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Join me, professor mike coffin on my first voyage aboard r/v falkor mapping the mysterious and remote ontong java plateau.

This entry starts with a fish on deck. Not a small fish, but a rather large hungry barracuda.

The science team onboard Falkor are deploying CTDs during the voyage to determine physical, chemical, and biological properties of the water column. This information is used to calculate accurate water depths for our multibeam echosounder data and also characterizes the water masses in our study region. For example, between Pohnpei and the two atolls, we … Continued

From the Night Shift – Midnight to 8:00 a.m. When exploring the deep ocean it may not be possible to know what lies ahead in the blackness of the depths, but if a pinnacle rises up suddenly from the featureless bottom, it is a moment to celebrate. Suddenly there it is, a new discovery, with … Continued

When mapping the seafloor, a key display in the Science Control Room is the multibeam echosounding data acquisition screen. It contains a wealth of information, so let’s take a look. You may have to click on the images to enlarge them to see some of the detail. First off, to the left and to the … Continued

Today we mapped the edge of the remote Nukumanu Atoll, last known position of Amelia Earhart, adventurous air pioneer of her day. My parents named me after her, admiring her fortitude and even, perhaps, her stubbornness to persevere. I don’t know that I have anywhere near her drive or ability, but it is exciting to … Continued

We have arrived at the Ontong Java Plateau and to properly map the seafloor we needed to know more about the physical characteristics of the water above it. To do this, the science crew typically deploy a CTD rosette (array). CTD stands for conductivity, temperature, and depth. Since the electrical conductivity of water relates directly … Continued

Science is a process of discovery. There is so much about the world that we do not know; discoveries can be made just about anywhere. Some scientists never have to leave the comforts of their own laboratory as their study subjects may be locally distributed, or they can access information from satellites and other data … Continued