Month: July 2024 Page 1 of 3

The cruise is nearing its end, having completed six weeks of travel. On July 18, around 8 am, the crew received a radio call from the Icelandic Coast Guard about a distress signal from a vessel with a broken mast and low fuel. The Marcus G. Langseth, being the closest ship, backtracked to assist. After about five hours, the sailboat was spotted. The crew deployed a small boat to deliver multiple cans of fuel to the stranded vessel, successfully enabling it to return home safely. It appears the boat had not been ready for the harsh weather, as their sails were shredded.

Continuing on, we passed Iceland on the west and entered the Arctic Circle, where the sun never sets. However, operations were suspended for several days due to poor weather. Upon resuming, we completed work at Station 6 east of Greenland, where we observed pilot whales and retrieved a core sample containing a piece of sponge. We then headed to Station 7, the final station.

We also experienced power disruptions due to engine issues; I believe the starboard main overheated and shut down, likely due to a procedure missed as we slowed down to deploy our last Argo float. Fortunately, the engineering team resolved the issue within a couple of hours.

Week 1: R/V Pelican (Athena Abrahamsen)

By Athena Abrahamsen

On July 27, 2024

In Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, MATE Blog Archive, R/V Pelican

Yesterday, July 26th, marked my first week aboard the R/V Pelican. The first cruise I am participating in during the course of this internship is conducting a shelf-wide hypoxia survey whose data will help continue a time-series data set that was started in 1985! For those who aren’t familiar with the word “hypoxia”, it means “low oxygen”. So, this science group is tracking zones of low oxygen along the continental shelf in the Northern Gulf of Mexico. The purpose of this time-series data set is to monitor the extent and severity of the summer hypoxic events that occur in this region. If you’d like to learn more about this project, you can do so through this website: https://gulfhypoxia.net/!

So far, 101 stations have been completed. All of these stations have occurred in locations West of the Mississippi River. As I write this, we are transiting to the stations and transect lines that are East of the Mississippi River. I have not been involved in all 101 stations, mind you. We are doing 24 hour operations, so myself, and two other Marine Technicians, Maggie and Susie, are working staggered shifts. I have been on shift for 52 of these stations.

At each of these stations, a CTD cast was completed, as well as the deployment of a Niskin bottle with a EOX3 Multiparameter Sonde Instrument attached.

A CTD cast is obtained using a CTD Rosette. On a CTD Rosette, a CTD instrument is housed in an instrument frame that also holds Niskin bottles. The CTD instrument collects the conductivity, temperature, and depth data of a water column. It can be outfitted with accessory instruments that measure other biological, chemical, and physical properties of the water. The Niskin bottles are used to collect water samples at certain depths within the water column. Niskin bottles can be manually or electronically closed to collect water at a certain depth in the water column being observed and measured. In the case of the Niskin bottles that are mounted on the CTD Rosette’s frame, they are electronically closed, or “fired”. This is done by hooking the elastic cords that are attached to the stoppers on both sides of the Niskin bottles to a central release mechanism. Each Niskin bottle has its own corresponding number that is identified in the computer program and, when “fired” the elastic cord is unhooked from the released mechanism and causes for the bottle to close, with the water inside.

During CTD casts, I have been involved with the physical deployment and recovery of the equipment (i.e., putting it into the water, and then taking it back out of the water, and getting the equipment back on the boat deck)., as well as the electronic/computer operations needed. I have enjoyed becoming more familiar with the SeaSave software, as well as becoming better able to troubleshoot issues faced during CTD cast operations.

Below is a series of pictures that will attempt to show what was described previously. From left to the right, the pictures are: The CTD Rosette, a close-up image of what the CTD instrument looks like (this specific model is the Seabird SBE 911Plus CTD), and the release mechanism for the Niskin bottles on the CTD Rosette.

