News: Serendipitous Side Trip

The Falkor team completed the first-ever high-resolution map of deep reefs near the island of Roatan in Honduras. This new resource can be used for many purposes, including to aid future research in the area on the corals and other animals found there, as well as also enabling increased conservation of the reefs. When Dr. … Continued

Log Post: Mobilization

While our cruise doesn’t set sail until Thursday, and most of the science team are not due here until Tuesday, there has been plenty going on aboard RV Falkor already to get prepared for our expedition. Sunday morning, 8am: arrived at the ship last night, crashed out and was awake in time for breakfast and … Continued

Log Post: Captain’s log from March 23, 2013

Time of observations / report:  23rd March 2013 – 12:00 LT (UTC – 4) Position:  22-52.8-N, 090-11.9-W Course and speed:  Courses various whilst mapping survey line, speed 8 kts Sea condition:  4 (moderate) – Short Moderate SE’ly Weather (current and forecasted) – Wind SE’ly 6/7 Air temp:  25.4 C Water temp: 24.3 C Operations narrative: … Continued

Log Post: Increasing resolution

The Falkor’s first science cruise is focusing on mapping the Campeche Escarpment between water depths of 400 m to its base at 3700 m. The capability of the Falkor’s multibeam sonar is clearly illustrated by comparing the previously available bathymetric data with the new bathymetry. Figure 1. The best bathymetric data available at the time … Continued

Log Post: Seafloor mapping continues

Mapping of Campeche Escarpment reminds us that hydrographic surveys may not be as ‘glorious’ as some other types of ocean research, such as, for example, ROV operations, however, seafloor maps are extremely important for all ocean disciplines.  ROV pilots won’t dive these days without seeing a map of the site first. Satellite maps available for … Continued

Log Post: The Ocean: Haven’t We Already Mapped It?

We’ve all seen various maps of the world on the walls of libraries, schools, and conference rooms.  Some of them display the shape of the Earth’s surface – sometimes, even under the sea. Such features may include the systems of mid-ocean ridges, trenches, and thousands of underwater mountains.  Sure, from this perspective—as if looking from … Continued

News: Coral Resilience to Climate Change

Outcomes of the research project supported by Schmidt Ocean Institute and conducted by Dr. Daniel Barshis are discussed in this week’s issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  The project focused on coral reefs of American Samoa to determine what environmental characteristics aid corals in dealing with thermal stress. A set of field expeditions … Continued

Log Post: Completing the Coral Leg

Overall the second leg of the expedition was successful for both the science and R/V Falkor operations teams. The primary mission for this leg focused on using ROV Global Explorer MK3for long-term studies of deep-sea coral communities near the site of the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster. Eight dives of the ROV were completed during the week … Continued