So, Al and Evelyn and Wendi made all this effort to solicit some retrospective, what-I-learned-from-Chief-Science-Training posts and make sure they were the last things posted on the blog, and then I came in like LOOK AT THE COOL PICTURES and ruined it. So here I am with one last post, which I will begin by… Continue reading →
After a busy few days of packing up and getting all the gear and samples shipped out to their respective institutions, we are off the ship and on to new adventures! Stay tuned for a few closing thoughts on the workshop and experiences!
We got a lot of great images of both the seafloor and critters in the water column on the way down on this trip, so check out some of the coolest ones below. Posted by Chris
Ever wondered how to plan your own research voyage? Concerned that you might forget something important or not quite sure where to start? The UNOLS Chief Scientist Training Cruise will cover all of the gritty details and more! We’ve been at sea almost a week and have learned many of the things we would… Continue reading →
This week at sea aboard the RV Thompson has given us a great opportunity to collaborate with other young researchers, learn the ropes of being a chief scientist, and conduct oceanographic research along the California coast. While we’ve all helped each other along the way, collecting hundreds of gallons of waters and many cubic… Continue reading →
If it has not yet been made obvious, work at sea is around the clock. Depending on which sites you want to collect samples from, what time we deploy the CTD or multicore, and how long it takes to process your samples, you will either be sleeping enough or barely at all. The past few… Continue reading →
How fast is the metabolism of a microbe in the ocean? Today, we set up incubations with seawater plankton to study the metabolic rates of marine microorganisms, specifically to look at carbon and nitrogen metabolism. First, we collected seawater in bottles and placed them in our on-deck incubators (to simulate natural light and temperature). Into… Continue reading →
If you walk through the R/V Thompson labs this week, you will hear a familiar humming noise. It’s the sound of pumps pulling and pushing seawater through filters. A number of us are preserving these filters for further analysis in our respective labs. Why would we spend a week out on ocean just to filter… Continue reading →
Tiny plants in the ocean called phytoplankton convert carbon dioxide that comes to the ocean from the atmosphere into organic carbon that can be used for energy, just like plants on land. Phytoplankton also require many other things in order to survive including nitrogen, a nutrient they use to make different parts of their cells.… Continue reading →
I’m on this research cruise to investigate controls on surface water chemistry that influence sea spray composition. Sea spray is generated at the ocean’s surface, from waves breaking at the beach, and also from howling winds creating choppy water with whitecaps and many, many bubbles. Sea spray is one of two major natural sources of… Continue reading →
