When Things Don't Go to Plan

This week marked the start of my sample collection for the experiment I will begin in a few weeks. The SEM work that I did last week was in preparation for this next part of the experiment, and while I still don't have results back, everything I've been reading in the literature suggests that the methods will work. Therefore, I decided to get ahead by going out into the field to collect samples that I need. Specifically, I went back out to St. Andrew Bay to collect sea water samples, but things didn't go as planned.

When I originally conceptualized this project and budgeted for the materials, I thought I would need to spend half to a full day out on the water to collect water samples. This was when I had created a much larger project and had very large aquarium tanks to fill with seawater. However, in scaling back the size of the tanks, I forgot to scale back the budget for collecting samples, which actually works in my favor because the extra funding has allowed me to purchase some essential data analysis software for the lab. When I reorganized the water collection sampling trip, I calculated that renting a jet ski to collect the samples would be the most cost effective way to get the seawater and it would still meet the research field site qualifications for one of my grants. I booked a 1-hour time slot on a jet ski in St. Andrew Bay and packed up a bag full of water sampling containers and made the drive out to the bay (Panama City). 

Upon arrival, I got a call from the rental company telling me that they were running behind and that I could still have my appointment if I pushed it back an hour. Normally this would have been fine, but I had arrived 45-minutes early to my appointment, as they advised, and I would have needed to find something to do for more than an hour, since driving back to Tallahassee was not an option. I realized that I had another opportunity to collect the samples, so I had to turn down the opportunity to collect seawater aboard a jet ski. In hindsight, I don't know how easy it would be to lean off a jet ski and collect all of the samples, so maybe this was a better option.

When I was planning this research trip, I had come up with a second option in case things went wrong. There is a small dock that extends into the area I needed to collect water from, so I drove my car over and spent ~20-25 minutes leaning over the dock and collecting samples from as far down in the water as I could reach. I probably looked a bit odd in full sun protection leaning over a dock with 50 bottles, but nobody passed by in that time. With all the samples collected, I headed back to the lab to set up the start of the experiment. I am a huge planner, and it often saves me many headaches in these types of situations. If you are starting your career as a scientist or a student scientist (like me), I highly suggest having multiple options for your work, since research plans can be so unreliable due to weather, reservations, personal illness, etc.

The experiment is going to take a few weeks, and there won't be much to talk about or update until the experiment is over, but don't worry. I also have other projects going on at the same time that will keep you informed of what is going on at the lab and a new undergraduate researcher who I will introduce to you all in a few weeks' time.

---