On the left is a picture of the CTD Rosette being deployed, and on the right is a picture of the data that was being collected by the CTD Rosette (this water profile was super cool, it was stratified!):

Like what was stated earlier, Niskin bottles can also be “fired” manually. This is done using a weight that is attached to the winch line (the line that connects the equipment in the water to a system, a winch, that can bring the equipment back on deck safely) and throwing it down the line so that the weight will trigger a release mechanism similar to the one seen on a Niskin bottle rosette set up. Again, I am glad that I have become more familiar with the deployment and recovery procedures associated with Niskin bottles.

The EOX3 Multiparameter Sonde is an instrument that the science crew brought with them, from my understanding, it’s like a small CTD. They are using this instrument to get oxygen concentration measurements closer to the seafloor than can be done with the CTD Rosette, also as a backup for the CTD Rosette if something were to happen.

Here is a picture of the Niskin bottle we have been using, I don’t have a picture of the EOX3 Multiparameter Sonde at the moment:

Also, at five of these stations, box core samples were also taken. A Box Corer is used to collect sediment samples (though, there are many methods and designs used to take sediment samples). This group will use the core samples to look at total and relative abundance of benthic infauna (organisms that live in the sediment on the ocean floor). Gaining experience with preparing the box core for deployment, deploying, recovering, and maintaining the equipment has been fun!

Here is a picture of myself and one of the other Marine Technicians on board, Susie, deploying the Box Corer:

Some other responsibilities I have while on shift include: monitoring the Flow Through system’s status, and turning off the water to the Flow Through when we get into really shallow water depths (< 5 m); making sure the ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler, these instruments are able to determine current speed and direction within the water column) is working well; monitoring the Knudsen Chirp’s accuracy (the Knudsen Chirp is what we use to measure the water depth, it uses sound waves to do this); update transit times on the Navigation software; monitor the Science Computer System (SCS) (the SCS is where all of the background data constantly being collected is displayed and stored); and monitoring internet usage and connection. It has been interesting to learn more about computer networking!

In the next picture, you’ll see the monitors I use to monitor the computer network that displays the Flow Through, ADCP, Knudsen Chirp, SCS, Navigation software, and Wi-Fi network:

Besides the operations that I have been a part of during this cruise, I also helped with pre-cruise preparations and mobilization for this cruise. During my first morning aboard the R/V Pelican, I helped my mentor, Maggie, with preparing the flow through system, as well as the CTD with the correct instrument set up. I also learned how to add station points into the ship’s navigation program, and got to go out on the small boat that we have on board to learn how to run it! It was awesome to see a Louisiana bayou as I have never been here before!

Here is a picture of me adding a sensor to the CTD:

Here is a picture of me operating the small boat:

Of course, all of this has been related to the Marine Technician Intern role that I have been learning to fill. BUT, on transits and during my personal time on board, I have seen some cool stuff! Among the vibrant sunsets (when it hasn’t been overcast), there have been dolphins, and when we went into the Mississippi River, I got to see a phenomenon, where two water masses meet (in this case the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico), but have not mixed yet!

Here are some pictures of what I just described seeing during transits and my off times:

Until next week!

Athena

(p.s., I am finding that communicating about what goes on during my day is quite difficult! There are a lot of moving parts and pieces (literally!), and a lot that goes on!)

USCGC Healy Week 3

By Gabby Rodezno Wilson

On July 26, 2024

In MATE Blog Archive, US Coast Guard, USCGC Healy

Hello 🙂

This week at sea I am learning how to be flexible and adapt to the changing environment. A few days ago, there was an electrical fire that caused a mission ending failure. This has taught me how quickly plans can change at sea, and how difficult it is for us to get the proper support we need all the way out in the Arctic. Luckily everyone is safe, and we are still able to reach about 12 knots to head back towards a port where the ship can be repaired. This unfortunate incident gave insight into the steps the engineers and damage control personnel need to take when dealing with emergency situations. When encountering an emergency, there are certain alarms that the ship will sound; it’s important to listen to these messages and muster when necessary to ensure everyone is safe and accounted for.

