Log Post: A Delicate Life Balance for Deep-Water Microbes

On July 24 and 25, researchers and the crew aboard R/V Falkor cast the Conductivity, Temperature and Pressure Rosette (CTD) to depths of 5,000 and 4,300 meters, respectively. The CTD casts took place about 300 miles east of Nova Scotia in some of the deepest parts of the Atlantic Ocean.  R/V Falkor ventured into waters … Continued

Log Post: Hunting Red Algal Blooms

Dr. Michael Wetz, along with his undergraduate students are collecting water samples throughout the water column using a CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth) sensor. A Profiling CTD measures water parameters as it travels through the water as it is lowered over the stern of the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Research Vessel Falkor. As the CTD travels … Continued

Log Post: Instruments of the Ocean Part Two: ADCP

Similar in shape to a fire hydrant, the Lowered Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (LADCP) is fastened to the CTD (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth) Rosette, a white, jungle gym-like structure. Therefore, each ADCP drop also requires a CTD deployment. The ADCP itself is light and requires no special lifting equipment, but the CTD is quite heavy, … Continued

Page: Lab & Work Areas

R/V Falkor (too) Standard Labs and Work Areas View our 3D tour Main LabThe 102 square meter main lab is the largest lab space and is for general dry lab use. Layout and Utilities Two -80 freezers (690 liters) Two -30C freezers (700 liters) One +4C refrigerator (700 liters) Two ductless fume hoods Five exhaust … Continued

Page: ROV Dives – In Search of Hydrothermal Lost Cities

On its inaugural expedition, Falkor (too) will head to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with Chief Scientist Dr. David Butterfield from the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory – University of Washington, and his team to search for hydrothermal lost cities. In 2000, scientists found a hydrothermal vent system on the Atlantis Massif unlike any seen before. Ghostly towers made … Continued

Page: Schmidt Ocean Institute 2016 Expeditions

Investigating Life Without Oxygen in the Tropical Pacific January – February Data from sensors lowered on Falkor's CTD rosette will go to the Marine Geophysical Data System.M. Schrope Large-scale ocean circulation naturally results in low-oxygen areas of the ocean called oxygen deficient zones (ODZs). The cycling of carbon and nutrients – the foundation of marine … Continued

Log Post: Some days seem longer than others

A busy day today but also a strange one.  I was woken just after 5am by a feeling in my bones – quite literally, actually: the ship’s motion had suddenly changed which brought me alert and, in a matter of seconds I realized why: we must have finished the 2nd CTD station at Piccard – … Continued

Log Post: Pumping Iron

Do shallow arc volcanoes supply iron to phytoplankton in the open ocean? Scientific research on a moving ship is a real challenge. We have to perform precise sampling and chemical analyses, all while adapting to a rolling ship. On this expedition, we are using two separate and specialized CTD (Conductivity, Temperature, Depth) systems – one … Continued