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SPREAD Cruise Blog
Follow along to see what AT 50-31 is up to!
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Day 0: Arrival at Atlantis
November 12, 2024
Today, all of the science team members, traveling from Idaho, Wisconsin, and from local San Diego, met at the Scripps Marine Facility in San Diego, CA, and loaded Atlantis with all of our gear in preparation for tomorrow's departure! We met the crew of the ship, took initial gravity measurements in port, started setting up the lab spaces onboard, and learned how to deploy ARGO floats.
We have a long transit ahead of us (about 10 days) before we start our Alvin adives!
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Our departure as seen from land!
November 13, 2024
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Day 1: Setting sail
November 13, 2024
Today we set off towards the open ocean. The crew of the Atlantis led us through a emergency drills, during which we put on our life jackets and exposure (lobster!) suits. We watched sailing ships nearby as we fueled up for a few hours- Atlantis needs enough fuel to make it to Easter Island and then back to San Diego. We paused our unpacking and laboratory preparations around 1600 hours and climbed out on deck to watch as we headed out of San Diego, passed an aircraft carrier, and were sent off by many sea lions as we sailed past their sunning buoys as the sun set.
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Magnetometer: deployed
Test run begins! Mike marks the meters.
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Day 3: Magnetometer test run
November 15, 2024
Today was a productive day at sea! Some folks started off the morning with sunrise yoga or a workout. We then got into it, met as a science team, and talked about how to characterize lava morphologies we expect to see when diving in Alvin, from sheet flows to pillow basalts and lobe lavas. We went out on deck to deploy the Magnetometer (maggie) for a test run for a few hours. Thankfully all is working properly! It was lovely to have time outside appreciating the open ocean. After dinner, we pulled in the magnetometer (under a supermoon!) and discussed the project proposal and another previous study done at the same region of the SEPR to further familiarize ourselves with our study region.
Above photo credit: thanks Terra!
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Day 4: Engines & editing
November 16, 2024
Things are picking up in transit! In between sightings of flying fish, we started our cruise bingo and with the Alvin and Sentry teams, organized our dive plans for once we arrive on site. Atlantis First Engineer Brian led us on a tour of the engine room, where we spotted the relocated bubbler. Four engines power everything on the ship! We also spent some time getting on the same page about how to edit noise out of multi-beam bathymetry data. We are about one week away from starting Alvin dives.
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Day 5: First ARGO float of the cruise deployed!
November 17, 2024
Photo credits to Terra!
We deployed our first ARGO float and it's already up and running! Our float is one of ten we will be deploying, and one of thousands worldwide that record temperature and salinity. This information can be used to understand the oceans’ role in Earth’s climate. Fun fact: the name 'Argo' was chosen for the array of floats because they work with the Jason satellites that measure the shape of the oceans surface and in Greek mythology, Jason sailed on his ship the Argo searching for the golden fleece!
Today, Jyun-Nai also taught us about magmatic processes of the East Pacific Rise at 9ºN, a spreading ridge site farther north from our study site. He showed us how satellite bathymetry data, which look more like a Piet Mondrian piece, compare to much higher resolution Sentry data.
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Day 6: Mastering the Multibeam
November 18, 2024
First, we transited through the seven layers of the candy cane forest, past the sea of swirly twirly gumdrops and then through the Lincoln tunnel. Just kidding, we have been sailing past nothing but the big ‘ol blue. But underneath us is a world of unexplored wonders! As we sail towards our research site, we are collecting seafloor bathymetry data using the ship’s multibeam sonar system. This system allows us to map topographic features of the seafloor, such as fractures and seamounts, as well as map the depth of the water. Our transit will contribute about 2000 miles of newly mapped seafloor to the Seabed 2030 project, which aims to achieve a complete map of the ocean floor by 2030.
Photo: Cate mastering the multibeam data.
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Alvin prep! MC prepares dividers for the crates we'll use to store samples we pick up while on the seafloor.
