A tricky start

We arrived in Cape Verde for the second measurement campaign on Saturday, and we’ve been very busy at the site since then.

Getting the formaldehyde instrument from the ‘storage’ container, across the site, and into the lab, was quite a challenge (somehow the wheels for the instrument got left in Leeds) and I’m glad there were three of us to do it, though I think Danny and Steve did most of the muscle work in the end. It’s safely in place now and has been measuring quite happily for a couple of days. The glyoxal instrument required a lot less effort this time as it was left in place at the end of the last campaign, and it’s currently up and running. The laboratory is now packed with instruments, and we have to be careful when moving around the lab so that we don’t bump into something or someone.

We had a bit of excitement yesterday when we detected a lot of formaldehyde. Sadly, for us, it turned out to be a problem with the vacuum pump which pulls ambient air through the glass tube from which we sample. Thanks to Steve’s mechanical know-how, and a really long day at the site, the pump is now fixed!

We had a bit of rain on the day we arrived. Well, I would count it as rain, but it didn’t really count according to the locals, some of whom say that they don’t think the ‘real’ rain will come at all this year. We’ll wait and see.

I’ve not been able to upload any photos to the blog yet but I should be able to get that sorted soon, so do keep an eye out for some shots of the lab and beyond.