Author: Micah Barton Page 1 of 2

It is officially day 21 onboard the R/V Point Sur, and… wait, is that… Land ho, land ho! Though it is a bittersweet time, demobilization of the cruise is a certainty. The science crew has concluded their work, gear has been packed up, and the deck swabbed. The only things left to do are unload it all and wave our white handkerchiefs in goodbyes. What else is there for it but to get started!

Science brought aboard their own winch with matching block. It is no small endeavor to take it back down, requiring two men to climb the A-frame, one to operate the crane, and at least one more on deck to help facilitate. Equipped with safety harnesses, the climbers take to the frame and attach the crane hook to the extremely heavy block. Once detached, the crane can support said weight and lower it to the ground. The ships standard block is put back into its rightful home, and our courageous climbers can make their descent.

Hey, that looks like fun! Seeing the strength and importance of the crane for this operation gave my mentor Grace an excellent idea: “Let the new guy try it!”

Though I am certainly still hesitant, I can now confess that I have a rudimentary understanding of crane operations. I wouldn’t quite trust myself to move anything too important, but it is a skill I look forward to cultivating more in the future. Having a multitude of people on the ships crew that know how to operate machinery can be a life saver! This ensures that at any one time, you can find a crane operator that is both on duty and not actively involved in another operation.

For deploying the ROV, the crew had attached a soft line to the end of the winch wire. While it worked perfectly for the operations of the cruise, it was no longer needed. For removing the line, we set up a clever little DIY station. All it takes is a boat hook and an empty spool, and spinning away we went! The line was coiled up for storage, and the tarp removed from the winch spool. All ready for the next cruise!

To complete our offloading, we needed a crane with a bit more power than the ones on board posses. We mosied on over to the port pier, where we could have some help with the lifting. This is the first time I have seen the forward crane used, to lower the gangway off of the bow. Unlike the crane on the back deck, this particular model has two ‘knuckles’. With two places to bend, it has a greater mobility but also requires greater skill to operate. Skilled crane operator mark slowly lifted and lowered the gangway to the pier, where forklift driver Grace could position it.

With demobilization of the cruise coming to an end, we began preparations for the next scientific mission. Part of our maintenance included cleaning! The whole boat gets a decent scrub down, and the tech lab gets a good polishing. We opened up some of the computers, and dusted out the insides with a high powered blower. The high seas have some serious dust!

A little back story no one asked for:

The Pt. Sur is the sistership to my school’s vessel the Cape Hatteras. A dream I always had while sailing on the Hatteras was to climb the mast, or the yellow ladder as we called it. For liability issues, obviously I was never able to as a student.

Though this mast did not include a yellow ladder, I finally was able to summit my mountain of the mast and had a little climb up while in port! Grace ensured I was harnessed in for safety, and up we went. It was a great view of the port from the top! Even though it is by technicality only, I can finally say I’ve seen my white whale.

Now that mobilization of the next cruise had begun, gear was being moved to the ship in preparation. This is the primma donna of our mission- the Megacore. Even though the name sounds like something out of the Transformers movies, it has a fairly simple purpose. Mud is the name of the game, so much so that this science group refers to them selves as “The Mud People”. Equipped with 12 plastic tubes, this rosette sinks all the way to the seafloor to grab mud. All going well, we pull it back up with 12 perfect cores of mud. Fingers crossed!

The sight of this screen first thing in the morning makes you rub your eyes and wonder if you ever woke up in the first place! This seeming gibberish means that something is amiss within our software setup. It turned out to be a simple baud rate issue. Phew.

The lovely gentleman sitting next to Grace is Roy. He came aboard to help us set up the gear and ensure everything is working. Much like the previous trip, this group had brought a transducer to be mounted the the ships pole. This transducer specifically tracks the mud core as it sinks, which relays an accurate position of the mud sample. It takes a surprising amount of configuring to achieve this!

With all gear stowed, electronics set up, and science crew on board, it was time to head out! Even during transit, there is never any time to waste. The Megacore can be a finicky machine- every piece and part must be perfectly aligned and set in just the right way.

It was with baited breath and a stern glare that we deployed the core for the first sample of the trip…

The anxiety was well deserved, but as all things do, it worked out in the end. We successfully recover the core, and 11 out of the 12 tubes were full of delicious and delectable mud samples! Once the gear is on deck, it is an immediate all hands in to get the mud processed before the next station can begin.

The cores themselves detach from the frame, where they are photographed for documentations sake. Caps are added to each end of the tubes and sealed with tape to ensure no sample material is lost. One of the coolest aspects of these samples, in my uneducated opinion, is that the core also collects the water immediately above the sediment as well. This means that any benthic critters hanging out in the water come up with the mud! We got to see some polychaete worms in one tube, which are some of my favorite animals to witness. What a rare treat to see our wiggly little friends from the abyss!

The water is siphoned from the tubes for filter sampling, and then the mud processing begins. Some tubes are kept whole, to look at the layering of sediment, and some are chopped up into perfect 3 centimeter mudcakes. This allows the scientists to look through the material thoroughly. It’s messy work, but it looks pretty fun!

As the mud crew clean out their final cores for the day and turn to bed, a gorgeous sunset signals our time for the week has ended. Though a great deal has been accomplished, there is work yet to be finished! I’m hoping to find some wormy friends in the mud, and maybe even find friends in my fellow shipmates. Who knows! Until next week…

Micah Barton – God Bless – 09/24/2025

FISH! – 14 – Micah B.

By Micah Barton

On September 19, 2025

In Host, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, R/V Point Sur, Vessel/Laboratory

Welcome back everyone! It is now my second week aboard the R/V Point Sur. Morale on the ship is high as science is rolling smoothly, the weather has calmed down, and we all wear our matching Hawaiian shirts on Fridays! Let’s take a look at the week, shall we?

To get my day kicking, I always like to go straight for the power tools! Yippee! The winch wire is more than just a long line of tough metal- it’s special metal. On the inside of the slightly rusty exterior, is an electrical communication cable that is able to send data back and forth to equipment and sensors. This enables whatever we send into the water to communicate with us in live time! To connect the wire to equipment, we must make a connecting end called a termination. This process is begun by dremelling off the hard exterior layers as you see pictured. (Hi me!)

After the metal is removed, you reveal the inner wires which are coated in rubber insulation for protection. Once you have your winch wire and the cable for your equipment ready, you begin the process of joining them together. The wire is soldered together, and tested for communication. Once it is confirmed they can ‘talk’ to each other, you have to make a semi-malleable shell to protect this connection. It’s going in the ocean after all!

Heat shrink, many layers of hot glue, and electrical tape are the ingredients in this special recipe. These onion like layers work in tandem to offer protection from water, cross talk between cables, mechanical strength and shielding, and ensure that the termination lasts for many, many casts.

The ROV, affectionately named “Mohawk” by the team, has been swimming nonstop these days. While piloting over a smooth seafloor with limited obstructions, the ROV team decided it was a safe place for test drives! Anyone who wanted to was allowed to pilot the ROV and get a feel for the operation of the machine. With a simple videogame style joystick, Mohawk can move in 3D. Being covered in cameras and lights, the vehicle is surprisingly nimble and well equipped to navigate the dark and often murky depths.