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Day 7: Night Ops
November 19, 2024
It is close to midnight and we are six nautical miles from the target location of an ARGO float deployment. The magnetometer trailing the ship is disabled. 300 m of cable that it is attached to are spooled up on a deck-mounted winch. This brings the magnetometer to the ship's stern. It is hoisted by-hand on deck, and secured in place. A brief moment without instrumentation in the water provides an opportunity to launch a probe called an XBT, to measures water column properties that are used to make accurate sonar maps. So we take that opportunity, deploy the probe, and make those measurements. Now we are in position for the ARGO float. So, it is lowered overboard and released. Once the ship has made some way, the magnetometer is launched back into the sea, and cable payed back out to its working distance. Each instrument is monitored for errors as they are brought back online. All the while, constant communication is maintained with the ship's bridge to convey the status of deck maneuvers, ship's position and speed, which is being adjusted specific to each operation and step in between. November 19th does not mark the first day of night operations aboard the R/V Atlantis but it does mark another day of night operations on the ship! Collecting data here is a twenty-four hour endeavor, with scientists, technicians and crew always on duty, monitoring, recovering and deploying instrumentation that are used. As mentioned previously, on this transit we are actively collecting bathymetry, gravity and magnetics data, and deploying ARGO floats. Most instrumentation that are used for transit data collection are installed directly on the ship itself, except for the magnetometer, which is totally useless when taking measurements on top of forty tons of steel. As you might guess, R/V Atlantis is mostly magnetic. So, the magnetometer is towed a safe enough distance behind the ship that it can be assumed the data it collects are free of the magnetic anomaly radiating from the ship... this safe distance is just shy of a quarter of a mile. All of this to say, when the time comes for an ARGO deployment, the magnetometer needs to be recovered to prevent an at sea collision of the two instruments far in the ship's wake. This need initiates a complex dance on the fan tail that happens about twice a day, rain or shine and even in the dead of night, at strategic places along the way to our study site. Anyways, in this photo Allison radio's for permission to redeploy the magnetometer, being held by Anna, while Vera minds the cable, in a light drizzle, shortly after an ARGO deployment. -Darin
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Day 8: Pollywog to Shellback (Tadpole to Turtle?)
November 19, 2024
Atlantis and her crew have reached the point in our journey where we must cross the equator, and endure the struggle of having our toilets flush in the opposite direction. Spirits are high on board as each member of the crew who traversed the divide for the first time was presented with a certificate verifying their new status as a Shellback, graduating from the lowly Pollywog.
As a sign of King Neptune’s good faith, we were welcomed into the southern half of the globe by a pod of dolphins. The seas are calm, and the sun is shining, a sign of spring, as we have opted to skip winter entirely on this cruise.
Tonight the vampirous shellbacks of the night watch will deploy the last Argo float of the cruise at 2˚S, leaving us with only 15˚ more of transit until our first site!
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Day 10
November 21, 2024
As the warm embrace of the southern tropics enveloped us, we deployed our last ARGO float and an XBT into the depths of the ocean. Later, Vaibhav captivated the science party teaching about marine acoustics. He shared insights on how sound travels through the ocean—how we use it to map the sea’s secrets, measure its health, and ultimately, protect it. With each passing hour, the science party becomes more adept in the art of multibeam data processing—transforming raw data into a "clean" seafloor bathymetry map that reveals the contours of the ocean floor beneath Atlantis. It’s a delicate dance of technology and expertise, and as we hone our skills, the intricate tapestry of the seafloor gradually takes shape before our eyes.
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Day 13: On Station!
November 24, 2024
After 11 days of transit, we finally made it to our study area! We rolled up to 17 o S at approximately 9:00 am shiptime and immediately started prepping for our first Alvin dive. It took about 1.5 hours to descend to the seafloor, 8530 feet down, where we were greeted by a large lobate lava flow and some deep sea anemones. After spending a little time at this location, our lights started attracting the few fish and other creatures that were in the area. We spotted a rather strange creature, pictured above, which we think was a swimming sea cucumber. I thought it looked like a face-hugger from the movie Alien. We drove over to a large, glassy sheet flow, where we found a drained lava channel. When lava drains from a channel, it often leaves behind “bathtub rings”, which appear as thin, stacked layers slightly protruding from the channel wall. Our dive concluded with sampling a chunk of the sheet flow and we started our ascent back to the surface. We ate peanut butter & jelly sandwiches and conversed about movies to pass the time until we reached the surface. A successful first dive!
-Janine
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Broken Spinner Magnetometer :(
When we reached our destination at SEPR, we finally unboxed the spinner magnetometer that was shipped ahead of time. Unfortunately, after opening the case, we discovered the magnetometer had been broken during shipment from Milwaukee to San Diego! The battery broke loose and spent more than 2000 miles bouncing around inside the magnetometer, breaking circuit board connections and completely bending the main gear (which is responsible for the spinning!) With the help and ingenuity of our science and ship crew, we were able to straighten the blade and mechanically fix the damage. However, it seems the damage to the electrical systems has been done and we are not prepared with the correct materials to fix it on the ship. The spinner magnetometer was going to allow me to sort the volcanic glass into “more vs. less magnetic” groups, which would speed up my sample collection process. It will just have to be completed back in the paleomganetism lab at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee!
