Log Post: First ROV Dive a Success

Remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Global Explorer MK3 successfully completed its first full dive this afternoon. The vehicle explored the seafloor to a depth of 600m at a site now called ‘Okeanos Ridge’, a feature that was mapped by the NOAA vessel Okeanos Explorer in April this year.  This seafloor area has never been explored. The … Continued

Log Post: Deep Water Chemistry

This morning, R/V Falkor stopped at a deep-water site on the way to the first dive site, Okeanos Ridge, in order to deploy a CTD-rosette. CTD stands for conductivity-temperature-depth sensor. The instrument derives salinity from conductivity, depth from pressure, and temperature from an electrical thermometer. The ‘rosette’ configuration has 24 bottles associated with it, called … Continued

Log Post: Mapping Canyons

The R/V Falkor arrived near the dive site last night, but seas were still too heavy to launch instruments over the side. In an effort to use the ship’s resources wisely, the research team immediately started multibeam mapping with the Kongsberg EM302 and EM710. This equipment is being put to test in new terrain. The team … Continued

Log Post: How to sneak up on a storm

Two action packed days have passed since the Falkor left port on Saturday evening. Despite a shifted storm track, the ship remains outside the most severe weather associated with Tropical Storm Isaac. The ship is currently ‘sneaking up’ behind the storm and heading towards the first ROV dive site, having avoided the storm’s track over … Continued

Log Post: Research vessel Falkor prepares for ROV operations at sea

It has been a busy day preparing the R/V Falkor for departure. The research team and crew are excited to begin the second shake-down cruise. A shake-down cruise tests ship operations under real world conditions. This ‘deep-sea coral shakedown’ is the first time that a science-class remotely operated vehicle (ROV) has been brought on board … Continued

News: S S Terra Nova discovered

August 13, 2012—Last month, during routine functional performance testing of the mutibeam mapping echosounders on the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s flagship R/V Falkor, the team aboard—including researchers from the University of New Hampshire, Ifremer, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution—discovered the S.S. Terra Nova, a whaler, sealer and polar exploration ship that sunk off the southern coast … Continued

Log Post: Falkor Crew, Researchers Make Shakedown Cruise a Success

The R/V Falkor, Schmidt Ocean Institute’s newly refitted research vessel, arrived safely at Woods Hole, Massachusetts at 7 a.m. July 28, 2012 after making its maiden transit across the Atlantic Ocean as a research vessel.  This transatlantic voyage was the first in a series of shakedown cruises intended to provide the crew with practical experience … Continued

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: Falkor Encounters Signs of Warm, Salty Gulf Stream Current

As the R/V Falkor made its way south past the Grand Banks of Newfoundland this sunny, calm morning, Second/Third Officer Paul Shepherd overheard Chief Scientist Dr. Cabell Davis talking to researcher Melissa Patrician about the sea ahead, which had a slightly rusty reddish hue in relation to the blue sky. Throughout the Falkor’s maiden voyage … Continued