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No More MoorSPICE
Author: Nick MathewsHost Vessel: R/V Thomas G. Thompson
Well if you read my last blog entry http://www.marinetech.org/internship-blog/bid/1100 then you know that the MoorSPICE cruise started off without a hitch! However, as I am learning about life at sea, nothing goes exactly as planned and everyone needs to be prepared for anything.
Some of the troubles we encountered since the last post were minor like the less-than-salty scientists getting seasick and disappearing into their rooms for days. Another problem was that some scientists couldn’t get sleep because their beds are near the bow thruster which was pounding away all day and all night on this cruise, but these were minor personal problems.
We did encounter a few technical problems which spanned from leaky bottles to haunted water sample processing equipment. First, there were several Niskin bottles that boggled the techs. When we send down the CTD, we send it down on a strong metal cable that has a few metal wires in it that transfer data up to the ship and commands down to the instrument. The commands are to close the caps to the bottles which captures a water sample at a certain depth. Now in order for this to work properly it needs to be sealed water tight. In a growing number of cases on this trip, there were bottles that were coming up warm; water from the deep ocean should be very cold so this was indicative of a leak. Oh, and another clue was the fact that it was visually leaking. We discovered that the culprit was a crack in the bottles and we had to replace a few of them. Problem solved, but not all problems were this easy to solve.
A bigger problem occurred during a day that we set aside to download data from a mooring, remotely. One of the engineers from Scripps, Spencer, was tasked with using a sonar transducer to ‘talk’ with a mooring that was anchored to the seafloor right under the ship. He then used the transducer to command it to send us data via sound waves so our sonar receiver could download it. However the data never came. We tried using his personal sonar transducer and then the ship’s transducer, but neither of them worked. Luckily we were able to download data from a second mooring in the area. We called it a success and cruised to the next station.
The biggest problem for this cruise was the salinometer. Not only was it the biggest problem, but the challenge to solve the problem was put squarely on my shoulders. Now if you know anything about salinometers, which you don’t, you know that they’re incredibly touchy, they work only every other lunar eclipse, and they’re susceptible to all sorts of voodoo, but when you finally understand their ways, they give you the most accurate data you could ever need. Some people know them very well, but nobody on this cruise was one of them. So I got out the manual and hacked away at the beast until I figured out how to calibrate the thing to standardized sea water (sea water from off the coast of England that costs ~$120/liter) and how to properly clean the thing between each testing sample. The problem was that the data that it was producing was just wrong; it was way too high to be real. So I reread the manual over and over and for a couple of days I am completely stuck. Then I realized that there was a dial to manually adjust the voltage associated with the specific salinity in the standardized seawater, I guess because I’m a millennial I had assumed it was automatic. Then after helping the scientists with their calculations, we finally got some numbers that made sense! Not the quickest fix, but a fix nonetheless.
Another big problem at sea is monotony. The work is exciting and intensity is high, but the routine is, well, very routine. After doing moorings and CTD’s for a couple of months straight I kind of needed something to break up the routine a little bit.
The first thing I do is talk with the scientists and the other techs and bug them to tell me everything they know. I would go to Mar, the biologist from Spain, and try to get into the mind of a scientist. It is important to remember that the ship’s crew and the scientists come from very different backgrounds and are on the ship for very different reasons. The marine tech is responsible for keeping everybody on the same page and making sure everybody gets what they want out of the cruise, safely.
Another scientist I talked to was Marion from Scripps, who taught me everything there is to know about the Lower Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler and the software that she uses to read and process the data. It’s also important to know how the scientists use the data that we’re going to such great extents to collect. If they’re not happy with the data, they’re not happy with the cruise. Data is the driving force behind all science.
Helping me understand the data and much much more about the ship’s computers was Patrick A’Hearn, the lead marine tech on this cruise. He took me to the racks of computers in the computer lab and described to me in great detail over the course of weeks, what each machine does. I took it upon myself to draw it out in a formal network diagram, but the network is so complicated that it would leave the reader more confused. He and Tina taught me a lot about what types of data goes between what types of computers and it is a lot to process, but in this age of automation, so so important.
Aside from filling my head with information, I also like to fill my belly. On March 14th, the third mate, Marion, and another scientist, Sri, all stayed up through the night to bake all sorts of pies for Pi Day! I’m admittedly not that great of a cook, especially on little sleep, but we made enough pies to last for days. Luckily that night the cooks set up a barbeque on the bow. It was really neat to enjoy our creations with the beautiful Gizo Island almost a stone’s throw away. Since all of these islands are scarcely inhabited, it was incredibly unique that we saw two people rowing a canoe out in the shallow reefs around us. Then to top it off, we had a beautiful sunset. What a Pi Day.
More from the battlefront against monotony: The 2014 MoorSPICE Ping Pong Extravaganza! We had a lot of time to kill during a few 30 hour transits, so the chief scientist enlisted me to set up a tournament to keep everyone busy and our spirits high. With the help of an exceptional AB, Pam, we set up a ‘random selector’ machine to pick opponents for the first round of the tournament. This was a lesson in mechanical engineering as we built an actual lottery machine with floating ping pong balls with numbers on them. It was quite the thrill and I have gotten really good at ping pong over the past few months, so I kicked butt.
Another recreational activity we did to pass time was fishing, and as a group we caught one fish. It was about two feet long, and it was something called a blue runner. We saw a whole bunch of fish and even a shark way out in the ocean, but we only got one. I lie, we also had a flying fish fly on deck and dry out on us, although that wasn’t nearly as appetizing.