Deep sea ROVs have been a passion of mine for quite some time, and piloting one has been on my science bucket list forever- CHECK! A huge thank you to the Mohawk team for allowing me to achieve one of my science dreams!

This screen may look like gibberish- and that’s because it totally is! This is a classic “blame the intern” moment, but allow me to back up a bit. When performing a CTD cast and sending the rosette down, we get a live stream of data from the sensors. The instrument package is connected to the winch wire with the same hot glue termination as previously displayed, allowing data to stream back to the computers shipside. This screen is where we watch the data come in, see how deep in the water the rosette is, and any other information we need to know while operating the machine. Those wide streaking lines however, are not normal. Why is my graph broken!

In this CTD software, there are a few steps that must be taken prior to launch. One of those steps includes turning the water pumps on. You know, the one that pushes water past all of the sensors. Kind of the important part. Yeah, so I forgot to turn those pumps on. My bad team.

When we recovered the CTD, we noticed this- a busted O-ring! My arch nemesis returns, the faulty niskin bottle… thankfully, its a quick little swap and all is well. Daily checks and routine maintenance are an often overlooked aspect of keeping life at sea running, but they are ever so important! Making immediate repairs, and ensuring all equipment is working well with each use keeps the malfunctions and disasters at bay.

Oh yeah, we’re doing ROV ops! One of my jobs on the back deck is to keep a wrastle hold on the winch wire as mentioned in my last blog. This is a much thicker winch wire than what the boat usually has onboard. When in use, these wires must be heavily greased for corrosion resistance and for smooth recovery and deployment. This makes handling the line a bit of a sticky situation. The science crew brought their own pair of sacrificial grease gloves for me to use, which keeps my normal work gloves looking spick and span in comparison!

Let’s take a better look at whats happening when we deploy Mohawk. The winch wire I have been handling comes out of a large pulley hanging from the A-frame at the top, just like the empty one that is hanging in the picture. It is raised and lowered with the winch spool by the winch operator.

Attached to the end of this thick line is the “clump weight”. Pictured in my previous blogs, this weight acts as a landmark for the ROV, and is covered in lights and additional sensors. From the weight, the ROV has maybe a hundred meters of tether line attached to it. This keeps the ROV communicating, and ensures that we can’t lose the little guy even if steering and propulsion of the vehicle fails. We could just drag him up by his tail, worst case scenario!

When we deploy, we first send the ROV into the water and allow the tether to ‘pay out’, or unspool into the water. After the ROV is driven away from the ship as far as it can reach, we can safely send the weight to the seafloor. The two sink down to depth together, holding hands. Once the weight is settled securely, and the ROV operators have their bearings, it’s off to explore!

The ROV has spent considerable hours in the water this trip which has been an absolute delight. The Mohawk teams focus is mainly on this white coral, that really loves to take over these shipwrecks. They collected a huge assortment of samples for studying!

Other important places to see are the yellow markers. They are named and cataloged, and every time they visit they redocument the same place. Over time, they are able to see how the feature shifts and changes, and how the animals grow or die.

The ship wrecks may be one of the most fascinating things I have seen on my adventures so far! This little guy is called a Blackbelly Rosefish, or Helicolenus dactylopterus. He is sat right on an old bollard of the ship, like a king on his throne! We saw many of these guys and a wide assortment of other spectacular species.

Once the ROV is back on deck, the science crew has a field day with their samples. They are examined, photographed, cataloged, and stored properly. The lab becomes a busy space when samples are being processed! I have thoroughly enjoyed watching the limitless passion and curiosity driven brilliance at work on board this cruise. It is inspiring to see so many intelligent people coming together in big ways.

Many ships have the ability to install what is known as a “transduer pole”. Thie is simply a large metal pipe, that can swivel up and down over the side. At the end, the scientists can attach any transducer they need to have in the water for their operations. This allows for a very easy installation of sensors, rather than trying to find a way to mount them to the hull of the vessel. For this cruise, we used the pole for one small transducer, which helped with positioning of the ROV.

When the pole is in the water, we have to reduce our travelling speed for vibration and drag. Meaning, when it is time to steam to the next site, we use the crane to lift the pole from the water and secure it upright. As we wrapped up this cruise, we secured the pole out of the water, and science was free to remove their transducer from it.

With ROV operations finished for this cruise, we began steaming back to the dock. When we arrive, busy days of offloading the ship will begin, and the next science crew will come aboard. I can’t wait to see what the next cruise will hold, so come along with me!

Micah Barton – God Bless – 09/17/2025

A Familiar Silhouette – 13 – Micah B.

By Micah Barton

On September 9, 2025

In Host, Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, R/V Point Sur, Vessel/Laboratory

And just like that folks, we’re back at it again! This time, I hopped aboard a flight headed for Gulfport, Mississippi! The flash temperature change from the arctic to the deep south has me feeling like a defrosting lizard, but that won’t stop me!

Ahh, what a lovely sight- I finally get to join the boat from a pier this time! My previous two journeys started with a smallboat ride and a sketchy climb up the Jacob’s ladder. This is the R/V Point Sur. Though I have not sailed on this ship before, I am all too familiar with it. The R/V Cape Hatteras, the ship I sailed on for my education, is an exact copy of the Point Sur; sister ships! It feels familiar and foreign all at once.

Work had already begun by the time I arrived. The crew was set about fabricating some metal mounting gear for the equipment that the scientists had brought on board. Crew member Todd will be wielding an oxyacetylene torch, ready for action!

The night is always young onboard a ship. As many people went off ship for dinner, I stayed behind to get settled in properly. No later than everyone left, an engine room alarm began blaring! I found this light blinking red, and sent a message out to the responsible parties. All was well, but you have to stay on your toes at all times! There is truly no telling when things can go downhill.

This cruise is focused on ROV operations. The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) will be sent to the seafloor, to collect samples and take a look around the area. Deep sea corals are the main focus for their research!

On the deck, you can see the configuration of their gear; Left is the ROV, which is attached to the yellow tether line. On the right, you have a weight package that is sent to the bottom to help control and sense the ROV. All three of these pieces are deployed together and work in tandem to complete the dive!

Our last night in port gave us a lovely sunset as we made our final preparations for sailing out to sea. We set our ‘sails’ out at exactly midnight, for a somber march out of the bay. Leaving behind the glow of the city for the inky black of the open ocean. It’s good to be back out at sea.

No time for poetry, you have a steaming plate of cable spaghetti to deal with! As an older ship, there are many bygone years of outdated technology being replaced. In the process of revitalizing the equipment, some cables get… let’s just say left behind! We installed some new monitors on the bridge for the captain to keep tabs on the ship, which meant running HDMI cables to each one of them. Many hours spent detangling, and the monitors are up and running perfectly.

Another facet of science on this trip is EDNA. Using the fancy gizmos and gadgets you see attached to our CTD, the scientists can extract environmental DNA from the water. Meaning, they can tell what critters went through the water! They can compare this data with ROV footage.

Speaking of ROV footage! Once the ROV was deployed and settled on the bottom, the real work began. Many eyes spent many hours watching the continuous stream of video. An incredible sight to behold! On it’s first descent to the seafloor, around 500 meters down, we landed right near this handsome fella- I have roughly identified it as a Gulf Hake, or Urophycis cirrata. I am by no means a biologist, but that is my semi-educated guess!