I got a tour of the engineering spaces, which was very fascinating to see the inner workings of the ship. I saw the huge generators & four diesel electric drive motors responsible for propulsion, the cycloconverters & transformers responsible for proper power distribution throughout the ship, the heat transfer systems used to cool off the motors, the desalination plant where the ship can make 6000 gallons of freshwater a day, the boiler room which sends steam to power the turbines plus other equipment, and other spaces responsible for running the ship. The Healy is considered the most “technologically advanced” icebreaker because of the variety of scientific equipment onboard and the ability to monitor oil, water, and voltage levels throughout the ship from a computer. Instead of getting down in the hard to reach places in the bilge, the engineers can monitor all systems and control where water, oil, and electricity are sent throughout the ship. I also got a tour of aloft con which is where the ice pilots steer the ship from when we are in 7/10 ice coverage. Aloft con is a few ladders above the bridge, and gives the officers a 360 degree view of the ship. From aloft con, they have a good view of the stern wake. When we are moving through ice, they can see where the ice has high pressure based on how the wake closes in as the ship moves through an area of dense ice coverage.This gives indication of how the rudders should be adjusted and how to maintain the safest track through the ice.

On the science side, we had to stop doing CTD casts because the new mission is to get the ship back to a reliable port safely. We did 24 hours of XBT (expendable bathythermograph) casts which we can do while we are moving. For safe measure, we typically ask the bridge to slow down to about 6 knots when doing these casts. We launched 1 XBT on the hour for 24 hours. The XBT collects sound velocity data by measuring temperature as it falls through the water column. I was on the radio in the computer lab for some casts and on deck for others. In the lab, I request permission from the bridge to stage the XBT launch. Then I tell those on deck that I am standing by for the probe serial number which I enter into the XBT launch program. Once the bridge and lab confirm the serial number, we tell the deck to load the probe and check for good communication with the device. Then the deck asks the bridge for permission to launch. In the lab, I check the multi-beam and if we are in over 1000m water depth, I wait until the probe reaches its terminal depth of 1000m to end the cast. If we are in shallower water, I wait until the probe reaches the bottom and then tell the deck they can cut the copper wire to finish the cast. After the wire is cut, I load the cast data in the sound-speed manager and edit it to delete the data from the surface before the probe hits the water. The water temperature profile is then sent to the multi-beam so the acoustic device can more accurately send and transmit signals to the seafloor. Some of the JOs (junior officers) were sent from the bridge to learn about what we are doing so I got to teach about the process too. They taught me a lot about their work schedules and the qualifications they need to earn to work certain positions. They taught me about the different Coast Guard ratings/ranks and career paths that each can pursue depending on their specialty.

I was also learning how to change the gain value, tx power, range, phase, and process shift on the Knudsen sonar device to get better depth readings. When we suddenly enter deep water or go from deep to very shallow, the acoustic range and phase need to be altered so that the Knudsen knows which depth to look at. Then the gain value should be decreased in shallow water to reduce the surface reverberation. In deep water, the gain value and tx power should be increased to send a signal that is strong enough to receive a return signal. I have learned how to identify multiples that can be caused by multiple harmonics. If there is one multiple, the signal has reflected off the seafloor and back to the surface twice, so the seafloor line can appear deeper. The multiples can be caused by seafloor sediment that is less porous and reflects the sound wave instead of absorbing. The multiples can also be caused by a quick change to shallow water depth. If the signal source is too strong, the sound may be more likely to reflect multiple times off the seafloor before being recorded by the receiver. It is important to monitor the Knudsen and make alterations to the acoustic signal sent to get more accurate depth profiles of the seafloor.

I designed and 3D printed more parts for Brendon and the Boatswain. It’s pretty fun, I feel that designing the parts has enhanced my creative thinking. I have also gotten better at problem-solving by seeing which parts did not turn out well and reconsidering the print orientation and what kind of infill to use.

