Page: Launch & Recovery Systems

R/V Falkor (too) Working Decks and Deployment Systems The vessel provides a tremendous amount of space and tools for deploying systems to study the ocean. The 900 square meter (9,678 square feet) aft deck hosts the large moon pool, and winches and frames for over-the-side deployments. The vessel's 20.9 meter diameter helideck can support vertical … Continued

Page: R/V Falkor (too) Specifications

GENERAL SPECIFICATIONS Download the full general arrangement for R/V Falkor (too) Length Overall 110.6 meters Length between perpendiculars 97.8 meters Beam, overall 20.0 meters Height above water 33.0 meters Freeboard 2.9 - 3.5 meters Draft (gondola) 8.5 meters Draft (air)  32.4 meters Depth (moulded) 9.81 meters International Gross Tonnage 7,257 GRT Net Tonnage 2,250 NRT … Continued

Page: Our Story

Schmidt Ocean Institute is a 501(c)(3) private non-profit operating foundation established to advance oceanographic research, discovery, and knowledge, and catalyze sharing of information about the oceans.  Schmidt Ocean Institue Acquires New Research Vessel To Expand Ability To Explore, Research The Ocean March 23, 2021 Schmidt Ocean Institute announced today it has acquired a new research … Continued

Log Post: Surprise: Young Lava!

One of the joys of exploration is getting surprised. And boy, were we surprised when we found a lava flow on the seafloor that looks like it could have erupted yesterday! It is right in the area where we found big plumes and the most intense chemical anomalies during the last CTD tow-yo on what we … Continued

Log Post: Filtering the ocean for answers… (one litre at a time)

I started my PhD this year at University of Western Australia (UWA), working with Ryan Lowe who is also currently on Falkor.  I am collecting data to investigate the nutrient dynamics and productivity of Scott Reef, and how this relates to the physical oceanographic processes over the system.  Modelling has shown that open ocean water … Continued

A yellow torpedo shaped autonomous underwater vehicle is dropped into a blue ocean with a launch and recovery system.

Log Post: The Strategy for Finding Hydrothermal Vents

Traducción al español disponible a continuación Written by Julie Huber and Dave Butterfield Given bad weather to the north at the Kane Fracture Zone, we decided to test our strategy for finding active hydrothermal vents at the Puy de Folles vent field. Previous work by French and Russian colleagues at this site focused on inactive … Continued

Log Post: Back On Course

After successfully avoiding the typhoon, we begin the trip back to port to complete the rest of our loading. The return leg is a good opportunity to further test the on-board instruments whilst near the relative shelter of Guam. We escalate from simpler surface tests to deep dives, then on to sampling. This ensures we … Continued

Log Post: Virus Alert

I have a cold. Yuk. I suspect I am not alone and given that there are about 50 of us all living close in one another’s company, I likely won’t be the last.  But right now I feel pretty grotty. Still, so long as you wipe down your screens after reading this, hopefully you won’t … Continued