The ROV had just lighted onto the seafloor, when the operators noticed something was amiss. The systems weren’t operating as they should, and the team made the executive decision to recover immediately. Unfortunately, their suspicion was well met. A connection point on one of the attached components failed, meaning it completely flooded with water. This melted all of the components and wiring on the inside, which is something that is not repairable at sea.

After a few brainstorming sessions, adjustments to the ROV, and more than a couple prayers, the team found a temporary solution. The ROV was set up excluding the flooded components, which makes it usable but with greatly reduced function. Though it is less than ideal, it does at least mean the cruise can continue rather than heading back to port immediately.

On the second dive, the ROV was able to collect a few small coral samples and bring them back to the surface. The ‘arm’ you see pictured has an apposable hand that can be controlled from the ship, and a little container to drop samples into.

My mentor for this trip, Grace, instructed me during the first few CTD casts, and trusted me to operate the computer for the next one! Though I may have forgotten to take off my hardhat, we successfully recovered another batch of water samples. The water we bring up will be used for sampling and for storing the live coral recovered with the ROV.

During this cast, we found that bottle #9 did not close at all, meaning it came back completely empty. We investigated, and determined the bottle to be operating smoothly. The next step was to ensure that the firing mechanism worked! We disassembled the housing, and found corrosion on the magnet responsible for releasing the lid of bottle nine. A quick scrape removed the corroded material, and a deck test proved that the issue was solved. Huzzah! If only every problem was so simple…

Yikes… This is the interior of the flooded compartment from the ROV. As it turns out, delicate electronics don’t like saltwater! This not so simple problem could not be solved while offshore, as the parts and personnel necessary are simply not on board. A integral part of working at sea is repairing what you can, and working around what you can’t!

Even with some non functioning parts, the ROV process is still well underway. After each deployment and recovery, the science team jumps into action. They remove the sample compartments from the ROV housing as quickly as possible, as coral is extremely sensitive to temperature fluctuations, and they want their samples live. Once they are inside, they separate the samples into individual holding spaces, full of fresh seawater saved from the most recent CTD cast. These tubs go directly into a refrigerator, where the temperature is set to the same as their natural environment. It’s cold in the deep sea! This gives the animals the best possible chance at survival for testing and studying.

Oh hey, I know her! During ROV operations, my job has been between operating the A frame, and adding tension to the winch wire (pictured). This ensures the wire spools correctly, and makes every elses lives a bit easier. Well, my first week on the Point Sur has been busy and very exciting! I’ll be out here getting grease everywhere and pulling the line tight, while the scientists decipher hours of ROV footage; I know you’re jealous, but fear not! There is to be a public broadcast from the ROV team. Please join us to see some of the action live!

Deep Sea Corals – YouTube Live Video

Thursday, September 11th, 2pm central/3pm eastern

Micah Barton – 09/09/2025 – God Bless

Kodiak Horizons – 12 – Micah B.

By Micah Barton

On August 20, 2025

In Host, US Coast Guard, USCGC Healy, Vessel/Laboratory

With the ice floes far out of our sight, we began the transit into port. Our days were spent waving the ice goodbye, cleaning up our work stations and preparing for seas. The weather was predicted to pick up and become quite sporty as we headed in, so we began securing gear.

On the day we came into port, I awoke to the familiar feeling of a tug pushing along the hull of the ship. The Healy always has the aide of a tug or two to help guide them into port, as often times a novice is behind the controls up in the bridge. A little bit of help never hurts! Our team stood above on the flight deck, to watch the masters of their craft navigate. A tug boat is something akin to a glorified floating engine, with the sole purpose to push and shove other vessels around. Even so, there can be no understating the importance of their work! They are responsible for helping an endless amount of ships safely navigate water ways, and assist them to avoid running aground.

As we docked in the small marina of Kodiak, Alaska, I was taken aback by how beautiful it truly is. The mountains stand tall and imposing over the bay. From over the hills, helicopters and planes soar above in the clouds. Kodiak is a “Coast Guard City”, and has one of the largest coast guard bases in our nation. Once we docked, we finally got our first good look at the outside of the ship! When we boarded, it was via small boat shuttle, so there was no time for gawking at the sheer size of the Healy. Now, looking up from the pier, holy moly! As the largest cutter in the fleet, she is Big Red, large and in charge! She dominates the pier space, and comes uncomfortably close to the fishing ship astern to her. It was a treat to share dock space with the NOAA ship Oscar Dyson, though we sadly had no time for tours. As a NOAA nerd and lover, it is always very exciting to see them out and about! Oscar, if you ever see this, hit me up. We’ll tour and swap CTD horror stories or something.

Truly we were blessed with an awesome group of people. HUGEST shoutout to Tyler and Maya, the coolest mentors around! As they were both previously UNOLS Mate interns, it feels very full circle. From mentee to mentors, they stepped up to the plate in huge ways. Kaleigh is the coolest kat on the west coast, and it was a pleasure to sail with her! Best of luck to all three of y’all, and I am certain we will cross paths again as ships in the night (or rather, on ships in the night. It’s a small world after all).

With a spare day in port, everyone on board was given liberty. Time to explore! The town is bustling with a surprising amount of energy. We ate at local restaurants, walked by the fishing piers, and enjoyed the wild sights of mountains meeting ocean. Though we saw no polar bears, we were extremely excited to see bears on shore! They were out for a stroll, enjoying easy meals out of the dying salmon. Salmon are mostly anadromous and semelparous, which sounds fancy, but simply means two things: they begin and end their lives in fresh water, and die after spawning just one time. During the summer, they return to the river they were born in to repeat the cycle over again. After they spawn, they die, providing abundant nutrients for the next generation of salmon. It is a truly striking cycle that I have always been deeply stirred by, and witnessing it firsthand was touching. The bears and birds take advantage of the weakened salmon by scooping up some easy meals.

Though our time onboard the Healy is done, the memories made and work completed will remain. Invaluable lessons learned and lifelong friends made, I head home. Alaska, wild and enchanting, streams 30,000 feet below me. I’m sure to return.

Special thanks to the Healy, for facilitating us interns to sail with you! The crew, for dealing with our shenanigans and endless questions. To Maria and the entire UNOLS team for helping us each step of the way. To our mentors Tyler and Maya, for sharing their knowledge and encouraging our learning environment always. We are grateful beyond words.

Thank you to my family, for supporting my crazy dreams and believing in my abilities. Without their undying love and unconditional support, I would never make it to this point. Mom, Zak; I love y’all, and work everyday to make you proud! Kayla and Joyce, thank you for encouraging me so I could believe in myself. Love y’all always, my voices of reason.

Until next time, mateys!

Micah Barton – God Bless – 08/20/2025

Fog off the bow- 11 – Micah B.

By Micah Barton

On August 8, 2025

In Host, Ship-based Technical Support in the Arctic (STARC) Team, US Coast Guard, USCGC Healy, Vessel/Laboratory

It is currently day 24 aboard the USCG cutter Healy! We have successfully recovered and deployed all of the moorings that the science crew had set out to accomplish. What an achievement! The moorings we deployed will remain deep under the arctic ice floes, until the ship once again returns to repeat the process. The instruments attached will collect water column profiles, which, long term, can show trends and patterns in data. This enables scientists to predict future changes, as well as observe any changes over time. That’s a big deal!

