Log Post: The Domain of the Golden Dragon

The seas have been calm and the crew and science team hope it stays that way for the rest of our journey to Tamu Massif. Rough seas could mean potential issues with data collection or more work to process what we have already collected along the way.  That said, today’s highlight was the crossing of … Continued

Log Post: Motion of the Ocean

Once in Lifetime I’m Panya from the University of Houston and the only undergraduate student lucky enough to be part of the science team that will explore and map the “world’s largest single volcano.”  My area of study focuses on exploration geophysics, so I was ecstatic about being out to sea on the R/V Falkor … Continued

Log Post: On Our Way and Already Mapping

Today Dr. Sager hosted our first of many science updates to keep everyone up to speed on our progress.  R/V Falkor is still a few days from Shatsky Rise, home to Tamu Massif, but the ship is performing well and the weather has been nice. We anticipate a speedy arrival with good weather forecasted for … Continued

Log Post: Meet SOI’s New Student Opportunities Participant: Rachel Edwards

Hello from the high seas, I am Rachel Edwards, the fortunate recipient of Schmidt Ocean Institutes’ Student Opportunity berth for the magnetic anomalies cruise. This year, Schmidt Ocean Institute started a student opportunities program, and this is the second cruise to host a student. The goal of this program is to offer students a chance … Continued

Log Post: Introducing Tamu Massif, the “World’s Largest Single Volcano”

In 2013, research published by chief scientist Dr. William Sager, showed Tamu Massif to be the largest mountain in the Shatsky Rise oceanic plateau and the world’s largest single volcano. Dr. Sager and his team were able to come to this conclusion through the drilling of core samples and seismic imaging of the interior. Scientists concluded … Continued

News: Bringing Falkor to the Masses

Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor recently arrived in Honolulu after a 21 day expedition across the equator looking at small-scale mixing in the central Pacific Ocean. She is now undergoing scheduled upgrades before heading off in early October to map the world’s largest underwater volcano, Tamu Massif. While some of the projects during the upgrade … Continued

Cruise: Mixing Up the Tropical Pacific

Research suggests that small-scale turbulence could play a large role in how the ocean absorbs heat, a key factor in the onset of El Niño events. In July, Falkor traveled to the central equatorial Pacific to give researchers a first view of this smaller scale turbulence.

News: Scientists Return from the World’s Largest Single Volcano with New Data

Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor arrived into Guam yesterday after a 36 day expedition mapping the world’s largest single volcano, Tamu Massif. HAGANTA, GUAM – Tamu Massif is a volcano the size of New Mexico and lurks 6,500 feet beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean. During their 36 day expedition, the science team undertook … Continued

News: Researchers return with latest El Niño data from the central equatorial Pacific

An international team of scientists led by researchers from the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa arrive into Honolulu after studying small scale ocean mixing under El Niño conditions aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor. The timing could not have been more perfect for this expedition, as Dr. Kelvin Richards, oceanographer at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, … Continued