Month: May 2026 Page 1 of 2

It’s been a great week of getting comfortable with the rhythms of the ship (and the ocean). I’ve always heard that the swell period in the Pacific tends to be longer than the Atlantic and after pulling out of port, I could instantly feel it under my feet.

For the first few days we assisted in final prep in the port of Lautoka, Fiji. We engaged in the most sacred of intern duties: carrying things for people. We lashed all the Ocean Bottom Seismographs (OBS) to the deck, cleaned and secured deck plugs, and got a lot of practice zip tying chords for various instrumentation connecting them from the deck to the computer labs in the ship. 

Once we departed port, we almost immediately fired up the multi-beam echosounder and sub-bottom profiler to collect bathymetry in the fore-arc of the Mathew-Hunter Trench south of Fiji’s main island, Viti Levu. I have some prior experience with echosounders so it was nice to have something familiar, but the depths of the bathymetry we’re looking at are hard to fathom—4000-5000m down! Please forgive the pun. 

Additionally, we deployed a magnetometer to measure fluctuations in Earth’s magnetic field to pair with the bathymetric data. This small, orange, torpedo-shaped device spools out 300m behind the ship in order to get a clear reading. It also happens that this device has given us the most trouble so far. During our first deployment, our magnetometer gave us wildly varying readings so we had to reel it all the way back in and swap it out with our backup. This was made all the more charming because it takes a couple minutes to spool it all the way out and it was pouring rain on us. Fortunately our tropical location meant that it was more like a nice shower…unfortunately water got in my boots and they took a few days to fully dry. I love wet socks! 

Our survey has been punctuated by deploying OBS off the side of the ship. These rigs sink to the bottom where they will record earthquakes and small shifts in the plates over the next 15 months. Then another cruise will pick them up and they’ll have a bunch of seismic data to analyze. We’ve been assisting the OBS technicians in prepping each package for deployment. It’s been incredible to see how methodical the checklists are for preparing the devices. After all, there’s no changing things once the ship’s crane plucks them off the deck and swings them over the side. After they are deployed we use acoustics to lock into the position of the OBS and track it as it falls to the ocean floor. 

Overall, it’s been an awesome first week. I’ve loved getting to know the crew and other science party members. My shift is from 16:00-2:00, so it’s been fun lurking in the late night and drinking more coffee than I should. 

Looking forward to more lovely sunsets! 

Hello again!

I can’t believe it has already been a week since I stepped off land. It took about a day to get used to the seas and the maze that is the R/V Thompson, but I instantly felt at home.

We have successfully deployed eight of the 20 Ocean Bottom Seismometers (OBSs) which will live on the seafloor recording earthquake activity over the next 15 months.

I’m now well-versed in the Marine Magnetics SeaSPY2 Operation Manual, as we spent a full day troubleshooting the two SeaSPYs onboard. After seven failed deployments and numerous deck tests, we are up and running again! If anyone is wondering, I am pretty sure it was the addition of plumbing tape at the main tow connector that finally did the trick. I also spent a morning helping fix the magnetometer winch, which is now back in action.

The first deployment of the magnetometer occurred during a deluge (see packing list below). Otherwise, the weather has been great! Swell around eight feet and decreasing, temps around 24°C, and about 80% humidity.

The galley crew has been serving up some amazing meals: fish, scallops, steak, grilled cheese, BLTs, hamburgers… My favorite so far was an asian lunch with glass noodle salad, fried rice, egg rolls, crab salad, and chili sauce.

Free time has been filled with Monopoly Deal, fiber arts, and learning how to splice cable on the aft deck.

Things I wish I packed: foul weather gear, waterproof steel toe boots, peanut butter.

Stay tuned for another week at sea!

Avery

It has been a week since we left port in Lautoka, Fiji and science on board is well underway.

My days starts at 0100 when I wake up to get ready for watch. I head to the computer lab around 0145 to relieve Benny. We go over what happened during his watch and anything to keep an eye on for the next 8 hours. Now that all science operations are underway, watch standing can vary, but typically we monitor the incoming data for the multi beam, the sub-bottom profiler, and the magnetometer. So far, we have mapped over 900km of the seafloor and measured the Earth’s magnetic field over large segments of this track. 

The Computer Lab, where we live data streams come in and can be monitored

If you squint, you can see a rainbow lands right on the magnetometer winch. We were very hopeful this was the good omen we needed after a full day of troubleshooting the instrument.

Watch during OBS deployments looks a bit different. A couple hours before the estimated time of deployment, I help the OBS technician on watch set the instrument clock and configuration and ensure the sensors are properly recording. We then tackle the acoustics, checking that communication with the instrument is functional. 

45 minutes to half an hour before the ship reaches the deployment site, we assemble and mount the recovery aids and enable the acoustics. Once we are sitting on the site, the OBS is deployed over the side and sinks to the seafloor. We track the drop rate of the instrument from the main lab using the acoustics that were enabled just before the launch and a deck box that communicates with it. This is also how we survey the position of the OBS and determine its final location. 

When the OBS surveys are completed, we get to deploy the magnetometer, which get recovered before the OBS deployments, and start monitoring the magnetic field strength. This week, the magnetometer gave us some trouble, but after troubleshooting and relaying our issues back to shore, we were able to get the instrument functioning and recording accurate readings once again.

My watch overlaps with breakfast so my watch mates and I take shifts eating and monitoring the data just in case one of the instruments starts to misbehave. 

Breakfast tends to be my second meal of the day as it is served 6 hours after I wake up. My first meal is around 0230 when I raid the leftovers fridge like a raccoon and discover what was for dinner the night before. 

Bagged noodles have become a new staple of my diet!

At 0945, I turnover with Avery and give her a rundown of the morning events and any other information that could be helpful while she stands watch.

At 1000, I am set loose and free to wreak havoc on the ship or take a nap. For the most part, I choose sleep.

Bula from Fiji!

I’m Cate McLeod, one of the 3 MATE Interns aboard the R/V Thompson for the next few weeks. I will be helping out the science party on this upcoming cruise to examine the early phases of subduction along the fault within Ocean Bottom Seismographs (OBS), multibeam surveys, and magnetometer tows!

I’m originally from the Northeast and have spent all of my life around if not on the ocean. I graduated with a B.S. in Geosciences with a concentration in Geophysics from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. During my undergrad, I participated on my first research cruise aboard the R/V Atlantis and since then, have found myself sailing with the science parties on various other cruises and ships. I love being at-sea and getting to know the amazing people who make oceanographic research possible.

We will be in port for another couple of days, mobilizing the oncoming science equipment and I cannot wait to set sail with the rest of the science party aboard cruise TN-453.  I’m looking forward to aiding the science party and learning what I can from the marine technicians about their role on the Thompson!

-Cate