R/V Falkor travels from Oregon up to the Alaskan Gulf on an expedition to better characterize organisms in the Abyssal Plain region and determine the extent microplastics can be found in these deep systems.
The Mariana region is home to the Mariana subduction system. This November, scientists shed light on the Mariana back-arc spreading center looking for new sites of hydrothermal activity.
December, Falkor returned to the Mariana Trench focusing on collecting trench bacteria, animal samples, and the first-ever recordings of sounds from such depths.
Since 1988, oceanographers have been studying a patch of deep blue 60 miles north of Oahu known as Station ALOHA. But despite extensive work there, much remains unknown about the diversity of the area’s zooplankton.
On the first of three student cruises, the team aboard Falkor answered questions about whales’ decision-making process about how and where whales feed in the deep sea.
