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The first, essential, feature of this cruise is coral. We start with research scientist Taylor holding a bundle of Desmophyllum. These precious coral samples record the environmental conditions of the ocean at the time their skeletons formed. As we do not (currently) have access to a time machine on R/V Falkor, we rely on using … Continued

Trying to understand a constantly moving ocean system is a huge challenge. Accurately measuring the chemistry of the ocean is important for understanding many processes, including nutrient and carbon cycling; ocean circulation and movement of water masses; as well as ocean acidification and climate change. On this expedition, the water chemistry team has the important … Continued

Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) SuBastian has returned after a journey of more than 3000m below the sea surface, searching through one of the previously unexplored and deepest parts of Bremer Canyon. So what do we hope to find and why has this expedition already generated much public interest? The Bremer Canyon is a system of … Continued

When phytoplankton (the single cell plants that live in the ocean) perform photosynthesis, they take up CO₂ from the atmosphere and convert it to organic carbon that becomes food for other organisms and put out O₂. When the carbon “fixed” by phytoplankton ultimately sinks to the bottom of the ocean, it can be considered removed … Continued

My name is Carson Witte, and I have been on this ship since before Halloween. Wait – this cruise did not start until late November! Why have I been onboard longer than most of the crew, and what have I been doing? Well, here’s the story… Combining Datasets The headline feature of this research cruise … Continued

My name is Una Miller and, as a PhD student at Columbia University, I study how the ocean and atmosphere interact. On this research cruise, I am acquiring infrared (IR) imagery of the sea surface that will allow us to study the precise boundary over which this interaction occurs… the cool-skin layer! Visualizing The Invisible … Continued

My name is Kelly Luis and I am a PhD student at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. I study ocean color from remote sensing platforms and on this cruise, I am ground-truthing ocean color measurements from UAVs and satellites. Hawaiian Blue Water Growing up in Hawai’i, the ocean’s blue hues were the backdrop to my childhood. … Continued

World firsts, trichodesmium slicks, exciting deployments, skillful recoveries and a few sharks to boot; the past week or so has flown by (quite literally). With so much action packed into such a short period of time, we have to remind ourselves that there are still a few weeks to go! As we begin week two, … Continued

This introductory video explains measurements the team on research vessel Falkor are collecting to study the sea surface microlayer – the 1mm layer connecting the air and sea. Measurements are taken from multiple locations on the ship: in the water with CTD casts, from stationary and apex buoys, a radiometer, aerial robots, and a catamaran … Continued

Picture Mount Everest, and, on top of that, add One World Trade Center four times over (~36,000 ft total), now imagine a credit card (~1 mm) sitting on top. The former gives some sense of scale for the deepest point on planet Earth, the Mariana Trench; the latter is the thickness of the sea surface … Continued