We have officially passed the halfway point in our mission. With all of the moorings out of the way, we are shifting our focus to sea gliders! With a shift in mission comes a turnover of gear. The lab spaces on board are surprisingly small for such a large ship, and can get rather… crowded. The scientists are often awake into the wee hours of the night, tinkering away with their mechanical treasures. It’s difficult and precise work, but thankfully the Healy is very steady in all this ice. This may be the only ship where people set their things on a desk ledge with no worries of it tumbling off with each roll of the waves! Look’s as though the science crew has some cleaning up to do…

We have become quite accustomed to doing donuts out here in order to clear the ice, but the sight of it is always very interesting. We are still fairly far north, so finding open patches of water is a bit touch and go. When we can’t find one, we just have to make it ourselves! While watching the ice parting, and the patch widening, it is clear to see if someone with more experience is driving the boat, or if perhaps it is one of the greenhorns. Our experienced captains definitely hit the “circle” target bullseye, every time. The greenhorns however… well, they make some funky ovals, puddles, and other fun shapes, which I tend to appreciate more than the boring old circle. It’s art. Call that Picasso!

As the classic science nerds we are, we decided to make some shrunken cups! This is a relatively easy project, if you just so happen to have a way to get your simple styrofoam cup a couple thousand meters below the surface of the ocean. Easy peasy, right?!

Using markers, alcohol based such as Sharpies tend to work the best, decorate your cup to your hearts content. There are some astounding artists on board, and it seems as if every member of the crew made one! Once your cup is decorated, stuff it with a paper towel to keep it from collapsing in on itself. Place your stuffed cup into some sort of permeable bag, such as a mesh laundry bag or pillow cases (we filled two entire bags!), and attach it to something that will dive deep into the water. The obvious choice on a research vessel is the CTD rosette! Ziptied securely on for the ride of a lifetime, down down down they went. Into the inky abyss, all of the air within the styrofoam was compressed out, thus shrinking the cups. As an example, here are the cups I made, next to an example of what they looked like before. So teeny tiny! One of my turned out a bit wonky, but it’s all the more reason to love it. Peep the octopus! Cutting the cups before sending them down can make some really interesting shapes. Try it out if you get the chance!

From the same CTD cast, we decided to keep some personal water samples. Using empty hot sauce bottles we scavenged from the mess, the five of us are now the proud owners of arctic deep sea water. Though it may seem like a rather odd souvenir, it is a small sip of history as we know it. This water, while in the ocean, is extremely slow moving, and has probably been within the ocean basin for many, many years. Now, captured in water tight bottles, it wont enter back into the water cycle until the bottles are either emptied, or broken. How incredible it is, to have an encapsulated piece of the environment, and suspend this element in time. Of course, as all good oceanographers do, we simply just had to taste the water. Put your head under the rosette, and open up a spigot! The absolutely frigid water is extremely salty, and might even burn your mouth a bit. So, so worth it.

The floats are larger than I initially realized!

We have also deployed the remainder of our ARGO floats, chunking them out into the ocean to do their thang, solo style. To have the name ARGO float, they sure do sink pretty quickly… But don’t worry, once they wake up and get a little motivation, they begin their eternal journey of vertical migrations. They gently bob up and down the water column, until they eventually either fail or run out of batteries. Sigh, such is the sad, sad, life of an ARGO float. Their righteous self sacrificial mission is not in vain, as the researchers cherish the data that the floats have slaved over for so long. Once they have fulfilled their life mission, they aimlessly drift through the ocean. This cycle reminds me much of the mars rover, Opportunity. When the rover eventually ran out of battery, its final transmission amounted to: “My batteries are low and it’s getting dark”. I imagine the ARGO floats think much the same thing near their end.

Anywho, back to the lab! One of the laborious tasks the whole team has been pitching in on is inventory… dun dun dunnnn! This means enumerating, labelling, and testing just about everything on board. Maya and I spent all of one morning trouble shooting Adam modules, which is essentially a fancy signal converter for different devices. What should have been a quick, easy little project turned into hours of frustration and blatant confusion. The software used for trouble shooting was not interested in telling us anything, so we ultimately learned nothing about the current state of our spare modules. Are they still in usable condition? Who knows, but we’ve got ’em inventoried and put away in their proper place!

Happy birthday to the coast guard! In the spirit of Coast Guard day, Tyler and Kaleigh participated in a ship wide cornhole tournament, featuring our tech team lead Christina as DJ Oceans! It was right around bedtime for Maya and I, so sleepy as we were, Kaleigh and Tyler had the most monotone and unenergized cheerleaders you could ever want. Or I guess, not want? Unclear if I’m honest. This trivia crushing duo crushed cornhole only slightly less. But, if I do say so myself, they were the most spirited team on the flight deck! Read more about it over in Kaleigh’s blog! https://mateblog.unols.org/author/kaleigh/

One early morning, we were delightfully gifted with a pile of soft snow! Though it was rather chilly, we of course took our time to play and have a snow day. I mean, how couldn’t we? I made short work of snow angels and some little doodles in the powder, at the risk of freezing my fingers off. I may have even dared to throw a snowball at my mentor. Who knows! 😉

Even through the snow, science must go on! We made it to our first glider operation, which was a recovery. The gliders are the same as the ones that I helped to deploy and recover in Thailand aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson. Shout out to Jen and Liz for all they taught me, I am seriously missing the tropical sun with you both right now!

This recovery was a bit different than how we ran things on the Thompson. Once we were ready to recover, the scientists communicated with the glider via software, telling it to come to the surface. Unfortunately, because of the ice, it is exceptionally hard to spot. The antenna is only 18″ long, and even though it is bright orange amidst calm water, it is nearly invisible. Once the glider surfaced, the bridge was bustling with spotters wielding binoculars, scanning the horizon for our little friend. This took considerable time!

Finally, after several ascents to the surface and constant searching, we had the glider in sight. Instead of driving the ship right next to the glider to make an approach, and reaching over the gunwale with a noose to snatch the glider as we did on the Thompson, the coasties actually deployed a small rib with science member Justin on board. They drove right up to the glider and hauled it out of the water like a prize tuna had just been caught. A short little ditty bop back over to the Healy, and they tied the glider to the A-frame wire. A simple little elevator ride up and the glider was back on board! So easy!

While we transit to our next stop, and dream of sea gliders soaring through the deep, we were gifted by the sight of one of the wonders of creation: a fog-bow! A sight I have always wanted to witness, and I am so blessed to have seen such an incredible display of God’s hard work of nature, physics, and light. Though this may seem insignificant to some, it has been on my techie bucket list since day one! Another one checked off. With time to go still, how many more can I mark off?! Stay tuned to find out!

Micah Barton – God bless – 08/08/2025

Great White North – 10 – Micah B.

