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December 8, 2016
Daikoku dive 2: Sulfur so good
The first day on the job is nerve-wracking for anyone, but when you’re a multimillion dollar ROV venturing into one of the most inhospitable landscapes on the planet you’d have a pretty good excuse to feel nervous. Everything yesterday with ROV SuBastian went as smoothly as we could have hoped. We all get a quick nights rest and are back ready to go at sunrise. It’s dive two for the #hydrothermalhunt and we’re making another dive at Daikoku seamount for what may be our final visit.
December 7, 2016
Return to Daikoku
After two cancelled dives in the back-arc, we transit to our northern-most destination: Daikoku seamount. The winds and seas are calmer there, and it is a chance to revisit a fascinating underwater volcano. We get the confirmation we have been hoping for at 6.30am – conditions are good enough and ROV SuBastian is ready for its first dive.
November 14, 2016
Unrelated questions
Zooplankton is certainly not the study focus of Oliver’s working group, but for a while, these small crustaceans become a reminder of the complexity of the oceans’ systems. Every working team onboard has specific questions they would like to see answered, but on top of those, they are all always attentive for new learning opportunities.
November 7, 2016
Islands within an island
Falkor’s inhabitants usually fall into two categories: Crew or Scientists. But every now and then a rare phenomenon will take place: islands within the island, not one thing or the other.
November 4, 2016
The small hours
Eight days have gone by on this expedition, and ever-present Trichodesmium blooms are most likely the reason why the experts have been spotting plenty of marine life. Today is no exception as blowhole sounds alert the team.
Winds of change
For the past eight days, Falkor has been operating close to land, but it will soon be time to head into the open ocean. Stronger winds and ocean swells are expected, and with them, increased complexity in the operations.
November 3, 2016
The time has come
The processes controlling carbon dioxide transport and transformation in oceans remain uncertain. We need to be able to model the transfer of this gas between the atmosphere and the ocean in order to create regional and global budgets of carbon, nutrients and pollutants.
The dust people
Rachel and William are the “Dust People.” They are interested in how trace metals suspended in the air enter the ocean after traveling long distances through wind, and what happens to them after they do.
November 2, 2016
Sea surface microlayer: Why?
Think of it as the skin of the ocean. Just like our skin, the sea surface microlayer is the first line of defense of our oceans. Key for the exchange of substances and gases between the atmosphere and the hydrosphere, and a collection point for anthropogenic materials entering the ocean. Not only is this skin extremely important for the health of the oceans, but we are beginning to learn how determinant it is for our entire planet.
