JDS2

After a late arrival at Sampling Station 4 in Deggendorf, and late night discussions about reasons for the delays from the first few days, the expedition was finally coming up to speed. While sampling at Deggendorf started late on the morning of the 16^th , amazingly it was managed in 1.5 hours -- significantly less time than the three hours estimated in the official time schedule. So it seemed that finally, plans were falling into place. Until now, the Core Team had even struggled to find all of the sampling vessels stowed in different boxes and plastic bags on board the Széchényi, and to get enough sleep - at times three hours and less! Also, the two boats (Argus and Széchényi) were finally able to travel down the Danube together ensuring timely meals for the crew and team along the journey. Today, the Core Team members had their first lunch on board the Széchényi since the cruise started on Tuesday. It appears now, that until the Austrian border is reached at Engelhartszell, the Argus will be fully on schedule. So Austria, here we come!

By the end of the day on the 16^th, Sampling Stations 4 (Deggendorf), 5 (Niederalteich) and 6 (Inn River upstream from its confluence with Danube) had been completed.

Also on the morning of August 16, the first shipment of samples was taken to the JDS2 labs using portable fridges. The labs are in Brno (Czech Republic), Vienna, Bratislava and Budapest.