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When it comes to Oxygen Minimum Zones, microbial life, and life on the open ocean, most of us do not have a lot knowledge. So we sat down with the scientific party and shared with them some of the questions that we’ve received from several 5th grade classes that we have interacted with through our … Continued

In this video, researchers onboard Falkor show and explain the methods, tools, and processes being used to study plankton, gasses and metal traces during the “Investigating Life Without Oxygen in the Tropical Pacific” research cruise.

Hello there! I’m Michelle, the Artist-at-Sea. I’m happy to report that my stocked supplies are well-matched to this trip. The few days I had to prepare for this opportunity meant rapid-response project planning and supply gathering.  To maximize my creative options, my strategy was to bring simple materials with broad potential.  Having amassed a personal … Continued

Hello readers, My name is Erin McParland and I’m currently in the third year of my PhD at the University of Southern California in the Marine and Environmental Biology Department. I study a sweet-smelling sulfur gas, called dimethylsulfide (DMS for short) that is found in the upper surface ocean throughout the world: If you have … Continued

Plankton are a miracle because they are made up mainly of protists which are single cells. Protists come in thousands of shapes and sizes ranging from microns to millimeters. They can have silicate scales, frustules or loricas. They can have pseudopods, flagella or cilia. They can live in colonies of many cells together, act as … Continued

I’m the Chief Scientist for this R/V Falkor expedition. I have found that even if people are often interested in our oceanographic cruises, it is actually a challenge to express during conversations what it is really like to study and live on the oceans. Here are three thoughts about that: 1- The oceans are enormous It’s … Continued

It was a magical feeling when the image appeared on the screens. The researchers in the Science Control Room were beyond excited: “This is just like finding a unicorn. You hear about them, some people even believe they exist, but you never expect to come across one,” said Dr. Mak Saito, chief scientist. This particular … Continued

Aloha! My name is Michelle Schwengel-Regala, and I am the current Artist-at-Sea in a new program with the Schmidt Ocean Institute. This program selects an artist to join a science crew during a research voyage aboard R/V Falkor. This ship is outfitted to not only map the bottom of the ocean but also to support … Continued