This is a poem about the Laser In-Situ Scattering and Transmissometry or LISST instrument, which we use for measuring sand and mud floating through the water. I wrote it in response to a challenge to rap about what we learned during a workshop on estuaries last summer. I had some fun with it so I thought I’d share…
And now a poem about the LISST
It is a great solution
To measure stuff that’s floating
And its grain size distribution
When processing your measurements
You must beware the floc!
Since if you don’t account for it
You’re in for quite a shock
If there seems like too much mud
We should have some suspicion
Before all else, we have to check
The optical transmission
“We have an awful lot of sand!”
Is this hallucination?
First thing’s first: we should have checked
Our background concentration
We sometimes see before our eyes
Large particles appearin’
When gradients of salt are high
It is the fault of Schlieren
So from the depths of Ameland,
A lesson that does matter:
When working with a fancy LISST
Don’t blindly trust your data!
Coastally Curious 