The biggest recreational project we had was the CTD videography. We wanted to show people at home what we do on a daily basis, and we also wanted to see what it looks like when the CTD descends down into the deep dark blue depths of the Ocean. So before we got the CTD in the water, we taped a GoPro to the end of a 20’ pole and held it in the water over the side of the ship. After we recorded the CTD deploying, we brought the GoPro inside and made a timelapse video of the usually four to six hours of watching numbers on a screen to make sure everything is working. This turned out great and I hope to post it somewhere and put the link here.
All and all, the MoorSPICE cruise was pretty awesome. I had a lot of fun and learned a lot of French from some of the foreign scientists. If you’d like to know more about the science, they made their own blog here http://moorspice2014.wordpress.com/ .
As for me, after a short stay in the New Caledonian port which included a long hot day of unloading all of their mooring stuff followed shortly by a well-deserved pool party, I was nearing the end of my hitch on the Thompson. I cannot even imagine being on another ship, but after a short transit to Auckland, New Zealand, I’m getting right on a plane and heading to Hawaii to get on the Kilo Moana!
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Blog Archives
December 2022
Week 8: Final Week aboard the Armstrong! - 12/16/2022Week 7: INSURV - 12/10/2022
Week 6: Inspections, 3D prints and CTD Terminations! - 12/03/2022
November 2022
Week 5: End of OOI and Happy Thanksgiving! - 11/27/2022Week 4: Finishing OOI Leg 1, Jumping straight into Leg 2! - 11/18/2022
Week 3: Leg 1 of the Final Coastal Pioneer Array OOI Cruise - 11/11/2022
Week 2: Terminations Terminations Terminations! - 11/04/2022
October 2022
Week 1: CTD lanyards, Linux, Mario Kart, Oh Yea! - 10/28/2022Pre- Internship stop in Iceland - 10/21/2022
Pre-Internship Introduction - 10/14/2022
September 2022
Walton Smith Week 16: Finishing running cable, closing the RoxBox, replacing sensors, and .322 terminations - 09/05/2022Week 15: Beginnings and Ends, Establishing a Network - 09/01/2022
August 2022
Walton Smith Week 15: Running cables, creating terminations, replacing sensors, and learning lots more! - 08/29/2022Week 14: In the Tween Deck, Wires, Terminations, Deconstructing and Reassembling CTD - 08/27/2022
Walton Smith Week 14: Final Engine install and dressing as well as side quests - 08/22/2022
Week 13: Getting the starboard engine onboard and mounted - 08/21/2022
Walton Smith Week 13: Cleaning bilges, mounting the port engine, and dressing it - 08/15/2022
Week 12: Bilges, Engine Mounts, and Rox Box Struggles - 08/12/2022
Week 7 - Syenna Graham - 08/11/2022
Walton Smith Week 12: Cleaning bilges and placing the engine onboard - 08/08/2022
Week 11: Forklifts, A-frames, Cranes, and a Big Ol' Engine - 08/06/2022
Week 6 - Syenna Graham - 08/04/2022
Walton Smith Week 11: Removal of the engine mounts and cleaning the bilge - 08/01/2022
July 2022
Week 10: Cleaning Bilges, Mounting Wifi, Running Cable - 07/29/2022Week 5 - Syenna Graham - 07/28/2022
Walton Smith Week 10: Removal of the engines - 07/25/2022
Week 9: Successfully Removing Both Engines - 07/24/2022
Week 4 - Syenna Graham - 07/21/2022
Walton Smith Week 9: Disassembling the engine - 07/18/2022
Week 8: Deconstructing the Port Side Engine - 07/14/2022
Week 3 - Syenna Graham - 07/14/2022
Walton Smith Week 8: Starting the engine project and improving our Wi-Fi - 07/11/2022
Week 7: POSMV, Wifi, and Welding - 07/07/2022
Walton Smith Week 7: Diving into individual jobs and ending the week on a good note - 07/04/2022
Last week with WHOI-JASON team! - 07/01/2022
Week 2 - Syenna Graham - 07/01/2022
June 2022
Week 6: Taking on projects making an A/C unit and step, while deconstructing the CTD - 06/30/2022Walton Smith Week 6: Lots of Good Memories and and Learning More - 06/27/2022
5th Week with JASON - 06/24/2022
Week 5: Removing Erroneous Electronic Components, Replacing A/C Units, and Fighting Ants - 06/23/2022
R/V Sharp week 4 - 06/23/2022
Week 1 - Syenna Graham - 06/21/2022
Walton Smith Week 5: Lots of poop (human and rodent, as well as grey water) but finished off on a good note - 06/20/2022
Last week on the Escanaba Cruise - 06/16/2022
Week 4: Making connections to the Network and Plumbing Projects - 06/16/2022
Week 4 R/V Sharp - 06/15/2022
