The Final Deep
Last night we steamed over the Mariana Trench, registering a maximum depth of 9726 meters (over 6 miles deep), by far our deepest sounding. It...
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AJ Reyes
A Student’s Perspective: Science Without Borders
When I landed in Pohnpei, Micronesia for the Ontong Java expedition I was greeted by the local customs authorities in the airport. As I made...
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Mark Heckman
Equator Crossing-Birthday-Halloween and Seafloor Mapping
Sometimes you have to multitask. On the 31st of October, the science party and ship’s crew of the Falkor had a series of objectives to accomplish. We...
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Mark Heckman
It’s a Houseboat FAD, a Fish Aggregating Device
Odd things turn up in the open ocean. Research vessel Falkor is hundreds of miles from any island, let alone continent, with not a speck of land...
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Mark Heckman
The Driving Force
Every couple of years, you should get yourself a full overhaul. Do the works, have the cylinders and bearings pulled, take it all down. Wouldn’t...
MoreMapping with Mike – Cruise accounts from chief scientist Professor Mike Coffin
Join me, professor mike coffin on my first voyage aboard r/v falkor mapping the mysterious and remote ontong java plateau. Embarking on my 30th blue-water...
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Mark Heckman
Barracuda on Deck – A Chef’s Tale
This entry starts with a fish on deck. Not a small fish, but a rather large hungry barracuda. It took a lure that Chief Bosun...
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SOI/Mark Heckman
Colored Lines – Decyphering the CTD Code
The science team onboard Falkor are deploying CTDs during the voyage to determine physical, chemical, and biological properties of the water column. This information is...
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SOI: Todor Gerasimov
Flying in Darkness – Charting Unknown Reefs at Night
From the Night Shift - Midnight to 8:00 a.m. When exploring the deep ocean it may not be possible to know what lies ahead in...
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SOITomer Ketter
The Meaning of Life or at least a Multibeam Acquisition Display
When mapping the seafloor, a key display in the Science Control Room is the multibeam echosounding data acquisition screen. It contains a wealth of information,...
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Atoll SOI/Tomer Ketter
Amelia Earhart and Nukumanu Atoll
Today we mapped the edge of the remote Nukumanu Atoll, last known position of Amelia Earhart, adventurous air pioneer of her day. My parents named...
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SOI/Mark Heckman
Using the CTD to Calibrate the Multibeam Sonar
We have arrived at the Ontong Java Plateau and to properly map the seafloor we needed to know more about the physical characteristics of the...
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SOI/ Mark Heckman
Converging on a Point
Science is a process of discovery. There is so much about the world that we do not know; discoveries can be made just about anywhere....
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