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The research team and ship's crew gather for a group picture.......
Alana Sherman shows the ROV Phantom to the students.......
Captain Bernd Buchner and a Bahamian pilot guide Lone Ranger into port.......
Lone Ranger sails west toward Freeport, Grand Bahama......
A mystery fish swims between two patches of Sargassum....
ROV Phantom dove into the Sargasso Sea today and gave researchers a different perspective of the Sargassum seaweed community...
Today we collected more Sargassum samples for this final location, Station 6. A large, three-meter swell rolled under the boat and could be seen far away as bumps on the normally straight horizon...
This morning we retrieved the baited camera system from 5,000 meters deep where it had sat on the seafloor for 40 hours. Jeff Drazen and John Yeh were anxious to see the pictures from the camera...
The rising sun warmed wispy clouds that promised a clear day for science, the calmest weather we’ve had for the entire trip. The top priority for the day was deploying the Sargasso Deep-Sea Observatory....
We arrived at our southernmost station this morning and began a long list of science activities. First we deployed the baited camera system, this time with a new twist: Sargassum seaweed as the bait...
Early this morning the ship was positioned where the baited camera had been deployed two days ago. Jeff Drazen and John Yeh sent acoustic commands to release the system from its weighted anchor at the seafloo...
Through the night the ship travelled away from Station 5 to an area 130 kilometers northwest in search of larger aggregations of Sargassum. So far we’ve only encountered smaller bits and pieces of the seaweed...
At each science station along our path across the Sargasso Sea, the science team has been using fine mesh nets to collect clumps of Sargassum seaweed and the associated community of plants and animals that live around, inside, and under the floating seaweed habitat...
Sunshine greeted the ship this morning, infusing the day with optimism for the science ahead. It was my lucky day to be the scientist collector netting Sargassum from the small inflatable boat...
The Lone Ranger sailed through the night to the next science station, about 280 kilometers (170 miles) southwest of Bermuda. Rough weather continued to be a challenge for our work...
Yesterday we found a juvenile fish in our Sargassum seaweed samples. The small fish, about four centimeters long, had mottled coloration of browns and spots that perfectly camouflaged it in the seaweed. When the scientists identified the fish as a type of sea chub...
By mid-afternoon the seas had calmed enough that Captain Bernd gave his permission to launch one of the small boats to help the collection efforts. Jeff went out on the boat with Chief Mate Sergiy and Deckhand Kyrylo. They motored away from the ship and successfully collected several samples.
I looked out the window and saw some small pieces of Sargassum floating by. We were in luck! The scientists and crew grabbed nets and began dipping clumps out of the ocean. Judit extracts a crab that was collected in Sargassum for genetic studies.
After rolling through the night with winds howling, we woke to slightly better weather conditions that allowed us to move forward on getting instruments in the ocean for science. Everyone was excited to start collecting data for their studies...
At last, we finished preparations for setting sail. Before we left the dock, the scientists and crew gathered for a "science at sea" lecture...
Today we waited in anticipation for the delivery of the remaining supplies needed to ensure the success of the cruise. With the crew's determination and lots of logistical support, the equipment and supplies were organized for tomorrow’s departure...
Various factors have delayed our departure for a couple of days. Fortunately, even while at port there's always interesting wildlife to watch around the hull of a ship...
While the science team sets up their equipment on the Lone Ranger in preparation for the cruise, a team of scientists from the U.S. Canada, Japan, and Europe is working to provide a bird's-eye view of the planned cruise track. |
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Day 20 - Packing up
Day 19 - Young Bahamian Marine Scientists
Day 18 - Arriving Freeport
Day 17 - Preliminary findings
Day 16 - Phantom continues operations in the Sargasso Sea
Day 15 - Phantom dives into the Sargasso Sea
Day 14 - Species changes from north to south
Day 13 - Seaweed surprises
Day 12 - Sargasso Deep-Sea Observatory
Day 11 - Deep-sea observatory preparations
Day 10 - Searching for Sargassum
Day Nine - Searching for Sargassum
Day Eight - Processing Sargassum samples
Day Seven - Denizens of the deep
Day Six - Wet and wild at Station 3
Day Five - Juvenile fish take refuge
Day Four - Small boat operations
Day Three - Sargassum
Day Two - Water sampling on rough seas
Day One - Leaving Bermuda to first station
Dockside
Dockside
Pre-cruise preparation
