Long before R/V David Packard left the dock, the Seamount Hotspots expedition was already underway. For over a year, scientists, engineers, technicians, and maintenance staff across MBARI have been preparing for this ambitious expedition. With plans to deploy several of the major benthic instruments developed at the institute, the effort has involved almost every department. Over the past several months, the shoreside lab slowly transformed into a maze of tools, electronics, and chemicals as individual parts gradually came together into deep-sea camera systems and sampling instruments.

This is MBARI’s first large benthic expedition in four years, making the preparation especially significant. Beyond assembling equipment, the science team had to ensure the ship would function as a fully equipped lab capable of collecting and processing a range of samples. A significant amount of time was dedicated to inventorying supplies and ordering everything needed to support 10 days of science at sea.

The months leading up to departure were filled with rebuilding, testing, and fine-tuning instruments. The Benthic Respirometer System (BRS), which has undergone extensive upgrades over the past year, spent time in MBARI’s test tank to verify that every improvement performed as expected before deployment. Engineers and scientists also rebuilt and tested camera systems such as the Mega Coral Cam to ensure they were ready to document life on the seafloor. At the same time, countless hours went into preparing the Particle and Phytoplankton Sampler (PPS) equipment for studying environmental DNA (eDNA), from ordering and cleaning tubing to optimizing the large-scale filtration system that collects the genetic material in seawater. The FIDO team programmed the filtering instrument to collect the number of DNA samples requested by the science team.

As departure approached, the activity only intensified. Over four days, equipment was transported from MBARI’s Benthic Ecology Lab to the harbor, where large instruments were carefully lifted aboard R/V David Packard by crane, while boxes of supplies made their way into the ship’s labs. Once on board, every drawer and bench space found its purpose as the team organized workspaces and continued assembling equipment. Piece by piece, chains, shackles, flotation, profilers, and hydrophones were connected into moorings that would be deployed on the seafloor for long-term observations. Meanwhile, the ROV team did one last successful test dive of ROV Doc Ricketts in the harbor.

Throughout it all, chief scientist Jim Barry coordinated the many moving pieces of the expedition, keeping the science team informed while managing schedules, logistics, and the details required to bring such a complex expedition together.

Boarding the vessel for the first time marked another important milestone beyond the excitement of finally seeing all the preparations coming together. Before leaving port, everyone completed mandatory fire and abandon-ship drills, learned the ship’s safety procedures, and became familiar with life onboard, from waste management to meal schedules and daily routines.

Months of planning, engineering, and teamwork have led to this moment. As R/V David Packard heads toward the first station with the back deck packed to the gills full of instruments, the expedition is finally underway.