By Micah Barton

On July 31, 2025

In Host, Ship-based Technical Support in the Arctic (STARC) Team, USCGC Healy, Vessel/Laboratory

It is currently day 16 aboard the USCG cutter Healy! I am constantly surprised by the vessel and its capabilities, as well as the incredible crew that staffs her. The Healy is a coast guard ship where many freshly enlisted members come to train. Being such a large ship, with a variety of missions going on at any one moment, it makes for a new environment each day. On the back deck, you can see a rainbow of hardhats- each of the different colors have a different meaning! The green hats are those with the least experience, and as you gain knowledge and skills, you move up to a blue, yellow, and eventually a white hat. In this photo, you can see a yellow hat teaching the other deck members how to tie a knot. Seamanship skills such as knot tying, splicing, and line handling are of the utmost importance to work on the deck. This ensures safety of personnel and also the effectiveness of the scientific mission.

We arrived on station for our next evolution right as our night shift began. Science waits on no man, so we got to work immediately. I am very excited to finally get some science action on the night shift! Though, honestly, you could never tell that this photo was taken at midnight- it is all sunshine all the time in the arctic.

For a mooring recovery, there is an order of operations that we more or less follow each time. Every instrument package varies slightly, but it is the same process.

Once the scientists locate the mooring via a GPS transponder attached to the top float, the ship cuts ice in the area for several hours. The science crew then uses a pinger to communicate to the mooring release. Since the ship has other echosounders running at all times, it is the responsibility of the marine technician on shift to power down our multibeam and ADCP devices. This ensures that no interference will effect the mooring release. Once the anchor is released, the floats on the top of the mooring line drag it to the surface.

At this point, the ship can make its approach. We line up to the floats, keeping them on our starboard side. This can take some time and fine adjustments from the bridge, so the deck crew stands by patiently. We must be careful to avoid running over the mooring line, as well as potentially navigating around ice floes as they drift by. Dynamic environments require constant focus from every crew member involved!

Once we are along side the floats, you can see that they are attached to one another via line. Our goal is to hook onto the line, to pull it towards the deck. The man in yellow made quite an impressive grappling hook throw, and snagged the line perfectly. I always love to see people who have mastered their craft hard at work. Some of the green hats attempted to throw the hook, and Mr. Yellows skill was undeniable. A grappling hook is heavy, and a rather awkward shape to try and heave. So we were all thoroughly impressed!

Once the floats are at our side, we can hook the topmost one onto the winch line. The line is brought from the A-frame block, and held around the quarter by the deck crew. Once the floats are tied on, we allow the ship to float slowly forwards, bringing the floats aft to the A-frame. It takes many hands to ensure the line does not become snagged on anything while we can walk the float back assembly line style. Once it comes to our stern, it is time for the Lebus winch to start pulling the immense amount of gear onboard.

First up, the floats! Once the winch pulls up enough line to suspend them, the A-frame operator brings the frame inboard to the deckhands reach. They make off the line below the floats, so that the gear still in the water stays attached to the ship. At that point, the floats are no longer weight bearing, and can be removed from the main line. Special float stands are carried on a palette jack, so the floats can be stowed without rolling around like pinballs on deck. Once they are securely fastened down, the weight bearing line is attached back to the winch to haul up the next section of the instrument package.

The VLF is the next to be recovered! This device, which operates on a ‘very low frequency’ (hance the name VLF), communicates with seagliders. If you’ve been following along with my blog posts, you may remember seagliders from my time aboard the R/V Thomas G. Thompson. Those little yellow rockets dive up and down the water column collecting data, all by their selves! The VLF is so huge because of the extensive batteries that it must carry. It’s hard work under the ice, so they need their energy to stay awake until we come back for them!

This scientific crew has previously sailed in the area to deploy seagliders and moorings, which is what we are here to recover. These devices generally stay out for 1-3 years, autonomously collecting data which is critical for oceanographic research.

The VLF was brought back on board the same way as the floats, by transferring weight bearing lines. After that, its just a mere 3500 meters of line to hoist up! This takes a good chunk of time, as the winch can only pull in line so quickly. After a couple hours of line winding, the acoustic anchor release is the bitter end of the line. Finally the deck crew can head back inside and warm up for a bit!

While still sitting on the same station, science requested a CTD cast. After all of the testing we have put the CTD through, its time to put it through the true ringer- a cast to a depth of around 3700 meters! Luckily I was still on shift, so I was able to prep the CTD for deployment. We opened all of the bottles, and prepared them for water collecting. There I am, on deck finally! Hi me! I removed caps from all of the sensors, and the plungers from the oxygen sensors. I stood back as the deck crew deployed the rosette over the side, to ensure everything on the rosette looked correct. Similarly to how the line recovered from the mooring, it takes some time for the CTD to reach the requested depth. So it’s back to waiting around for you, deckies!

Once the CTD was 3700m below us, dangling into the dark arctic waters, it was time for data collection. This was right around our turnover time, so it was lucky that both Kaleigh and I were able to fire some of the niskin bottles. Look at us go! The computer program, SeaSave, is fairly simple to use. It graphs the water column data in real time, and makes some pretty neat charts. You can clearly see the thermocline here, which is a depth at where the temperature changes drastically. I am a nerd, so this is fantastically exciting for me! To some it may just be a few lines, but it is a visual representation of all of the oceanographic theory I have studied before. I love to see science in action!

After the CTD came back on board during the dayshift, we allowed the full niskin bottles to settle and test for leaks. And wouldn’t you know it… Sigh. It’s back to testing for us! In an unusual turn of events, many of the bottles are leaking from the screws, which is a new one for me. Some drip from the spigots as well. So, time to try something else!

The niskin bottles we use are as big as I am! These bottles hold 12 litres of seawater each. With 24 bottles on the rosette at any one time, we can grab 288 litres of sea water in a single cast! Seldom will the science group need all 288 litres, but it does give them plenty to work with. Science needed no water for this station, it was actually just for our own testing purposes. We wanted to let the bottles sit so we could detect leaks, and detect them we did!

We couldn’t just pour the bottles onto the staging bay floor, so we had to take the bottles down while they were full. One full niskin bottle weighs approximately 35 lbs, so as you can see, it was a bit of a wrestle to pull them off the rosette. We emptied them all into the floor drains, and got to work with our repairs.

I have worked with rebuilding a niskin bottle as part of a school project, but never this many! We documented which bottles had which issues, and began trying to solve some leaks. We ran an experiment to try and figure out a solution. We replaced one bottles O-rings, one bottles spigot, and one bottles lower screws. We filled them back up and let them sit for a little while again.

When we came back to check, the only bottle that showed improvement was bottle number 2, where we replaced the spigot. This involves wrenching the bottles open, removing the spigot disc, removing O-rings, and popping out the old spigot. So, we took a sit down on the floor and got busy switching out all of the spigots. It is a bit of a delicate and involved process, so this took us much of our shift to accomplish. Once we had swapped out all of the affected pieces, we cleaned up the mess we made and hung the bottles back onto the rosette. Try again!

Another facet of the scientific mission on this deployment is ARGO floats. You can find out more about the floats and their mission on their website! These devices are deployed over the side and act much like a drifter. They go out and do their thing, collecting precious, precious data! An excitable member of sci allowed me to assist in the deployment of this float, which was a bit underwhelming and a ton of fun. More or less, we simply wait for a break in the ice and toss ‘er over the gunwale! We are a bit more precise than that, using a piece of line to slowly lower the float into the water, but you get the picture… Thanks, Justin!