We also brought out the sewing machine and made some covers for certain devices onboard. The debubbler on the water wall needs a cover so that it stays dark to prevent things from growing inside of the water. The 3D printer needs a cover to protect it from scratches or other wear and tear it could experience from being on the ship for a while. There are electrical boxes outside to control the cranes that also need covers to prevent rust or other buildup.

Aside from work, we saw more healthy polar bears with their cubs and I have learned how to identify certain whales and arctic birds. I learned how to play cribbage and won my first game. We have done other fun activities like spin class, volleyball, UNO, spoons, and even a Mario Kart tournament. We are departing the ship in a few days, and it has definitely been an amazing experience. I have learned some new technical skills, met a lot of interesting people, learned about different career paths I could pursue, and kept a journal of everyday activities. I am very thankful for this opportunity as a MATE intern, and I am excited to see where my career as an ocean engineer will take me in the future!

Me installing my 3D printed fluorometer mount to the rosette

Week 6 aboard the Langseth

By Chaii Layne-Neubauer

On July 25, 2024

In Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, MATE Blog Archive, R/V Marcus G. Langseth

We are at the end of the 6 week of the this cruise and the end as whole is just around the corner. It has certainly been an eventful week. On our transit to the final station we recieved a distress signal from a vessel with a broken mast and running low on fuel. The Marcus G. Langseth was the closest ship to the distressed party and made the easy decision of changing course in order to provide assistance. After back tracking for several hours we were able to spot the small sailing vessel nested in a thick fog. The ship’s crew wasted no time in preparting to assist. They loaded up one of our small boats with fuel cans and a small party of three to meet the ship approximately a mile away from us. It is quite a process to deploy the boat and all were in attendance at the spectacle. Luckily there were no issues and the distressed vessel was able to make its way home safe.

With our own small boat and its party secured again we made for our heading towards the Arctic Circle. We passed right by Iceland on this transit and quite possibly may have seen it if the continuous fog didn’t follow us. As we passed the Arctic Circle we have truly come into a place of eternal daytime. Unfortunatley we have not been able to utilize this extra light to our advantage as we have suspened operations for several days due to the weather. Once it clears we will finish up our final station and make our way to Reykjavic for a well needed sight of land.

Week 5 Ayse M. On the Langseth

By Ayse Macknight

On July 25, 2024

In Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, MATE Blog Archive, R/V Marcus G. Langseth

Daylight is lasting a lot longer than I’ve ever experienced. Sunrise starts almost the moment I’m on shift (midnight). It’s hard to claim I’m on night shift when most of my work is still being done during the day. Overall, it seems like we’re all falling into a good rhythm. Usually, around 5 am, myself and the other tech on night duty start prepping the deck and the equipment for the day. Eddy, another MATE intern, writes us notes letting us know what work was done and what work we can do.

I finally had time to hang out with the science crew while they processed their samples. Before now, all I really got to see of their work was them taking the shuttles off the multicorer and into the vans (essentially, a shipping container kept at 33-36 degrees Fahrenheit) and then coming out with the mud in small bottles. I am really thankful that they took the time to show me their work. Inside the van, they have quite a bit of dedicated equipment that allows them to remove the mud from the shuttles without the mud being exposed to air.

I also had the joy of seeing an XBT (its Nicholas name is “Expendable Bathythermograph”) deployment. It is shaped a little like a toy rocket and essentially, it is a probe that measures the temperature as it falls through the water. There is a very thin copper wire connecting the probe to the equipment on the ship. When it reports that it has reached depth, we break the wire and leave the XBT in the ocean. It is something I’ve learned about in my studies but had heard they were not used most days as they are a bit wasteful, and there are other ways to get the same data.

Week 2.5: Troubleshooting, acoustics, and… a shark attack?

