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Our first week of the trip has already come and gone in a flash. I boarded the Langseth in Brooklyn Harbor late on the 9th. That was followed by a full day of preparations and getting the lay of the ship. Its quite a maze of hallwyays and decks that I easily became lost in the first several days. I would say I know it well now though I think I find a new room everyday. The ship left port in the early hours of the 11th in order to refuel and then were on our way out.

The ship’s engineers were faced with a potential delay, waiting for a part, and not wanting to waste any precious time the crew and science party decided on a new first deployment station whilst we wait. The instrumentation we are primarily using on this cruise are multi-cores, taking cylinders of mud from the sea floor, thousands of meters below the surface. The first station was a bit of a crash course for me in the operation of multi-cores as we deployed them several times over the next couple days. Some good news came at the end of this station when the engineers were able to fix the ship without going back to port.

After finishing up at our initial station it was time to make haste towards the next and official first station. Transit took several days and was a good time for all to rest and reset before the real work began. We only arrived on station yesterday and have already had our share of success and tribulations. During an inital CTD deployment the Langseth’s new winch malfunctioned leaving the CTD stuck close to the bottom for several hours. With the valiant efforts of the ship’s engineers and electricians the winch was repaired and CTD recovered in one piece. Today we’ve deployed two more cores and seem to be smoothing out all the little problems as they come. We hope for fair winds and following seas as our journey begins.

June 9, 2024:

• Flew from SF to NY, arriving at 3pm (about 5:30 hours)

• Journeyed to the boatyard near 168 Flushing Ave, NY.

• Settled into a boat, toured, and met crew members.

• Went to Walgreens for last minute purchases and slept very well.

Flew from SF to NY, arriving at 3pm (about 5:30 hours)

Journeyed to the boatyard near 168 Flushing Ave, NY.

Settled into a boat, toured, and met crew members.

Went to Walgreens for last minute purchases and slept very well.

June 10, 2024:

• Met in the supervisor’s office at 7am.

• Assisted in stress testing a new winch cable wire.

• Had downtime and enjoyed really good food.

• Spent evening onboard, contacting family.

Met in the supervisor’s office at 7am.

Assisted in stress testing a new winch cable wire.

Had downtime and enjoyed really good food.

Spent evening onboard, contacting family.

June 11, 2024:

• Departed dock at 1am for anchorage and fueling.

• Attended 7am meeting; 

• Volunteered to take the night shift (12am-12pm).

• Worked with roommate Eddie (other mate intern) on securing crates and boxes.

• Met with the science crew and learned about their work and what exactly they are trying to prove with the data they are collecting.

• Prepared ship for departure from fueling barge;

• Was concerned about seasickness.

Departed dock at 1am for anchorage and fueling.

Attended 7am meeting; 

Volunteered to take the night shift (12am-12pm).

Worked with roommate Eddie (other mate intern) on securing crates and boxes.

Met with the science crew and learned about their work and what exactly they are trying to prove with the data they are collecting.

Prepared ship for departure from fueling barge;

Was concerned about seasickness.

June 12, 2024:

• Worked from 7am to 12pm on pCO2 monitor.

• Participated in ship-wide drills for fire and abandon ship procedures.

• Only worked about 6 hours since I was switching to night shift. 

• Rested in the cabin after; prepared for night shift.

Worked from 7am to 12pm on pCO2 monitor.

Participated in ship-wide drills for fire and abandon ship procedures.

Only worked about 6 hours since I was switching to night shift. 

Rested in the cabin after; prepared for night shift.

June 13, 2024:

• Started night shift at 12am.

• Assisted with CTD trigger test and monitored computer screens.

• Assisted senior technicians with adding more weight to the multicorer and primed it for deployment.

• Controlled winch operations and assisted with retrieval.

• Worked on drafting protocols for working on the new winch with Joseph (another tech).

Started night shift at 12am.

Assisted with CTD trigger test and monitored computer screens.

Assisted senior technicians with adding more weight to the multicorer and primed it for deployment.

Controlled winch operations and assisted with retrieval.

Worked on drafting protocols for working on the new winch with Joseph (another tech).

June 14, 2024:

• Night shift activities included rounds on the vessel and ensuring equipment security.

• Spotted basking sharks near the boat in the early morning!! 

• Participated in deploying multi corners; experienced a minor incident with equipment.

• Successfully retrieved samples, including a brittle star.

Night shift activities included rounds on the vessel and ensuring equipment security.

Spotted basking sharks near the boat in the early morning!! 

Participated in deploying multi corners; experienced a minor incident with equipment.