The first sasquatch sighting in the arctic…

Oh right, this is the Coast Gaurd! Back to official matters. An incredible training opportunity presented itself while we are in such thick ice. Ice rescue! We spent a considerable amount of time looking for an appropriate floe, and posted up beside of the piece. Once the bridge felt confident it was a good spot, the deck department craned the gangway onto the ice, and the first man was down that quick. One small step for man!

They walked as far from the ship as the fog would allow. Each man on the ice carries equipment that they might need while off of the ship. They place little orange safety cones on spots where there might be tripping hazards or questionable ice. They even have a team member dedicated to watching for wildlife! With the fog, it would be relatively easy to accidentally creep up on an unsuspecting polar bear. It was a delight to watch them trudge across the frozen snow, and fade into to distant fog as ships in the night. The going is slow, walking carefully on slippery surfaces and uneven terrain.

Then it was the time for their true trials- surviving a fall into the ice! If they were to step through a thin spot of ice, or have any other reason to end up in the water, they need to know how to respond. Their suits have a base of neoprene, which keeps them dry, and a snowsuit that keeps snow and wind off of them. These suits float very effectively, so theres no need to try and tread water. While in the water, they practice manuevers for rescuing an unconscious team member, best practices for crawling back up onto the ice, and more. This training, though surely strenuous, looked like the most fun you could have! What a crazy feeling it must be, floating in an ice hole with nothing but 4000 meters (13,000+ feet!) of ancient arctic water below you.Only those training were allowed to get onto the ice, so it is a bummer I was not able to participate. But even just watching was incredible!

My mentor Maya and I were jealous of the coasties play time on the ice, but we enjoyed our time on deck watching just as much!

It was surreal to see the vessel at a stand still in the ice, and I got this insane view of the bow. The ship is unbelievably huge, and I am always in awe of her stature. Once the ice training was complete, the coasties scaled the rather steep gangway back onboard, and we were back to crushing ice in no time. As we continue our efforts, with many more miles ahead of us, we say so long and farewell to our northern most point.

Fair winds and clear leads to you scallywags back home.

Micah Barton – God Bless – 07/31/2025

Another New Ocean – 09 – Micah B.

By Micah Barton

On July 25, 2025

In Host, US Coast Guard, USCGC Healy, Vessel/Laboratory

It is currently day 10 aboard the USCGC Healy! Kaleigh and I have received the full onboarding experience, including donning our survival suits. These ones are extra nifty, and can even hook together so you don’t drift apart. They remind me of how otters hold hands while they sleep! Making sure that everyone knows exactly how to don a survival suit ensures that, in the event of an emergency, it is a quick process with no confusion. Reaction time makes a huge difference in dangerous situations at sea!

Along these same lines, we ran many drills. Most of them were for the sake of Coast Guard training, but they are vital for everyone on the ship. Man overboard, fire, gas leak, and medical emergencies are some of the various drills that are practiced frequently. Practice doesn’t make perfect, but it does make for efficient response times. Everyone knows their duty and where their muster station is. Confidence in ability is half the battle!

*Coefficients, variables, offsets oh my!*

The marine technicians onboard the Healy run 24hrs a day, in 12 hour shifts. I am on the midnight to noon shift with my mentor Maya, and Kaleigh is on the noon to midnight shift with Tyler. The tech lead of our team, Christina, is on watch from 0600 to 1800. Having this overlap ensures that our turnovers go smoothly, and adds an extra hand to the times when science is most likely to occur on the cruise. This setup does mean that I don’t get to participate as much in the science, but gives a realistic view into the life of a technician.

In this photo, Christina (left) and Maya (right) are troubleshooting one of the many softwares that keep science aboard running. On the wall of monitors, each system can be observed at a glance. Generally, green lights mean things are running well, and red ones mean things need to be checked. Hope you aren’t color blind!

Though having this many screens may seem overwhelming, it is an asset. Nothing can be forgotten when it’s right in front of you!

Being a marine technician has much to do with variety. Having a wide scope of skills and working with many different instruments means always learning. A new piece of equipment for me is the gravimeter. Measuring marine gravity is an interesting science, and a subject that I know little about. I won’t bore you with the details, but check out this short, informational video for more info. My mentor Maya walked me through the process of a weekly test called “Test points”, where we use a multimeter to check resistances. We track the numbers in a spreadsheet, as well as enter the numbers into the deck box for calibrations sake. Next week, it will be my turn to teach Kaleigh, our other intern, how to perform the test.

While on watch, we make several rounds throughout the ship, touring through any space that has equipment and instruments under our supervision. We inspect deck boxes and cables, and remain vigilant for alarms, red lights, or low fluids. One of those spaces is the gravimeter chamber where the unit lives. I have come to quite enjoy our rounds, as it is a nice break from the lab, and we occasionally are able to see others up and about in the dead of night.

While transiting to science stations, it is a perfect time to test equipment. The CTD was due for a thorough look over, bottles and all. The day shift was working on sensors and the CTD “fish” itself, so it was up to the midnight marooners to test the niskin bottles. First up: do they hold water? Well, they were all full already. So the easy answer was yes! We drained them all out, giving us the chance to test the petcock drain on each bottle.

Interestingly, one bottle refused to drain, even with the vent screw wide open. After dismantling the bottle trying to troubleshoot, we found that it was the fault of a defective vent screw. The vent screw had no vent! A simple replacement solved the issue.

One of the spare bottles had a small leak, and we identified a crack right at the base of the bottles handle. Unfortunately, there is nothing we can do to repair the bottle, so it is simply out of commission. All the other bottles got the A-OK, so I clambered back up into the hangar loft and got the bottles back onto their storage rack.

After a couple long days of work, we spotted our first patch of ice. And then another, and another! It’s official, we have entered into the Arctic Circle! This is definitely the most unique and incredible environment I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. The farther North we chug, the thicker and more consistent the ice becomes. As it scrapes along the side of the hull, it sounds like a wild animal trying to escape the steel. The slow push against the floes sends cracks racing down the surface, and pierces the quiet air as a bullet through the fog. No polar bears yet, but we’re on the lookout always. Kaleigh is keeping a polar bear count in her blog posts, so be sure to keep an eye out for her updates as well!

The ice has quickly become a target of my fixation, and I wind down every day by just watching it float by. As an ice breaker, the Healy is specially equipped to come to areas that other ships are seldom able to traverse. As the ships local biology nerd, I am on the constant lookout for wildlife. Besides the occasional bird following the ship, there have been absolutely no signs of life up here in the ice. The binoculars are getting their fair share of sea time while we endlessly search the horizon for a polar bear, whale, or even just a seal. It is impossible to truly capture the ice and its presence in a photo, but it doesn’t mean I don’t keep trying!

*I guess I better act right, or they might put me in here…*

Another stop that we make on our daily rounds is the Mica stores. I have yet to find someone who can tell me why the space is called that, but it gets my Micah Stamp of Approval! A huge variable to take into account with science in the arctic is the cold, duh. Things have a tendency to freeze up here in all this ice! One of the systems that keeps things running smoothly are these ‘head tanks’. This creates a glycol-water mix for filling the transducer wells, which prevents freezing. Our only responsibility here is to check the levels, and to alert the engineering crew if they look low. We noticed that a few were low, so once they were freshly filled, we added labels to the level with the current date, for future reference.

