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Chasing Marine Snowstorms: Spring 2026

A collective effort: Getting ready to chase marine snow

Expedition Log

The crew of MBARI’s R/V David Packard are critical to the success of our expedition. They helped mobilize instruments before we left port and as the expedition gets underway, they will coordinate deployment of our imaging platforms. Image: Larissa Lemon © 2026 MBARI

A collective effort: Getting ready to chase marine snow

Expedition log by Research Engineering Technician Fernanda Lecaros Saavedra

The preparations for the cruise began several weeks in advance and involved many people from across MBARI. Several of the instruments that we will deploy from R/V David Packard required inspection and testing, including the Sedimentation Event Sensor (SES) and the SINKing Ecology Robot (SINKER).

A scientific illustration shows two scientific instruments on the deep seafloor. The instrument on the left has a white lid, an orange plastic funnel, and a black cylinder above a round silver metal frame and a silver metal sphere. It is positioned on a hill next to a red crab. A silver fish is swimming around the bottom of the instrument. The instrument on the right has a white lid, an orange plastic funnel, and a black cylinder above a round silver metal frame. Two gray fish are swimming around the second instrument. Bits of yellow organic material are falling on the white lid of the instrument on the left, triggering the black cylinder to send green waves to the instrument on the right, which is responding by sending back green waves. The background is dark green, almost black, seafloor.
The SES (left) and trigger trap (right) are deployed together on the seafloor. When the SES detects a marine snow event, it triggers the neighboring trigger trap to collect samples. Image: Julia Devine © MBARI

SES automatically detects when unpredictable, but important, marine snow events occur and then wakes up the trigger trap to start sampling to make efficient use of the battery and sample capacity. On the other hand, SINKER enables simultaneous real-time measurement of important properties of marine snow, including particle size, sinking speed, and particle identity. 

Before the cruise, we tested the trigger trap’s ability to rotate, as well as the rotation of the SES in MBARI’s test tank. We also verified communication between the SES and the trigger trap, ensuring that the SES could send commands to wake up the trap and initiate sampling. Finally, we confirmed the trigger trap’s ability to receive and process incoming messages.

The team previously deployed SINKER in Monterey Bay, but learned that the wiper was misaligned and not functioning properly. As a result, the instrument was recovered during the last David Packard cruise for repairs and will be redeployed during this cruise. Enoch Nicholson and Paul Roberts carried out the repairs and prepared the system for redeployment.

Earlier this week, the expedition team participated in VARS and ROV training with Giovanna Sainz and Drew Bewley. They trained us to annotate video from the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts, identify regions of interest, and capture screenshots when we make interesting observations at sea.

We also assembled the Surface-Tethered Sediment Trap (STT), which is designed to collect marine snow while simultaneously capturing images using SnoCams mounted on the frames that hold the collection tubes.

Finally, we mounted a shadowgraph imaging system called the in situ ichthyoplankton imaging system (ISIIS) on the CTD rosette to collect image datasets throughout full CTD casts across different locations and times of day.

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