By Josie Adams

On July 20, 2024

In MATE Blog Archive, R/V Endeavor, University of Rhode Island, Graduate School of Oceanography

Hi all, it has been a packed week and a half! Two days ago, we made a relatively unplanned stop in Boston Harbor after spending the previous week 400 miles offshore. The primary piece of equipment that the scientists are using to collect their data, an oil-filled acoustic array, THORA, went down a few days ago and they did not have the parts they needed to fix it onboard due to 4 packages that contained their troubleshooting equipment and spare parts being lost by the airline. We had to leave port without them at the beginning of the cruise due to time constraints, but they were found a few days ago. The Chief Scientist decided that getting the equipment onboard to fix the array was worth the two-day transit to pick it up, so we’ve spent the past 5 days primarily transiting from our study site to Boston and back.

So far, we have done multiple CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) and XBT (eXpendable BathyThermograph) deployments and a whole bunch of acoustic tow tracks. The acoustic array looks like a long, thick cable with a long, oil-filled tube attached to it that extends hundreds of feet in the water behind the ship. It listens for sounds in the surrounding water, including sound broadcasted from the R/V Roger Revelle, which has been operating acoustic research equipment in the area for the same project. The Revelle has been deploying an acoustic source, and the THORA array that we tow behind the ship has been listening for the sound emitted by the Revelle to understand how sound transmission through the water is affected by the Gulf Stream and the seamounts at our study site. CTDs and XBTs both give us a vertical profile of sound velocity in the ocean, since sound velocity is a factor of temperature and salinity.

When I first came onboard the ship, I expressed interest in gaining experience in troubleshooting science systems. Well, I’ve definitely gotten my fair share of it over the last week and a half. The CTD was giving us data transmission errors on one of our winches for almost all of the first week, with some of the errors corrupting an entire upcast and others just being small blips in the data. So, myself and the two full-time marine techs, Bonny and Jason, have spent a significant amount of time troubleshooting the source of the errors. The current list of things we’ve done to troubleshoot is nearly in the double-digits, but the CTD is now working error-free on our second winch and we are planning on testing it on winch 1 again soon!

We are currently towing the acoustic array behind the ship and doing coordinated operations with the R/V Revelle and deploying XBTs about every hour along our track. Later today, we will put the SeaTrac, an autonomous boat, in the water to collect additional acoustic data from an array that it tows beneath it. In my downtime while on shift, I’ve mostly been reading manuals for the various shipboard science systems, learning more about the computer networking systems onboard, helping out with regular maintenance tasks like cleaning and organizing, and various other tasks given to me by my mentors.

TTYL!

Armored THORA cable after a suspected shark attack. The science team suspects that the stress inflected on the cable during the attack may have partially caused the system to go down a few days later. Photo credit: Johnathan Todd.

THORA acoustic array being deployed.

Bosun Oscar securing the XBT launcher to the rail.

Myself (left) and my mentor Bonny (right) re-terminating the CTD cable as part of our troubleshooting efforts.

Bonny deploying a CTD at sunset.

Duva Week 6 R/V Langseth

By Eleanor Duva

On July 20, 2024

In Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, MATE Blog Archive, R/V Marcus G. Langseth

Station 6 was east of Greenland and we arrived on Saturday the 13^th and started coring on Sunday. One of those cores caught a piece of a sponge! We also were visited by a large pod of pilot whales on Sunday. There was a group of roughly 20 whales that were jumping and diving near the boat, and another group closer to the horizon.

Monday was a big day of coring and by Tuesday evening, we had finished the CTD cast and were headed onward towards station 7, our last station!

Usually transit days are more relaxed, but Wednesday and Thursday brought some excitement. First, we released our last Argo float on Wednesday, followed by an XBT probe to get water column temperature data from the location of deployment. XBT stands for Expendable Bathythermograph; “expendable” because the probe is launched into the water and not recovered. The probe is a small, torpedo shaped object that stays connected to the launching device by a delicate thread of copper wire which transmits the data back to the ship. Once we reach its maximum depth, you break the thin wire and are left with a temperature profile of the water column the probe fell through. XBTs are used on the Langseth for seismic, in which sound is used to map the ocean floor, and an XBT helps find the speed of sound through water, which is dependent on the salinity and temperature of the water.