Introduction - Syenna Graham - 06/14/2022
Walton Smith Week 4: Completing many jobs for the Marine Tech, Chief Engineer, and Bos'n - 06/13/2022
3rd Week with JASON - 06/11/2022
Week 3: Learning Network Infrastructure, Data Acquisition, and Working on Small Projects - 06/09/2022
Walton Smith Week 3: Learning about networking and completing jobs around the ship - 06/06/2022
Week 3 R/V Sharp - 06/05/2022
2nd week with WHOI - 06/04/2022
Week 2: Prepping for engine overhaul F.G. Walton Smith - 06/02/2022
May 2022
WEEK 3: R/V Sharp - 05/31/2022Week 2 R/V Sharp - 05/30/2022
Walton Smith Week 2: Finishing the second cruise - 05/30/2022
First week with the JASON team - 05/27/2022
Week 1: First Trip with the F.G. Walton Smith - 05/26/2022
WEEK 2: R/V Sharp - 05/24/2022
Walton Smith Week 1: Arrival and first cruises - 05/23/2022
Preparing to venture out! - 05/20/2022
Week 1 R/V Sharp - 05/19/2022
Week 1 R/V Sharp - 05/19/2022
Pre-Cruise Introduction - 05/16/2022
Introduction - 05/12/2022
Introduction - 05/10/2022
Pre-Cruise Introduction - 05/05/2022
April 2022
Leg 2 of OOI Pioneer 18 and Internship Conclusion - 04/30/2022Excitement from Leg 1 of OOI Pioneer 18 - 04/19/2022
Week 2: Time in Port and Beginning of OOI Pioneer 18 - 04/11/2022
Week 1: First Cruise - 04/04/2022
March 2022
Pre-internship: Introduction - 03/22/2022February 2022
Week 7: The End - 02/26/2022Working on the RV Sikuliaq - some pics - 02/17/2022
Week 6: Setting Sail - 02/15/2022
Week 5: Finally Floating - 02/09/2022
Week 4: Drydock part two: Electric Boogaloo - 02/02/2022
January 2022
Week 3: Drydock part one - 01/24/2022Week 2: Stormy Seas - 01/14/2022
First Week(kind of): Alaska - 01/05/2022
December 2021
Pre-Internship Intro Blog - 12/29/2021September 2021
Weeks 10 and 11 - 09/17/2021Week 9: Loading Alvin - 09/08/2021
Week 8 - 09/01/2021
August 2021
Day 38 - 08/19/2021Week 5 with Alvin - 08/11/2021
Week 5: Arrival - 08/11/2021
Week 6 - 08/11/2021
Day 28 - 08/09/2021
Week 4: To and Through the Panama Canal - 08/06/2021
Day 23 - 08/04/2021
Week 4 with the Alvin team - 08/03/2021
3rd Week at Sea (In Route to Panama) - 08/02/2021
Week 3: A Sweaty Set Up - 08/01/2021
July 2021
Weeks 2 and 3: Electrical Testing - 07/30/2021Day 18 - 07/30/2021
2nd Week at Sea (Anacortes, WA to SF, CA) - 07/26/2021
Week 2: Methane Seeps! - 07/25/2021
Day 12 - 07/24/2021
1st Week at Sea - 07/18/2021
Day 5 - 07/17/2021
Week 1 of My Internship - 07/14/2021
Week 1: Predeparture - 07/12/2021
Introduction - 07/11/2021
Getting Ready to Fly Out - 07/05/2021
Sailing off on a New Horizon - 07/01/2021
December 2020
Week 35 & 36: On The Walton Smith - 12/11/2020Week 45: Wrapping things up - 12/11/2020
Week 44: Soldering Penetrators - 12/04/2020
November 2020
Week 43: Cleaning and Holidays - 11/27/2020Week 42: Video Killed the Video Hub? - 11/20/2020
Week 41: Messy Work - 11/13/2020
Week 40: In the Ring - 11/06/2020
Week 34: On The Walton Smith - 11/02/2020
October 2020
Week 39: Some of the Pieces Come Together - 10/30/2020Week 38: Verification and Inventory - 10/23/2020
Week 37: More Moving and Wires - 10/16/2020
Week 33: On The Walton Smith - 10/12/2020
Week 36: Circuit Board Soldering - 10/09/2020
Week 32: On The Walton Smith - 10/05/2020
Week 35: Soldering work - 10/02/2020
September 2020
Week 31: On The Walton Smith - 09/28/2020Week 34: Headphones and Loud Noises - 09/25/2020
Week 30: On The Walton Smith - 09/21/2020
Week 33: Circuits! - 09/18/2020
Week 29: On The Walton Smith - 09/14/2020
Week 32: Running in Circles with Motor Controllers - 09/11/2020
Week 28: On The Walton Smith - 09/09/2020
Week 31: Simulating Alvin - 09/04/2020
Week 27: On The Walton Smith - 09/02/2020
August 2020
Week 30: Under Pressure - 08/28/2020Week 26: On The Walton Smith - 08/24/2020
Week 29: Soldering in Circles - 08/21/2020
Week 25: On The Walton Smith - 08/18/2020
Week 28: Smaller Disassembly - 08/14/2020
Week 27: Fail to Pass - 08/07/2020
Week 24: On The Walton Smith - 08/07/2020
Week 23: On The Walton Smith - 08/06/2020
Week 22: On The Walton Smith - 08/05/2020
July 2020
Week 26: Real Work with Real Problems - 07/31/2020Week 25: Start and Stop - 07/24/2020
Week 24: Fuses and Writing - 07/17/2020
Week 21: On The Walton Smith - 07/14/2020
Week 20: On the Walton Smith - 07/13/2020
Week 23:Keep on Working - 07/10/2020
Week 22: Starting Maintenance Projects - 07/03/2020
Week 18-19: On the Walton Smith - 07/03/2020
June 2020