Successfully retrieved samples, including a brittle star.

June 15, 2024  –   June 16, 2024:

• Lots of downtime working a night shift and while heading to the new station.

• Spent most of time monitoring computer screens.

• Spent a couple hours with the the 2 and 3 mate in the bridge while they stood night watch  

Lots of downtime working a night shift and while heading to the new station.

Spent most of time monitoring computer screens.

Spent a couple hours with the the 2 and 3 mate in the bridge while they stood night watch  

June 17, 2024:

• The night was not very eventful but in the morning we noticed the sea floor had a lot of seamounts so it was decided to pause the transit and start a back and forth grid search for flatter ground.

• Technical difficulties popped up so a lot of time was spent on that. 

The night was not very eventful but in the morning we noticed the sea floor had a lot of seamounts so it was decided to pause the transit and start a back and forth grid search for flatter ground.

Technical difficulties popped up so a lot of time was spent on that. 

IN CONCLUSION:

I am having a wonderful time.! The food is delicious and the beds are really comfortable. Everyone is super nice and the work is very enjoyable and fulfilling. I’m excited to get to the next station to do more work!

 

Week One on the Langseth!

We had a busy start to the week as we prepared to depart from the Brooklyn Navy Yard. We faced some potential delays (engine parts, science gear), but ultimately decided to make our first, near-shore station (which was initially intended as a test site for our gear) a full research station. After completing work there, it was decided to proceed to the next station (rather than returning to NY to pick-up parts). So, the next land we see will be Iceland!

The new Okeanus winch passed its stress test, and we made a valiant effort at calibrating the Rugged Controls winch sensor as best we could. We finished rigging up the multi-corer and CTD/Niskin Rosette, then proceeded to make our first cast for cores! This site was relatively shallow at 2240m, and it takes about 45 minutes for the corer to reach the ocean floor at this depth.

The collection of the cores is controlled by the winch operator; once the corer’s feet land on the seabed, more cable is paid out to release the plastic core tubes into the sediment and gather the sample. We spent several days coring, with the science crew also working long hours to get all the samples processed appropriately. All of their work needs to be done in oxygen-free environments (nitrogen-filled glove boxes) so as not to alter the chemistry of the sediment.

After the science crew was happy with the amount mud/pore water we collected, we switched the winch cable to the CTD/Rosette and sent that over. It was cool to watch the CTD take a profile on the descent and then to fire the Niskin bottles to close at various depths on the way back up.

Driving the winch to land the multicorer on the seabed and assembling the CTD and using its software program (SeaSave) were some of my favorite tasks this week.

Since being in transit, I have also spent some time in the bridge standing watches. I learned a lot about the systems on board and the maritime field in general by talking with the deck crew and officers.

Today (Monday 6/17) we set our clocks forward by an hour to -3 UTC…the cities of Halifax and Buenos Aires both work as a correct time zones.

I am feeling very grateful that the ship has an awesome kitchen and steward team. We have been eating well, thanks to John and Insuk. In addition to the science party, the marine techs, and the kitchen and steward crew, the engine room and deck crews have also been working hard. It has been exciting to see how all these teams come together to make for a successful day.

Also, basking sharks and dolphins!

Thanks,

Eddy

Hey Y’all! My name is Ayse (“I-Sha”). Right now I am gearing up for my upcoming internship on the R/V Marcus Langseth, and I couldn’t be more excited! A little information about myself, I studied Oceanography and Scientific Diving at Cal Poly Humboldt. I have been very fortunate to experience many different jobs and I like to keep busy. I have worked on the R/V Coral Sea since 2019 and have loved every minute of it. I have had many different positions on the vessel but my main ones would be, the Student Research Assistant for Zooplankton Ecology Lab,  NOAA Cruise Assistant, Class Teaching Assistant, and Deckhand.

In my free time, I enjoy being outside and reading. 

Hello Everyone,

My name is Chaii Layne-Neubauer and I am one of the interns about to sail with the R/V Marcus G. Langseth on its next voyage from New York to Iceland! To introduce myself, I grew up on the beaches of California and in the deserts of Arizona. I got my Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Arizona and then worked as a test engineer for Caterpillar for a time. Recently, I’ve been pursuing working in the marine research world so this opportunity has been a dream for me. This will be my second research cruise, the first being aboard the R/V Sally Ride working with a water sampling team for Scripps where I learned the ropes of CTD deployment and fluorometer readings. In my freetime I enjoy cooking, fishing, taking apart (and sometimes putting back together) cars and a good horror flick. I cant wait to begin this new adventure so keep an eye out for updates from me on the weekly!