19 June – 26 June 2025
#DeepSeaLeaders
The advent and accessibility of deep-sea technologies created a renaissance in oceanographic exploration and research. The efforts needed to coordinate and execute deep-sea scientific expeditions are not formally taught, but are critical to a successful scientific expedition at sea. The Crustal Ocean Biosphere Research Accelerator, or COBRA, currently runs a virtual deep-sea expedition leadership master class, bringing together early-career scientists to learn essential skills and accelerate the readiness of the next generation of deep-ocean chief scientists.
Led by Drs. Julie Huber and Beth Orcutt, the Director and Associate Directors of COBRA, this cruise-of-opportunity during a transit of RV Falkor (too) after drydock maintenance is offered to current and past COBRA Fellows, who will sail aboard the RV Falkor (too) to take their classroom skills to sea. During this capstone training experience, participants will gain hands-on experience in cruise planning and execution while improving their science communication skills. They will benefit from in-person mentoring with COBRA instructors and work alongside Schmidt Ocean Institute’s crew and expert marine technicians.
Teaching the next generation
In many fields, students learn the knowledge needed to enter a profession in school, and then they acquire the skills to do the actual work on the job. However, for people who study inaccessible places like the deep ocean, job-specific training is harder to come by.
Deep-sea expeditions take years to coordinate. Chief scientists must assemble the team and resources needed to conduct the research, secure funding, procure berths and equipment on a vessel, while managing teams, research, and unpredictable events during the expedition. Then, there are years of data analysis, lab work, and reporting to funding agencies, expedition partners, and the general public.
Currently, there is little expedition leadership training available for early-career researchers. Few of the current generation of expedition leaders have received formal training, and many have trained “on the job,” making unnecessary (and expensive) mistakes that could have been avoided, according to a 2023 paper written by COBRA instructors and the first class of fellows. The authors note that deep-sea shiptime is costly, ranging from $10,000 to more than $100,000 per day, and there is a practical need to maximize productivity and minimize costs that can occur when “learning while leading.”
Taking the class to sea
Drs. Huber and Orcutt worked with a team of scientists from across the U.S., collaborating with national and international partner organizations to develop COBRA’s 13-week virtual class to demystify the chief scientist role.
The class equips participants with the knowledge and tools to successfully design, propose, execute, and report on deep-sea oceanographic field research with a collaborative approach. Topics covered include reviewing the types of assets for conducting deep-sea research and exploration, funding and proposal writing tips, developing concepts through respectful and reciprocal engagement with others, cruise preparation how-to, at-sea operations planning, using telepresence for research and outreach, permitting and reporting, data management, and ocean law.
This expedition offers past and present fellows the opportunity to see the lessons learned in class firsthand on the R/V Falkor (too) during a week-long transit from Talcahuano, Chile, to Punta Arenas, Chile.
During their journey, they will learn about the vessel’s capabilities, receive in-person mentoring with COBRA instructors, and learn from Schmidt Ocean Institute’s expert marine technicians. The training will help participants develop competitive proposals, design functional cruise and collaboration plans, gain hands-on experience managing cruise data flows and day-by-day cruise planning, and learn about science communication. Fellows will complete the expedition and leave the ship ready to submit proposals and lead expeditions.
Artist-at-Sea
Nicole Stott and Christine Korp will join the expedition via Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Artist-at-Sea program. Stott is a mother, astronaut, aquanaut, engineer, artist, and author. She creatively combines the awe and wonder of her spaceflight experience with her artwork to inspire everyone’s appreciation of our role as crewmates here on Spaceship Earth. She is a veteran NASA astronaut with two spaceflights and 104 days in space as a crewmember on both the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle. These experiences strengthened her belief that the international model of peaceful and successful cooperation we have experienced in the extreme environments of space and sea holds the key to peaceful and successful cooperation here on Earth.
Korp, known as the “Astronaut Wrangler,” is a leader in space advocacy and entertainment. She is the founder of SPACE For a Better World and the president of Purpose Entertainment. Coming from a family of artists, she blends creativity with space advocacy, using giant space-themed artworks worldwide to engage and inspire. Her mission is to connect the “space curious” to the “space serious,” showcasing how space benefits all life on Earth.