Week 21: Preparing the Shop - 06/26/2020Week 20: Life without Alvin - 06/19/2020
Week 17: On the Walton Smith - 06/16/2020
Week 16: On the Walton Smith - 06/12/2020
Week 19: Alvin? What Alvin? - 06/12/2020
Week 18: Very Little Sub Left - 06/05/2020
Week 15: On the Walton Smith - 06/03/2020
May 2020
Week 17: Continued Alvin Deconstruction - 05/29/2020Week 14: On the Walton Smith - 05/27/2020
Week 16: Barely There Alvin - 05/22/2020
Week 13: On the Walton Smith - 05/20/2020
Week 15: Alvin Insides - 05/16/2020
Week 12: On the walton smith - 05/13/2020
Week 14: Return to Work - 05/09/2020
Week 11: On the walton smith - 05/06/2020
Week 13: Read On - 05/03/2020
April 2020
Week 10: On the walton smith - 04/29/2020Week 12: The Reading Continues - 04/26/2020
Week 9: On the walton smith - 04/22/2020
Week 11: More Reading - 04/19/2020
Week 8: On the walton smith - 04/14/2020
Week 10: Continued At Home Reading - 04/12/2020
Week 7: Saying Goodbye - 04/10/2020
Weeks 6 & 7: On The Walton Smith - 04/07/2020
Week 9: At Home Research - 04/05/2020
March 2020
Week 6: Heading Home - 03/30/2020Week 8: On Ship, Off Ship - 03/29/2020
Week 7: The Alvin Has Landed - 03/22/2020
Week 5: Changing out an Antenna - 03/22/2020
Week 5: Thinking Mud, Part II - 03/21/2020
Week 4: On the Walton smith - 03/16/2020
Week 6: Finishing Up At Sea - 03/15/2020
Week 2: Constant Change - 03/14/2020
Week 3: Preparing For Haul Out - 03/11/2020
Week 2: First time out - 03/10/2020
Weeks 3&4: Thinking Mud - 03/10/2020
Week 5: Smooth Seas Do Not Make Skillful Sailors - 03/08/2020
Week 1: Welcome to Bermuda - 03/07/2020
Week 4: Work, Work, Work - 03/01/2020
February 2020
Week 2: Barbados - 02/26/2020Week 1: Arrived at the Walton Smith - 02/24/2020
Week 3: Out and Back Again - 02/23/2020
Pre Cruise Introduction - 02/19/2020
Week 1: Aboard the Endeavor and off to Barbados - 02/17/2020
Week 2: Finally Underway - 02/16/2020
Pre-Cruise Introduction - 02/10/2020
Week 1: On board (kinda) - 02/09/2020
Pre-Cruise Introduction - 02/03/2020
Pre-Cruise Introduction - 02/01/2020
November 2019
Week 10: Homeward Bound - 11/02/2019October 2019
Week 8: Conte Cruise - 10/31/2019Week 9: Gulf of Alaska - 10/26/2019
Week 7: Second BATS Cruise - 10/24/2019
Week 8: Port Call - 10/19/2019
Week 6: Wilhelm Cruise - 10/17/2019
Week 7: Sea Gliders - 10/12/2019
Week 5: Return to Bermuda - 10/10/2019
Week 6: Marginal Ice Zone - 10/05/2019
Week 4: BATSVAL Cruise and Puerto Rico - 10/03/2019
September 2019
Week 5: Back to Beaufort Sea - 09/28/2019Week 3: Port Days - 09/26/2019
Week 4: Ice Station - 09/20/2019
Week 2: Humberto - 09/19/2019
Week 3: Sea Ice - 09/13/2019
Week 1: First Cruise - 09/12/2019
Week 2: Bering Sea - 09/07/2019
Week 16 - 09/05/2019
Test Blog - Preparation and Arrival - 09/04/2019
End of Internship - 09/04/2019
Last Cruise aboard the RV Atlantic Explorer - 09/01/2019
August 2019
Week 1: Dutch Harbor - 08/31/2019So Long Reykjanes Ridge - 08/30/2019
FINAL WEEK on Healy- no longer an Iceworm - 08/26/2019
Last Multiple Day Cruise - 08/25/2019
Week 14 - 08/24/2019
Week 4 on Healy - Near the end of HLY1901 - 08/19/2019
Week 4 On the Healy - 08/19/2019
Second to Last Cruise - 08/18/2019
Week 11 - 08/13/2019
Week 3 on Healy - HLY1901 - 08/12/2019
Roughest weather since I've been in Bermuda - 08/11/2019
Week 3 on the Healy-First week of science - 08/11/2019
Week 2 on Healy - Kodiak to Nome and Science - 08/06/2019
Holiday in Bermuda - 08/04/2019
Week 2 on Healy - 08/04/2019
July 2019
Week 10 - 07/31/2019First Blog Post - 07/30/2019
Week 1 on Healy - Seattle to Kodiak - 07/29/2019
Week 1 Healy - 07/29/2019
NSF Inspection - 07/28/2019
Modern life at sea - 07/24/2019
Sweet somber sailing - 07/22/2019
Bermuda Atlantic Time Series Study - 07/21/2019
Learning From Different Perspectives - 07/21/2019
Introduction - 07/20/2019
Birthday on Board - 07/16/2019
Pre-Internship Introduction - 07/16/2019
XBT gonna give it to ya - 07/15/2019
Week 9 - 07/15/2019
Always Saying Yes to Learning Experiences - 07/14/2019
First Week in Bermuda - 07/14/2019
The speed of sound - 07/11/2019
Week 2, What to Do - 07/08/2019
Week 2 - Ping it on - 07/08/2019
Reality on a research vessel - 07/04/2019
The Midnight Sun Has Set on Week 1 - 07/02/2019
Week 1 in the N. Atlantic - 07/01/2019
June 2019
Orienting ourselves on an ocean mapping cruise - 06/24/2019Week Six: The Final Week on the R/V Hugh R. Sharp - 06/24/2019
Pre-Cruise: Preparing for a Month Under the Icelandic Midnight Sun - 06/23/2019
