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13 August 2019
Science aboard the R/V Falkor: July 30-August 8
A week and then some of blog posts from people at work doing science at sea…
8 July 2019
More WaterWords and videos from the Hunting Bubbles expedition
Five new posts from the Hunting Bubbles expedition.
18 June 2019
Cruise blog: Observing seafloor methane seeps at the edge of hydrate stability
Four new updates from the ongoing cruise of the R/V Falkor…
13 June 2019
Seeking the Seeps
The unusually bright Oregon sun beams down on me as I watch the soaring Astoria bridge recede into the background. The R/V Falkor has just pushed back from the dock and we’re steaming into the great Columbia River. Looking ahead, I can see twin points of land, framing the mouth of the Columbia like a giant crab claw.
12 June 2019
Seeking Space Rocks: The search continues
The seaborne portion of our expedition has ended, but the land-based search begins. In the laboratory, all the samples are examined with fresh eyes, using instruments that enable Dr. Marc Fries to “see” potential meteorites at a much finer scale.
10 June 2019
According to plan
After picking up the science team in Astoria, we headed back out to sea! This time we headed northward to the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary off the coast of Washington State. The aim of this leg is to try to locate and recover fragments of a meteor strike recorded off the coast.
9 June 2019
Improving the odds
Overnight, the ‘star sieve’ returned several hundred grams of rocky material with characteristics similar to what we are looking for in meteorites – black-colored rocks with a smooth exterior surface. But when ALL of the samples from multiple sites look that way, you have either hit the jackpot or something else is going on.
6 June 2019
Mucknificence
Seafloor mud is a mucknificent thing. The soft surface of well-sorted, very fine silt and mud provides a wonderful foundation for benthic organisms, but also allows all the larger, coarser, and heavier rocks – including the meteorites we seek – to bury themselves within.
5 June 2019
The Hunt for the Quinault meteorite begins
The sea is pitching 8 foot swells at the R/V Falkor as the “Seeking Space Rocks” team transits to the first dive site in Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary. We have three days to look for meteorites on the seafloor, the second time this has ever been attempted.
13 March 2019
Research cruise log: Guaymas Basin
Three new posts from the ongoing research cruise in the Guaymas Basin investigating links between microbial communities and environmental drivers.
8 March 2019
Mapping the early formation of the oceans
When I was a girl, we traveled to Puebla to visit my grandparents in a town near the Popocatépetl volcano. The fumaroles (smoke) scared me, so I studied the characteristics of the hills around me to find a safe place in case it blew up.
Big Pagoda Pools — Microbial Mysteries video update
This spectacular underwater volcano was just explored for the first time by scientists aboard the R/V Falkor. 2000 meters below the surface of the ocean, the “Big Pagoda” hydrothermal vent is massive: 30m tall and 23m wide.
4 March 2019
The discovery of Riftia
Greetings from Guaymas basin! My name is Jessica Mitchell and I am in my fifth year of working on my PhD at Harvard University with Dr. Peter Girguis. I study the microbial symbiosis between Riftia pachyptila and its bacterial ‘symbiont’ Candidatus Endoriftia Persephone.
1 March 2019
Gulf of California: Using radium isotopes to study hydrothermal flow dynamics
Hello everyone! My name is Charlotte Kollman and I am a graduate student in the Groundwater Discharge Measurement Facility at Coastal Carolina University. I am currently aboard the R/V Falkor in the Gulf of California with scientists from several different institutions, all with the shared goal of exploring the biological mysteries that abound here.
28 February 2019
Underway: Linking microbial Communities and evnironmental
After a very long and unanticipated delay, we are underway and headed towards the Guaymas Basin, located in middle of the Gulf of California. The Gulf of California, one of the most intriguing places I have worked, is home to deeply interesting and fascinating seafloor habitats.
30 January 2019
Costa Rican Deep Sea Connections Videos — Week 3 Update, Species Discoveries & Methodologies
“Isla Del Coco is really a special place. Now that we have gotten a look at some of the deeper parts and discovered some of the really spectacular communities of the deep sea… we know we’ve found new species: new species of coral, new species of shrimp, new species of worms – a LOT of new species.”
25 January 2019
Breath-taking diversity
Discovering a ‘new’ species is a thrill and a privilege. The realization comes with a jolt of excitement: you may be the first person on Earth ever to set eyes on this creature! Many people never get to experience this rush…
22 January 2019
Costa Rican Deep Sea Connections: Week 2 Video
Check out this week’s #CostaRicanDeep video update to see some of the spectacular sights, as well as learn about the new tech and tools researchers are using to make these amazing discoveries.
Costa Rican Deep Sea Connections: No Bone is Safe
Some of the creatures the experts have been observing seem otherworldly, even eerie. It is not unlikely that the brilliant H.R. Giger got his inspiration for the extraterrestrial monster in 1979’s Alien from the planktonic crustacean Phronima.
18 January 2019
Costa Rican Deep Sea Connections: Hiking Up
Chief Scientist Erik Cordes is happy. The work on the seepage sites along the Costa Rican margin has taken less dive time than expected, and additionally, the team has been finding multiple new species.