*You’re telling me farfalle doesn’t come out this end? Are you sure?*

Another new piece of equipment I have encountered is this Lebus winch. I have worked with other winch types of winches before, but this one looks akin to a pasta maker! This machine is especially good at pulling loads with long lines and heavy instrument packages. It has special ‘gates’ that can be opened and closed to allow shackles and thimbles to be wound through with no problem. I have not been able to see this winch in action much yet, but I am hopeful that one of our science stations will be on my shift in the upcoming week!

Ice breaking is simultaneously an exciting and a rather dull activity. Essentially, once we arrive on station, we do donuts in the ship, which leaves us with some interesting track lines. We break the ice sheets up while steering in concentric circles at varying speed, which leaves behind a nice slushy spot in the middle for us to conduct our scientific endeavors within. Occasionally, we may get lucky, and our operation will happen right amidst a pool of open water, which saves hours of ice breaking. Either way, the science must go on!

As the sun sits stable on the horizon and watches us slowly crush the ice sheets, that’s all I’ve got for you today. At a balmy 2 degrees Celsius, I am hiking up my longjohns and getting to work!

Forever staring out the window, signing off.

Micah Barton – God Bless – 07/25/2025

On the Road Again – 08 – Micah B.

By Micah Barton

On July 17, 2025

In Host, US Coast Guard, USCGC Healy, Vessel/Laboratory

Well, hello again everyone! I hope you have had a restful few weeks, and are enjoying your summer to the fullest. My days at home were full of catching up with family and friends, eating out, and taking plenty of naps. I walked my dogs, sat in the grass listening to the cicadas sing, and enjoyed the rolling hills of Carolina. Even though I enjoyed my break, you bet I’m going back to sea!

Flying solo becomes easier and less nerve racking with every connecting flight. I had a flight delayed by about 6 hours, so I landed in Anchorage, Alaska in the wee hours of the night. I scored a few solid hours of sleep before hopping on the next plane, and finally wound up at my final destination of Nome, Alaska, along with some of my colleagues.

The welcome sign is shaped like a gold pan.

Nome has a local population of around 3,600 people, and was part of the American Gold Rush. People flocked to the area to hunt for the valuable treasure, and gold mining is still relevant in the area today. This sign for Nome pays homage to the gold panning history of the town. The area is often a place of transit for people preparing to board ships, and has a very welcoming and kind community. We were privileged enough to have a full day to explore the area, talk to the locals, and enjoy some of the local businesses.

I met up with one of my mentors, Tyler, my co-intern Kaleigh, and even some of the members of the Coast Guard. We made introductions over dinner and a game of pool at the local pool hall. Check out Tyler’s signature move, which has roughly a 47% success rate!

A rental car allowed us to take in some of the sights on the outside of town as well. Rain and foggy conditions made walking a bit of a chore, so the car was a Godsend. We visited the local visitor center and museum, and everyone recommended we take a drive over the hill. The landscape and environment is so beautiful, and bustling with life. We saw birds of prey such as Osprey, small mammals, and many sea gulls and song birds. Just as we were ready to turn home and call our sightseeing quits, we stumbled upon some Musk Ox, or Ovibos moschatus. You can read a quick article about their conservation efforts here!

Once our tourist activities were over, it was time to embark on our mission; join the US Coast Gaurd Cutter, Healy! The ship was at anchorage, so a small boat shuttled us from the shore. It seemed to be a bit of a daunting ride in the wind and cold, so we donned our mustang suits and hardhats, and held on tightly for the trip. Thanks to the skilled crew, we made it safely to the shipside and climbed the Jacob’s ladder up. Once all personnel was on board, the luggage came shortly after. Everyone and their things made it safely aboard!

The ship itself is massive, by far the largest I have had the pleasure to step aboard. At 420′ long, she is called the most technologically advanced ice breaker, and also the largest vessel within the Coast Guards fleet. The Healy is a beast of a scientific platform, and for good reason! Research in the Arctic is difficult and harsh, which takes the grit and drive of a vessel such as this. Pictured is the back deck, complete with the all familiar A-frame. In the background, Nome slowly fades out of view as we sail out to sea.

As we begin our transit, we earn ourselves a tour of the humongous ship. Our mentor Tyler was also once a MATE intern, and it is very rewarding to see how different life paths can all converge into one outcome. Seeing how someone in my position can proceed in life and succeed in their career instills hope and even more ambition.

So, this begins my journey of sailing on the Healy. Even though I will most definitely still get lost behind a long line of watertight doors, trust that I am somewhere on board trying my best. I am super excited to see how the Coast Guard functions on board a research vessel, and learn how a marine techs skills can assist the science party in their mission amidst the training drills and station bills. Stay tuned for more, and come rescue me from the labyrinth of hallways if you hear yelling coming from the inside of the bilge!

(I probably got lost and I’m cold and hungry)

Micah Barton – God Bless – 07/17/2025

Land Ho! – 07

By Micah Barton

On June 19, 2025

In Host, R/V Thomas G. Thompson, University of Washington, School of Oceanography, Vessel/Laboratory

It is hard to believe, but my final day aboard the Thomas G. Thompson makes for a total of 50 days. I am so very grateful, and have been blessed so abundantly to be a part of the awesome crew even for a while. Before we do some reminiscing, lets see how the last week has been.

Oh yeah, monsoon! Thailand can receive around 15 feet of precipitation in a year, which makes for some pretty rainy days at sea. The most important thing I brought with me on this cruise was my foul weather gear, and my great sense of style as you can see. No matter what the latest fashion tips may say, high-vis is always in fashion. The neon colors you may be used to seeing on constructions sites or warning labels have an important purpose- you can’t miss them! Highly visible colors such as neon orange, yellow, green or pink ensures that you are seen. In worst case scenarios, such as falling overboard, you are clearly distinct from the endless waters so you can be rescued quickly. So, you can always catch me on deck, in my glowstick cosplay- also known as my foulies. My rain jacket and pants kept me dry and toasty on all of the misty mornings and downpour afternoons.

AB Brian steadies the CTD rosette with a tagline.

The science team and crew worked tirelessly through the rain. To study monsoons is to endure the storms! Our final days of science consisted of VMP, or the vertical microstructure profiler, CTD, weather balloons, and scanfish operations. The winds and increasingly high seas made for a tumbling time on deck, and made operations run longer than normal. Taking the extra time to practice safe working tactics prevents injuries and accidents. It is better to lose an hour to work through things slower, than to lose days for an injury on deck!

On one sunny afternoon, we were greeted by some playful dolphins bow riding! The glare on the water makes them a bit difficult to see, but there were around 10 of them playing in the wake of the ship. We determined them to be *Tursiops aduncus*, or Indo-Pacific Bottlenose dolphins. Though this cruise was focused on meteorology, it was exciting to be visited by a bit of biology during our trip. Biology is my first love, and has been my main focus. Though I am enjoying and learning a lot about the other aspects of marine science, it is lovely to have the comfort of the incredible creatures of the ocean grace us on our journeys! *(Advancement unlocked: Echolocation)*

Science has officially concluded for this cruise, and we began our transit back into port. The next couple of days involved removing all of the scientific equipment and devices that had been installed around the ship. This is no small task! In the above picture, science requested my help to remove some wires from the MCT. A lot of them, as a matter of fact! Though it looks like a tangled mess of spaghetti, it is a sense of controlled chaos that eventually comes together. We snipped zip ties, unplugged the devices and sorted out the cables with time. Cables have been bundled and stored in their appropriate boxes for shipping or storing, and the MCT sealed up to prevent any water from dripping in.