Don't mind if I do... - 06/21/2019
Week 7 - 06/19/2019
Week Five: The Last Week of the Scallop Survey - 06/15/2019
Week 5 - This is how the survey ends - 06/15/2019
Week Four: Lost in the Abyss - 06/08/2019
Week 5 - 06/05/2019
Week Three: Eat. Sleep. Dredge. Repeat - 06/01/2019
May 2019
Week 4 - 05/29/2019Week 2 - Scallop Survey Shuffle - 05/28/2019
Week Two: Endless HABCAM - 05/25/2019
Week 3 - 05/22/2019
Week One- The Beginning - 05/18/2019
Happy HABCAM'ing - 05/18/2019
Week 2 - 05/15/2019
Pre-Intern - 05/11/2019
Pre-cruise test - 05/10/2019
Week 1 - 05/08/2019
November 2018
Week 5: All Good Things Must Come to an End - 11/23/2018Week 4: As the Sun Sets, Winter Awakes. - 11/16/2018
Week 3: Pancakes, Polynyas, and Polar Bears - 11/09/2018
Week 2: Shoot for the STARcS - 11/02/2018
7. Time to Say Goodbye - 11/01/2018
October 2018
Week 1: Up up up and Underway - 10/26/20186. CLIO is on Board - 10/25/2018
Week Five: Inport Dutch Harbor - 10/20/2018
Week Four: Finishing Science Ops and Steaming Towards Dutch - 10/13/2018
Final Week: Full-Circle Reflection - 10/13/2018
5. Back in Bermuda - 10/12/2018
Preparing for an High Arctic Expedition - 10/11/2018
Week Three:80 degrees north - 10/06/2018
4. Arrival in Puerto Rico - 10/05/2018
September 2018
Week Two: The Start of the SODA Moorings. - 09/29/20183. En Route to Puerto Rico - 09/28/2018
Week Twenty-Two: Part of Something Big - 09/23/2018
Week One: Underway from Dutch Harbor and into the realm of the Arctic Circle - 09/22/2018
2. Arrival, but no boat - 09/22/2018
Week Twenty-One: Hello, Old Friend - 09/17/2018
1. Time for an Adventure - 09/14/2018
Pre-Internship Healy 1802 - 09/12/2018
5: The turn of the tide - 09/09/2018
Week Twenty: Last Days In Alaska - 09/09/2018
4 My Final Week with the Alvin Group Aboard the Atlantis - 09/05/2018
Week Nineteen: Aleutian Appreciation - 09/02/2018
August 2018
3 First Week at Sea with the Alvin Group - 08/29/2018Week 3: Ahhh-tlantis - 08/27/2018
4: Into the abyss - 08/26/2018
Week Eighteen: To-Do List - 08/26/2018
Week Seventeen: Staying Cool Under Pressure - 08/20/2018
3: Across the horizon - 08/20/2018
2 Preparation for the Atlantis/Alvin Cruise - 08/20/2018
Week 2: Leaving Land - 08/18/2018
Week 1- On board R/V Atlantis - 08/13/2018
1 Aboard the R/V Atlantis with the Alvin Group - 08/13/2018
2: New beginnings - 08/13/2018
Week Sixteen: Arctic Chill - 08/12/2018
Week Fifteen: Iceworm no Longer - 08/05/2018
1: From one boat to another - 08/05/2018
Anticipating Alvin - 08/03/2018
July 2018
Week Fourteen: Cruising to Kodiak - 07/30/2018Week Thirteen: 47deg N at 85deg F - 07/23/2018
0 Pre-Internship Post: R/V Atlantis - 07/23/2018
Challenging Myself - 07/17/2018
Week 2-aka Last Week at BIOS - 07/15/2018
Week 1-Into the Bermuda Triangle - 07/08/2018
Week Twelve: Troubleshooting - 07/08/2018
Week 1-Into the Bermuda Triangle! - 07/08/2018
Week Eleven: Spruce and Sea Spray - 07/02/2018
June 2018
Pre-Internship Blog Post - 06/29/2018There and Back Again - 06/25/2018
Week Ten: The Quick Turnaround - 06/24/2018
R/V Atlantic Explorer Week 2 - 06/22/2018
Stateside - 06/21/2018
Week Nine: Science and Salvage - 06/17/2018
All Hands On Deck - 06/14/2018
The HABCAM Returns - 06/12/2018
Week Eight: Night Fishing - 06/11/2018
Smooth Seas and Proper Preparation - 06/04/2018
Week Seven: Dirt Don't Hurt - 06/03/2018
May 2018
Higher Latitudes, Lower Temperatures - 05/30/2018Ready to Depart! - 05/29/2018
Week Six: At the Dock - 05/28/2018
Wait it's only been a week? - 05/22/2018
Week Five: Hit Ground and Run - 05/20/2018
Week Four: Countdown to Reykjavik - 05/14/2018
Ready to Depart - 05/13/2018
Week Three: Transit to Iceland - 05/06/2018
April 2018
Week Two: A Return to the Day Shift - 04/29/2018Week One: Rough Seas - 04/22/2018
Arrival - 04/14/2018
November 2017
USCGC Healy - Final Week - 11/19/2017USCGC Healy - Slide into Seward - 11/12/2017
USCGC Healy - Happy Healy-ween! - 11/05/2017
October 2017
USCGC Healy - Science and Seinfeld - 10/29/2017USCGC Healy - Getting Started - 10/22/2017
Saying Goodbye - 10/13/2017
I'm going to name my dog, Niskin! - 10/10/2017
USCGC Healy - Internship Starting Next Week! - 10/08/2017
Don't tell the bears, I'm stuck! - 10/02/2017
Leaving for Puerto Rico- Did I mention Hurricane Maria JUST passed? - 10/01/2017
September 2017
Nature's Discotech - 09/25/2017Cruisin' to the Big City - 09/24/2017
Everyone's grows up sometimes: Holding my own shift - 09/17/2017
