bottom Left: My fins flailing as I go down for a dive. Bottom Right: Me while I kayak for Erick in Lincoln Lake (this lake was GORGEOUS! notice the lotus pads on the surface)
How does the kayaker notify the diver if a problem comes up...a storm blows up, something doesn't look right, a motorboat comes too close...whatever? So glad you are having fun....you were meant to do this, Angela!
ReplyDeleteIsabelle says, "That's a CRAZZZZY job! I would like swimming in those lakes all summer long."
ReplyDeleteWe know that Lake Michigan is 61 degrees right now, what are the temps of the lakes you are diving in?
Good luck....be careful out there. Beware of the Loch Ness Monster..........!!!!
Angela, This IS a great summer job. Better than the one I had in college, selling booze to all the alkies in my home town. Ha Ha. Mom
ReplyDeleteI love the lotus pads... I haven't been to a clean lake with those floating on them in a long, long time. In Korea when we used to go to the lake as kids, the lotus pads were so huge (and clean :) that when it rained we would put them on our heads as umbrella-hats ^____^ Take more pictures of lotus pads and the flowers!
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