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Although iron is the focus of our Loihi Expedition, a number of other measurements are being collected during our cruise as we hunt for Loihi’s hydrothermal plume. You might be asking yourself “If the focus of the cruise is to collect iron data, why measure anything else?” However, as scientists our goal is to tell … Continued
Loihi seamount is an underwater, hydrothermal vent site that sends iron-rich water into the ocean in a plume. In addition to the dissolved iron, the hydrothermal fluid also contains a lot of iron-rich particles. My job along with Mike is to collect these particles so they can be analyzed using a synchrotron light source. Although … Continued
What does it take to measure iron in the ocean? The science crew of the R/V Falkor are intimately familiar with this question. The concentrations of iron at Loihi seamount are quite high for ocean water, but in actuality, they are extremely low –equating to a drop of water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool! However, … Continued
Moving a laboratory onto a ship is no small feat. Multiple days are required just to transfer gear from shore to ship. It’s somewhat similar to moving from your own home to a dormitory, where more people share smaller spaces. On top of that, your schedule is always different, often times working in the evenings … Continued
We know that Loihi Seamount is affected by hydrothermal activity that can lead to giant plumes of rusty flecks in the water column and at the seafloor. Those marine particles form when hydrothermal iron is oxidized either by microorganisms (the “iron eaters” that poop rust) or by small amounts of oxygen dissolved in the deep … Continued
Join me, Dana Yoerger on my first journey aboard R/VFalkor to Loihi Seamount. With over 70 oceanographic expeditions under my belt, I still get excited for the unknown adventure that awaits mapping underwater seamounts and volcanoes, who knows what discovery is just around the corner. July 1st, 2014 We had a good dive with Sentry … Continued
Last evening Falkor made the turn around South Point, Hawaii Island, and a couple hours later we arrived at Loihi Seamount. This is my fifth expedition to Loihi, and a trip that I have been looking forward to for many years. This cruise is especially exciting because we are focusing on the unexplored reaches of … Continued
After spending a day off shore and calibrating all the equipment, we are off to our destination! It will take approximately 15 hours to transit to the south east corner of Hawaii Island to Loihi Seamount. Since the remainder of the cruise will focus on what we find at the world’s largest underwater volcano, let’s … Continued
Our capabilities for exploring the seafloor have undergone a revolution in the last few decades. Depending on the scientific problem we need to solve, we can image from the ship and see large-scale features like mountains, or get very close to the seafloor in a submersible or remotely operated vehicle, and see tiny animals up … Continued