Preparing to go meet USCGC Healy - 09/16/2017
Week 3 Aboard the USCGC Healy - 09/12/2017
Storms, Cruise Prep and my First Milli-Q Installation - 09/10/2017
Week 2 Aboard the USCGC Healy - 09/05/2017
Week 5.286 Aboard the Armstrong - 09/04/2017
I've been suspended from a crane! - 09/03/2017
Week 4: Adieu Atlantis - 09/02/2017
Week 5 Aboard the Armstrong - 09/01/2017
August 2017
Week 1 Aboard the USCGC Healy - 08/29/2017Surprise Mooring Cruise - 08/27/2017
Pictures Galore! - 08/25/2017
Week 4 Aboard the Armstrong - 08/25/2017
BATS: Round Two! - 08/20/2017
Week 3 Aboard the Armstrong - 08/18/2017
Pre-Internship USCGC Healy - 08/17/2017
A Welcome Return from Canada - 08/13/2017
Week 3 Aboard the Walton Smith: Everglades, waterways, and CTDs - 08/12/2017
Week 2 Aboard the Armstrong - 08/11/2017
From Bermuda to Halifax, Canada - 08/06/2017
Week 1 Aboard the Armstrong - 08/04/2017
July 2017
Week 2 Aboard the Walton Smith: Tucker Trawls, Shrimp, and Bioluminescence - 07/30/2017On shore in Bermuda - 07/28/2017
Week 1 Aboard the Walton Smith: Knots, Navigation, and CTDs - 07/23/2017
A Welcoming Arrival and First Cruise in Bermuda - 07/21/2017
Before I Set Sail - 07/18/2017
Week 4 on the F. G. Walton Smith - 07/17/2017
Before the internship aboard the F.G Walton Smith - 07/16/2017
Home and an Awaiting Adventure in Bermuda - 07/14/2017
Week 3 on the F. G. Walton Smith - 07/09/2017
Week 2 on the F. G. Walton Smith - 07/03/2017
June 2017
Reflections and my Final Trip on the Pelican - 06/30/2017Week 1 on the F. G. Walton Smith - 06/25/2017
Final Two Weeks: Hurricane Season - 06/22/2017
Week Five: We're on the move - 06/20/2017
Week Five on the R/V Sharp - 06/17/2017
A New Vessel in Mississippi - 06/15/2017
Week 4 -the beginning of the engineering cruse- - 06/14/2017
Florida on the R/V F. G. Walton Smith - 06/11/2017
Week Four on the R/V Sharp - 06/09/2017
Pictures from Scallop Leg 2 - 06/06/2017
Week three is a Little late - 06/06/2017
Beautiful Deep Sea Discoveries- Photos Galor, A MUST Read! - 06/06/2017
Week Three on R/V Sharp - 06/02/2017
May 2017
Deep Water Horizon, Shipwrecks and ROVS - 05/29/2017Its week two on board the Atlantis - 05/28/2017
Week 2 on R/V Sharp - 05/27/2017
Pictures from Scallop Leg 1 - 05/25/2017
First week with the R/V Atlantis - 05/23/2017
Big Wigs and Boat Celebrations in Baton Rouge - 05/22/2017
Week 1 on R/V Sharp - 05/19/2017
Preparation for Internship aboard R/V Atlantis - 05/15/2017
Docks and Landers in the Gulf - 05/15/2017
Getting Ready for my Internship on R/V Hugh R. Sharp - 05/10/2017
First Month Down - 05/08/2017
Mexico, Storms and Drones - 05/01/2017
April 2017
Week Two: The Sound of Pelicans and the Smell of New Orleans! - 04/22/2017Week 1: The Gulf of Mexico and Dolphins! - 04/13/2017
Almost on my Way! - 04/01/2017
October 2016
Conclusions on the R/V Sikuliaq - 10/12/2016September 2016
Sheets and Ice Sheets: Taking the Plunge - 09/16/2016Blog 6: Day 28 - The End in Sight - 09/11/2016
WEEK 9- Breakdown, Bottles and Bees - 09/10/2016
Blog 5: Day 26 - Pictures! - 09/09/2016
CTDs, Sea Ice and Polar Bears - 09/08/2016
Blog 4: Day 22 - White September - 09/05/2016
WEEK 8- Cable Termination, Nearing the End - 09/03/2016
August 2016
Transiting on the R/V Sikuliaq! - 08/30/2016Blog 3: Day 14 - Waiting out the ice - 08/28/2016
WEEK 7- An Unexpected Visit Home - 08/27/2016
Blog 2: Day 7 - I think I see Russia - 08/21/2016
WEEK 6- Alongside - 08/20/2016
Blog 1: Day 0 - Pre-internship post - 08/14/2016
Better late than never - 08/14/2016
WEEK 5- Canceled Cruises, Funeral For Our Fallen Brother - 08/13/2016
Return and Reflect - 08/10/2016
Week 4- Downtime and Tragedy - 08/08/2016
Week 3- South Florida Ecosystem Restoration Cruise - 08/03/2016
Moorings and Transit - 08/03/2016
July 2016
Creatures of the Pockmarks - 07/26/2016Pre-Internship on the R/V Sikuliaq! - 07/25/2016
Week 2-Bioluminescent Sea Creatures - 07/24/2016
Station to Station - 07/20/2016
Week 1 - 07/17/2016
Another successful cruise - 07/17/2016
Backing and Ramming - 07/11/2016
Pre-Internship Blog - 07/07/2016
R/V Sikuliaq Cruise Report - 07/07/2016
Holiday at Sea- Week 1 - 07/04/2016
Quiet times - 07/02/2016
Blog 3, Final - 07/01/2016
June 2016
Introduction and Anticipation - 06/27/2016Pre-Internship Blog Test - 06/26/2016
USCG Healy Internship - Post 2 - 06/24/2016
Week 5 Aboard the R/V Sharp - 06/20/2016
Pre-internship blog - 06/19/2016