A few hours later, we experienced some disruptions in power as one of the main engines had a kerfuffle. At this time, I was in the bridge and it was interesting to see how the captain and second mate managed the situation. After some troubleshooting, the engineering team were able to get everything back online.

On Thursday morning, we were notified by the Icelandic Coast Guard that we were the closest vessel to a sailing vessel in distress and asked to render aid. The sailboat lost its sails in a storm and was running out of fuel. We backtracked for a few hours until we were in sight of the sailboat. The second mate, third mate, and one AB went in the fast rescue boat to bring them jugs of fuel. It was a little unnerving to watch the little orange boat be rocked around in the cold waves, but they reached the sailboat safely twice to bring them about 50 gallons of fuel. The rest of the deck crew contributed to a successful deployment and recovery of the fast rescue boat.

Our excitement for Friday was crossing the Arctic Circle!! And it was Larkin’s (our awesome videographer/photographer/science communicator on board) birthday! We also had a meeting for planning demobilization once we reach port, which includes arranging for shipping containers, cranes, and forklifts.

We are expecting some big seas in the next few days and hopeful we still be able to find a weather window to get station 7 done before heading to Reykjavik. Home stretch!

Pod of pilot whales, photo by Lexi!

View from the bridge as the orange fast rescue boat crosses our bow.

Fast rescue boat just after it was deployed from its davit on port side.

Duva Week 5 R/V Langseth

By Eleanor Duva

On July 19, 2024

In Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, MATE Blog Archive, R/V Marcus G. Langseth

We started week 5 by arriving to station 5, located in the central Labrador Sea between Greenland and Labrador. We sent multi-core casts all day on Monday and Tuesday, and finished up station 5 with a CTD cast on Wednesday. Sunset is getting later as we continue northward.

Scores of northern fulmars and gulls kept us company at station 5, floating and flying near the ship. Fulmars spend almost all their days at sea, so they are not typically seen from land. Another lift to ship morale were two incredible nights of having Haagen Dazs ice cream bars for dessert.

During transit on Thursday, a group of us got a tour of the engine room. We saw the massive air compressors for seismic work, as well as the engines, shaft generators, aux generator, and air conditioning systems. In addition to catching up on projects and reading, I spent some time in the bridge while transiting.

By Saturday we were on station at station 6, east of Greenland. We resumed sample collection in about 2600 meters of water.

The multicore has two cameras on it, one of which is helpful for landing the corer on the seafloor and the other for troubleshooting sampling. One of the cameras we can view images from during the cast via the winch’s sea cable. Mounted near this camera is a light which we have the ability to turn off and on during the cast. The light is kept off for most of the cast, because it draws the most power and we don’t want to drain the batteries. All of the power for the cameras and light come from two batteries mounted to the frame of the corer, which get charged up overnight with a trickle charger. The second camera records the whole cast (which is mostly darkness) because it is a GoPro in a special metal housing. So we start the video recording then pack the GoPronto the housing and mount it on the multicore frame. The housing also has a highly specialized lens that corrects for distortion from the water.

Screenshot of a video from GoPro of a bottom landing

Techs attaching the GoPro camera inside its housing to multicore frame

Multi-core being recovered. Orange boxes on sides are batteries to power camera and light. Small white birds in background are fulmars

Introduction: Athena Abrahamsen

By Athena Abrahamsen

On July 18, 2024

In Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, MATE Blog Archive, R/V Pelican

Hello!

My name is Athena Abrahamsen. This fall, I will be entering my senior year of my undergraduate degree. I am working towards obtaining a B.S. in Oceanography from the College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences (CEOAS) of Oregon State University.

I am incredibly excited to have been selected to be the MATE Intern aboard the R/V Pelican. This opportunity has been on my radar for quite some time, and I am honored to be chosen for this position.

My interest in participating in sea-going research began my first year of college when I completed the Introduction to Field Oceanography course series at Oregon State. In this course series, students learn about various ways that oceanographic data is collected, and then get to go out on a multi-day cruise aboard a research vessel to see these data collection techniques in action!

