Cruise: Deep Coral Diversity at Emperor Seamount Chain 2019

This expedition will feature exploration of the Emperor Seamount Chain while researching biodiversity and its drivers. Using currents, mapping, and radio isotopes to track water masses – as well as genetic sampling of corals – the team will determine the driving force behind coral distribution in this region.

Cruise: Observing Seafloor Methane Seeps at the Edge of Hydrate Stability

Methane is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, but exists at far lower concentrations in the atmosphere. Many think of methane as a free-floating gas so it can be a surprise to learn that nearly one-fifth of the Earth’s methane is stored beneath the ocean’s waters in marine sediments in the form of gas hydrate.

Cruise: Costa Rican Deep Sea Connections

The deep sea is home to a variety of understudied, otherworldly ecosystems that are in need of human understanding if they are to have any protection from encroaching deep sea fishing and mining activities.

Cruise: Hunting Bubbles: Understanding Plumes of Seafloor Methane

While methane may not be the best known greenhouse gas, it nevertheless greatly impacts the climate system of our planet. Seafloor methane emissions have been documented for several decades, with newer evidence suggesting that methane bubble plumes from the deep sea are far more numerous than previously assumed.

Cruise: Adaptive Robotics at Barkley Canyon and Hydrate Ridge

Conducting research with multiple underwater vehicles takes a huge amount of deliberation and coordination that is based on data gathered well before the work even takes place. But what happens if the environment you work on is constantly changing?

Cruise: The Seeping Cascadia Margin

As the R/V Falkor transits from San Diego, California to Astoria, Oregon, Schmidt Ocean Institute will take advantage of this route, collecting valuable mapping data for unsurveyed areas over the active Cascadia Margin while hosting a unique group of Artist-at-Sea and Student Opportunities participants.