BATS Cruise - 06/16/2016
Week 4 Aboard the R/V sharp - 06/14/2016
Back at it - 06/14/2016
Pre-Internship - Post 1 - 06/13/2016
Week 3 Aboard the R/V Sharp - 06/09/2016
Hydrostation Time! - 06/09/2016
The End or the Beginning? - 06/09/2016
A Quick Update - 06/04/2016
Week Three - Back at the Dock - 06/02/2016
Week 2 Aboard the R/V Sharp - 06/02/2016
A Slight Change of Plans - 06/01/2016
May 2016
Week 01 - 05/28/2016Week Two- Change of Plans - 05/26/2016
Week 1 - 05/22/2016
Pre-Internship - 05/22/2016
Land! - 05/20/2016
Week One in the Bermuda Triangle - 05/19/2016
Moving into sediment - 05/14/2016
Pre-Internship - 05/10/2016
Pre-Intern - 05/10/2016
Mapping Complete - 05/06/2016
Seafloor mapping out in the Pacific - 05/03/2016
April 2016
Transit - 04/17/2016Back at sea - 04/09/2016
Picture test - 04/09/2016
Stuck - 04/07/2016
March 2016
Busy busy busy - 03/26/2016Week 1 - 03/13/2016
Pre-internship - 03/02/2016
September 2015
The last few days on R/V Langseth - 09/12/2015Looking for freshwater - 09/06/2015
Week One: The Langseth is hard at work - 09/06/2015
August 2015
Week 4- The journey back - 08/28/2015Getting ready for the Langseth! - 08/25/2015
Week 3- Home stretch - 08/21/2015
The End - 08/19/2015
Week 2- Equipment - 08/15/2015
Multibeam/Coring Cruise - 08/13/2015
Week One- Getting acquainted - 08/07/2015
July 2015
Let The Science Begin - 07/31/2015I didn't blow up the ship! - 07/30/2015
My third and longest trip - 07/27/2015
New England Mud Patch - 07/23/2015
First 12 days on the Point Sur - 07/17/2015
Week 2 - From Port to the Deep Blue - 07/15/2015
Back to Corvallis - 07/14/2015
Searching for Deep Sea Prey - 07/09/2015
RV Langseth: Last blog post - 07/08/2015
Dreams do come true - 07/05/2015
First day aboard the RV Falkor - 07/05/2015
RV Langseth: Wrapping up Coverage - 07/03/2015
First Week at Sea - 07/02/2015
June 2015
End of a Chapter - 06/25/2015RV Langseth: Fishing gear - 06/24/2015
R/V Pelican- The End - 06/21/2015
After the Healy - 06/20/2015
Days of Dredging - 06/18/2015
RV Langseth: Mowin' the grass - 06/17/2015
R/V Pelican: Waiting on the Weather - 06/13/2015
Dredging, Whales, and the Last Leg - 06/11/2015
RV Langseth: Data Rolling in - 06/10/2015
RV Langseth: First week out at sea - 06/04/2015
Fun with Dredging - 06/04/2015
R/V Pelican- Almost there! - 06/04/2015
Quick update - 06/01/2015
May 2015
Transitions - 05/28/2015RV Langseth: First few days on the boat - 05/27/2015
Pre-Internship Hello - 05/22/2015
Week #1: Settling In - 05/21/2015
From parts to product - 05/20/2015
RV Langseth: Getting ready to go - 05/19/2015
Adios San Diego, Hola Portland! What we do while in transit … - 05/15/2015
Pre-Internship Excitement - 05/13/2015
Reflections - 05/08/2015
Best laid plans … - 05/01/2015
April 2015
Understanding Wire and Rope (Part 1) - Wire - 04/28/2015Oregon Coast Marine Life - 04/20/2015
Maintenance, Sampling and Catching (because anyone can fish) - 04/17/2015
Haze Gray (white) and Underway - 04/07/2015
Ocean Observatories Initiative Cruise - 04/03/2015
March 2015
3..2..1..Start - 03/24/2015La felia padrig (Happy St. Patty's Day) - 03/17/2015
October 2014
The End…for now - 10/13/2014September 2014
Cape Crusaders - 09/30/2014Our love/hate relationship with electronics - 09/25/2014
Looking Westward - 09/23/2014
Our favorite patch of ocean - 09/16/2014
Last Day - 09/12/2014
On my own - 09/11/2014
In all her glory - 09/09/2014
Irminger to Iceland - 09/02/2014
Let's do this! - 09/02/2014
August 2014
Apocalypse Now - 08/27/2014A picture is worth a thousand words - 08/27/2014
The R/V Oceanus marine tech team - 08/26/2014
Week Six- The End - 08/26/2014
Steaming west in the Labrador Sea - 08/25/2014
Hole in the hull - 08/21/2014
Week Five - 08/20/2014
R/V Knorr is in the Labrador Sea - 08/18/2014
Week Four - 08/15/2014
Castles in the sand - 08/15/2014
Last OBS cruise - 08/13/2014
2 down and another to go... - 08/11/2014
Working on the Irminger Sea - 08/10/2014
Reflections after the internship - 08/08/2014
Week Three- Not so many Thunderstorms - 08/06/2014
On the R/V Knorr - 08/05/2014
CTDs - 08/04/2014
Deploying OBSs - 08/03/2014
July 2014
Sea sickness under control - 07/31/2014Week Two- Good Bye Scallops, Hello Thunderstorms - 07/30/2014
The Final Post - 07/29/2014
Arrived to Dutch Harbor - 07/28/2014
Hi Seas Net: a frustrating mystery - 07/26/2014
5 days until Iceland - 07/26/2014
Observations and Ideas - 07/24/2014
Filtering Phytoplankton! - 07/23/2014