One of the larger deconstructions was a LIDAR on the forward 02 deck. It had been set into a gyroscopic mount for the duration of the cruise, which meant a more difficult time dropping it back onto deck. The ABs, captain, and the science crew all converged to develop a plan. Using many lines, hands, and some precautionary foam bricks, we were able to lower it onto deck in about 2 hours time. The master rigging skills of AB Brian (pictured above, climbing the frame) were invaluable to the operation. I find careful procedures such as these to be oddly beautiful, almost in a mathematic sense. A well thought out plan and attentive hands make for easy work!

For our final night at sea, God painted the sky with a lovely sunset to send us homewards! Our cruise, though there were many bumps and bruises, has been a success. We have just set our anchor back in the port of Phuket, Thailand, and everyone is busy at work preparing for their journeys home. Laptops packed and memories made, shipping labels slapped on every crate and palette. The data has been collected, and the scientists are eager to return to their labs for processing. The ships crew is cleaning, storing, and readying the vessel for the next science party to come aboard. Science never sleeps, and the R/V Thomas G. Thompson is bound to go to sea again shortly.

A sincere thank you to the crew, captain, and science parties for allowing me to join them on this cruise. I hope that I have been a helpful and optimistic force for their work, and that I can cross paths with them once again in the future. As I make my own way home, I will set out for another adventure in a few short weeks. Thank you so much for reading along, and following my journey across the world. To the other UNOLS interns this season, fair winds and following seas to you! Shout out to Maria and the entire UNOLS team for making my dreams reality!

I want to extend a special thanks to my brilliant educators that inspire me to this day;

Jason Rogers, for sharing his dazzling love of invertebrates and indomitable spirit. (The variety of marine worms truly is inspiring). Jacqui Degan, for never once losing enthusiasm and for pushing us all for greatness. Shawna Rowe, for great kindness and diligence unfailing. Joel Clem, for unwavering faith in our abilities and a patient heart. Nathan Whited, for generosity and constant cheerfulness through tough times. Brian Bradley, for taking the time to teach in every moment, and encouraging our curiosity always. Brian Jeno, for holding us to high standards and working tirelessly. (And for not sinking the R/V MarTech with us aboard when Blue and I ran over the Sidescan Sonar. Sorry again.) Crew and captain of the R/V Cape Hatteras, for putting up with our student shenanigans, and welcoming all of us for incredible cruises. Much love to my Marine Tech Club family and classmates.

Buoy Blues – 06 – Micah B.

By Micah Barton

On June 11, 2025

In R/V Thomas G. Thompson, University of Washington, School of Oceanography

Today makes 42 days on the R/V Thomas G. Thompson. As the monsoons close in and the winds pick up, it is safe to say it has been a complete and total whirlwind!

This research cruise is focused on gathering meteorological data. The use of weather balloons allows the science group to record various data through the atmosphere. The giant balloon is filled with helium, and attached to the bottom is a spool of wire with an instrument known as a Radiosonde. The instrument package measures atmospheric parameters such as pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction. This information is sent back to the scientists via radio signals. Our highest balloon yet rose to 27.5 KM! The team releases a new balloon every few hours, for continuous data streams. I was able to release one as well!

As well as atmospheric data, the science group is interested in oceanographic profiles. This device, called a Scanfish, is towed behind the boat for days at a time. It swims up and down through the water column, and collects profiling data. Deploying the device means all hands on the stern, working to get it over the back smoothly.

Another data source is the CTD. This is one of the most used pieces of equipment on board a research vessel! This science group is interested in water samples as well, so the large bottles you see will be full once we retrieve the device. The role of the marine technician in this deployment is mainly to operate the hydroboom, which is a horizontal crane of sorts. It can carry an enormous amount of weight, and carries the payload up to 10 feet off the side of the ship. The marine tech also communicates with the bridge and the winch operator, ensuring that the deployment goes smoothly. The scientists are responsible for the control of the CTD electronically, and triggering the bottles to close at whatever depths they want water samples from.

It has finally come time that the buoy on deck can be deployed! This specific buoy is experimental, meaning it is the first of its exact kind. The configuration of instruments is hopeful to provide insight into the air-sea interface, having both air and water sensors attached. This also means, however, that no one is sure exactly how the buoy will behave, or if it will be successful at all. Deployment was a slow, and very careful process. Once the buoy was in the water, all we could do was wait and see.

Our buoy has proven to be a bit cantankerous! After less than 24 hours in the water, the electrical systems onboard the buoy began to fail. The buoy is equipped with several large batteries that are charged by 3 solar panels, yet all charge had been lost. Either the solar panels were not functioning properly, or the equipment on board was too demanding for the batteries to keep up with. We decided it was the best option to recover the buoy, and see if repairs could be made on board. Every day spent at sea can be very expensive, so there is no time to waste. Science must go on!

The team was able to repair the electrical issues within the buoys system, and redeployed successfully. For several days, we received good data from the buoy with no signs of further electrical issues. In the meantime, we worked on other operations in the area. We continued to tow the Scan fish, with occasional stops for CTDs, and other data collection. Once it was time to revisit the buoy, disaster had struck. As soon as the buoy was in sight, we could see that the mast was broken. Sadly, there is no telling exactly how it happened, but the most likely culprit is simply weather conditions. The seas and winds have been very high, and the aluminium mast was under much stress. Trying to recover any equipment that is broken is unpredictable at best. The captain of the ship gathered the crew and scientists, and preformed a risk assessment of the potential recovery operation. With the uncertainty, and possible loose pieces that could come off at any point, there were concerns and discussions about the safety of such an operation. We were able to find solutions to our concerns, and decided that recovery was possible. We very slowly approached the buoy, and after two attempts and nearly 3 hours, were able to safely recover the equipment.

At sea, there are an infinite amount of problems and solutions you can encounter. It is important to keep an open mind and to think outside of the box when performing research! This week has proven to me that there are always work arounds and more chances to be had. Though the buoy is officially out of commission for this cruise, theres no doubt that it will float again, eventually. The beauty of an experiment such as this, is that it will only improve from here. The scientists now know the weak points, and how to improve it for its next deployment!

The rain here is picking up, so as we all don our foulies and our rain boots, we wish you luck on all of your endeavors! Stay safe and stay dry out there sailors.

Author: Micah Barton Page 1 of 2

Mobilization, Megacore, Mudpies, oh my! – 15 – Micah B.

FISH! – 14 – Micah B.

A Familiar Silhouette – 13 – Micah B.

Kodiak Horizons – 12 – Micah B.

Fog off the bow- 11 – Micah B.

Great White North – 10 – Micah B.

Another New Ocean – 09 – Micah B.

On the Road Again – 08 – Micah B.

Land Ho! – 07

Buoy Blues – 06 – Micah B.

Micah Barton – God Bless – 06/11/2025