We’ve got the lab set up at this point and now it’s time to go over protocols, making sure everyone is up to speed before we take our first water samples. One of our main science goals is to capture live plankton to examine their genetic diversity. This means we all need to sample water in a way that keeps our plankton “happy” (and alive). Later today, we’ll head out to sea, transiting west through fjords before emerging on open waters.