When completing this course series, I participated on a four day cruise aboard the R/V Sally Ride and absolutely loved every second of it – I definitely caught the “I-really-like-going-to-sea” bug. I am beyond grateful that I had the chance to participate in an experience like this, it is an incredible privilege that donors make this possible.

Between the Sally Ride experience and now, I have tried to grasp where within the realm of oceanography my interest lies. Working as a Research Assistant in a lab that analyzed the Organic Carbon and Nitrogen contents of water and sediment samples, completing and internship with the goal of developing educational materials surrounding the concept of Ocean Acidification, and my current role as Student Technical Assistant for the Ocean Observatories Initiative’s Endurance Array have all provided clarity about the path I hope to pursue. Your undergraduate experience is meant to help you guide and form your understanding of your area of study. This comes through trial and error– you’re not going to know right away (spoiler alert: I didn’t).

For all of those reading, something that has stuck with me as I’ve searched for my place within the realm of ocean science is wisdom my internship mentor shared after a data exploration project. It was along the lines of ‘finding out that something didn’t work is equally as valuable as something that does work.’ Don’t be afraid to try something just because you’re scared that you won’t be good at it or absolutely love it on the first go. If you don’t even try, how are you going to learn and grow? Embrace the uncertainty and unpredictability!

With the Endurance Array project and team, I have learned so much about what goes into oceanographic data collection, and have had the chance to go on multiple day-cruises, as well as two of their multi-day research cruises (so far). I was aboard the R/V Sikuliaq in Spring of 2023 for 15 nights, and the R/V Atlantis for four nights in the Fall of that same year. The cruises took place off of the coasts of Oregon and Washington. The picture above was taken in front of the R/V Atlantis as we were loading some of our moorings onto the vessel!

The hands-on experience I’ve been able to accrue due to the support and mentorship of my colleagues and the crews aboard the vessels has been invaluable in supporting and solidifying the path I want to follow as a Marine Technician. The MATE Internship will allow me to further my understanding of the intricacies of this role and how I, personally, can best fit the role to support the completion of science missions. I have found the dynamic environment of this work incredibly rewarding. The situational awareness and problem solving that come with this field ensure that I’m always learning and seeing the results of the scientific work being completed. As I am in my final days of prepping to go aboard the R/V Pelican, I am looking forward to beginning this internship and I’m excited for all of the knowledge that will come with it (I peli-can’t wait)! So far, I have never been on a cruise outside of the Northeast Pacific, so being in the Gulf of Mexico on top of this new role within the sea-going science world will be super cool.

I look forward to keeping everyone updated on my journey as I get to experience the role I have dreamed so long about obtaining. Thank you to all who have supported me to get to this step. Your contributions are what have gotten me here.

Week 5 aboard the Langseth

By Chaii Layne-Neubauer

On July 18, 2024

In Columbia University, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, MATE Blog Archive, R/V Marcus G. Langseth

This marks the end of 5 weeks aboard the R/V Marcus G. Langseth. It is hard to believe that we have but a few weeks left on our cruise. This week has been quite productive in regards to our primary mission of collecting sediment cores. Most of the days we were able to do 4-6 deployments of the multi core with decent returns on average. I say on average because we have had several deployments with perfect returns and a few with none at all. It certainly is a practice in patience when we spend three or so hours on a deployment to only end up with no mud. The more challenging aspects of deck operations, such as running taglines and operating the winch, have also began to come easier and smoother. I still have much to learn but am worlds better than I was at the beginning of the cruise. Our work hasn’t only been on deck though as we also have been doing work around the shop on small projects as well as organizing all the copious data files from our instrumentation. Excel can at times be just as challenging as operating heavy machinery.

Luckily we have collected all the samples we needed for that station and are now headed towards our last intended station, north of the arctic circle! I am antsy to reach such a northern location especially with these extremely long summer days. By the time I head in for bed the morning light is already beginning to show even at midnight. Looking forward to our transit further north and beginning at our last station.