Internship begins - 07/22/2014
Week One-Scalloping - 07/21/2014
Adjusting - 07/18/2014
RVHRS Scallop Survey - Last Leg - 07/17/2014
On to the Healy and a Rescue in the Ice! - 07/15/2014
RVHRS Scallop Survey - Second Leg - 07/14/2014
First week onboard R/V Oceanus - 07/13/2014
Just finished preparing, ready to begin - 07/07/2014
Ready to Go - 07/07/2014
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end - 07/03/2014
June 2014
Third week on the Sharp - 06/30/2014RVHRS Scallop Survey - First Leg - 06/30/2014
Preparation for the Journey through Ice and Snow - 06/29/2014
IT WORKS!! - 06/27/2014
Second week on the Sharp - 06/16/2014
Preparations - 06/11/2014
Ocean Bottom Electromagnetic Receivers - 06/10/2014
First week aboard Sharp - 06/07/2014
Applying, packing, and travel - 06/06/2014
May 2014
Departing for My Internship! - 05/29/2014On Board the R/V Oceanus - 05/05/2014
April 2014
Manganese Mania - 04/30/2014End of my Thompson Hitch - 04/16/2014
No More MoorSPICE - 04/02/2014
March 2014
Solomon Seas with MoorSPICE - 03/19/2014Transit to New Caledonia - 03/05/2014
February 2014
End of the Wave Chasers Cruise - 02/19/2014Tow-Yo Troubles on the Thompson - 02/06/2014
January 2014
Gray Skies and Blue Marlin - 01/28/2014Let the Wave Chasing Commence! - 01/19/2014
Gearing up for 40 days with the WaveChasers - 01/13/2014
Samoa-Bound - 01/01/2014
November 2013
Special Thanks - 11/11/2013Some Science - 11/04/2013
1PPS and Dry Wells - 11/03/2013
October 2013
E/V Nautilus - 10/31/2013The Simple Things - 10/24/2013
Pictorial of the most epic rebuild - 10/14/2013
Team CTD - 10/13/2013
Back in the saddle again - 10/06/2013
Just the Beginning - 10/06/2013
September 2013
Time To Find Some Warm Socks - 09/28/2013It's the Final Countdown! - 09/11/2013
Icelandic Culinary Delights - 09/04/2013
Signing off E/V Nautilus: Michael Smith - 09/02/2013
Fun, Games, & a little bit of Science - 09/01/2013
Possibly more than you wanted to know about what we do - 09/01/2013
August 2013
From the Boston Tea Party to Tacos - 08/27/2013Getting More Dives Under My Belt - 08/26/2013
The Deep Blue - 08/20/2013
Settling in New New York - 08/19/2013
Multi-core-apalooza - 08/19/2013
My First Week at Sea - 08/16/2013
Signing off from the R/V Hugh R. Sharp - 08/16/2013
First Night Aboard RV Langseth - 08/14/2013
Welcome to Iceland - 08/12/2013
6 Months In - 08/11/2013
Incoming ROV Intern- Michael Smith - 08/08/2013
Checking in from the R/V Hugh R. Sharp - 08/02/2013
From Satellites to C-Nav - 08/01/2013
July 2013
Counting Down the Days - 07/22/2013R/V H.R. Sharp Fishing for Rocks - 07/17/2013
Trial by fire - 07/14/2013
R/V Marcus G. Langseth: Leaving the Boat - 07/10/2013
Watching Bubbles and dodging waves - 07/07/2013
R/V H.R. Sharp Georges Bank - 07/06/2013
R/V Marcus G. Langseth: Working in Port - 07/01/2013
June 2013
Hanging out in Davy Jones' livingroom - 06/28/2013R/V Marcus G. Langseth: BREAKing News - 06/25/2013
R/V H. Sharp: Scallop Photo Shoot and Shucking Party - 06/23/2013
Astoria Oregon... - 06/20/2013
R/V Marcus G. Langseth: A Daily Routine on the Boat - 06/19/2013
R/V BLUE HERON-Duluth Minn./ Lake Superior - 06/17/2013
R/V Marcus G. Langseth: Working out the Kinks - 06/13/2013
The Panama Canal and so much more - 06/12/2013
R/V H. SHARP1: From the West to East - 06/10/2013
R/V Marcus G. Langseth: Collecting the Data - 06/08/2013
Oh what amazing sights we see - 06/05/2013
R/V Marcus G. Langseth: Letting out the Streamers - 06/04/2013
May 2013
R/V Marcus G. Langseth: An Explanation of How Stuff Works - 05/31/2013Bouncing around THE BAR - 05/31/2013
Staring into the Depths - 05/29/2013
Hard Days of Work - 05/27/2013
Leaving Town with Lasers - 05/24/2013
Whirlwind of Travel - 05/23/2013
Tyler Poppenwimer: R/V Marcus G. Langseth - 05/23/2013
Ship and Shop Maintenance - 05/17/2013
Wires, wires everywhere! - 05/14/2013
R/V Barnes Day trips and More - 05/10/2013
New Langseth Adventures! - 05/09/2013
The Sounds of Silence - 05/05/2013
The Journey Continues - 05/01/2013
In port - 05/01/2013
April 2013
Internal Waves and Whales - 04/24/2013Langseth Part II: The Mid-Atlantic - 04/21/2013
Northwest Bound - 04/17/2013
Exciting news from the Langseth! - 04/15/2013
Things never go as planned - 04/10/2013
R/V Marcus Langseth: The 2013 MATE Adventures - 04/05/2013
March 2013
Unexpected knowledge comes in handy - 03/25/2013Don't bight off more than you can chew. - 03/24/2013