-Terra
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Day 20
December 1, 2024
A string of high wind and relatively high seas, but otherwise beautiful sunny days, have left Alvin and Sentry high and dry. That means we have been devoting our time to collecting bathymetric data of our study site using the ship's multibeam echo-sounder and rock samples using a device not so consistently dubbed the "rock corer", "glass core", "gravity core" or "wax core". We'll be doing more of this type of sampling today so I think it is worth its own post. Stay tuned.
- Darin
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Day 21
December 2
Our night shift rock core team spent the night fending off squid flying on deck while deploying the rock corer! One flew right at MC’s head. A bunch of little krill landed on deck as well (krill fried rice, anyone?). Meg saw a big shark (The Meg, if you will). We also collected a bunch of glass samples and processed them while listening to holiday jams.
There was no Alvin dive today due to the weather, which means we collected glass throughout the day. Everyone’s been getting a lot of good practice so the time it takes to process the samples is getting faster and faster.
Hopefully the weather will be better tomorrow!
-Mike
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Day 25
December 6, 2024
How does an Alvin dive feel?
Yesterday I dove in Alvin with Julie. The sphere was extremely cozy as we explored the eastern reaches of the SEPR. As we went into the water I watched as the porthole was submerged in the ocean. Tons of tiny bubbles flew past the window like shards of broken glass. The descent was calm and dark, I couldn’t see anything outside of the portholes. It felt like we were a falling feather, lightly floating in the breeze. Once the lights were turned on I spotted my first deep ocean rocks, pillow basalts. They looked like they were squeezed out of a tube of toothpaste. I spotted tons of sea life at the bottom: purple sea cucumbers, starfish, tripod fish (my personal favorite find), white coral, and a white ribbon slug. The entire time I felt like I was getting a glimpse of another world entirely. As we ascended I waved goodbye to the world below. The lights were shut off again and we were plunged back into darkness. Once we reached the surface rays of light illuminated the water around us. As I gawked out of my porthole I caught a glimpse of a white tipped shark. I later found out that there were three curious sharks that were checking out what was going on. Waiting at the surface was nauseating, since the waves were tossing us around like salad. It was sweet relief when we were docked back on the boat and could get the 14 rock samples we collected into the lab.
-Jess
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Day 26: Rock Core Galore
December 7, 2024
We continue to battle high winds and tall waves aboard the Atlantis. While the poor weather means no Alvin or Sentry dives, it can’t stop the rock core! Our rock corer has been dubbed “Yosemite Smash”, because it does just that--Smash. The rock core is essentially a big metal weight with 15 cups of wax attached by set screws. It gets lowered down on the ship’s winch at ~40 meters per minute until it hits the seafloor, breaking any glassy rocks that it hits. The glass gets stuck to the wax and we reel it back to the surface. It’s that simple. “Yosemite Smash” has been a real winner this trip. Remember folks, don’t leave home without your trusty rock corer.
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Day 24 (backlog post): Alvin dive & shaved head!
December 5, 2024
My Alvin Dive! I completed my first Alvin dive to the seafloor of the Southern East Pacific Rise! It was crazy to experience seeing all the pillow lavas, hummocky sheet flows, and lobate lava flows! We got a lot of good rock samples with plenty of glass for our research! Even though I was down there for geology, I think my favorite part was seeing all the marine life (including an octopus!) The weather has been pretty bad this week, but I would love to go again if we have extra available dives! -Terra Shaving my head! After my Alvin dive, I decided to shave my head to mark the accomplishment. I thought it would be fun to start with the classic friar haircut (shaved on top only) and then work through a bunch of other crazy haircuts before ending in the shaved head. It was an amazing time and my Alvin pilot, Kaitlyn, did a great job!
Terra :)
See photo gallery for additional photos :)
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Alvin and sharks in the water!
December 11, 2024
SHARKS IN THE WATER!!! Alvin is back in the water! Today Anna and Jyun-Nai got to dive after 5 long awaited days. While recovering the sub, two sharks followed the swimmers helping recovery, and they had to carry boat hooks to defend themselves! They are basically also on shark jousting duty. Tonight is the last night of the second round of shifts, and tomorrow we change again! After being on the rock coring night shift (12:30-6:30am) this whole time (Shout out Team Midnight Marauders and Team Rockbots!), I’m excited to have some day shifts. Since Sentry has been able to map in the water the past couple of nights, the night shift has been more relaxing, and we have had a lot of bridge visits with Heather and Chaz! The night shifts have been so much fun though! It is the best time for seeing wildlife, gorgeous sunrises and sunsets, and on clear nights, the stars and even the Milky Way band. I will miss laying on the bow at 0300 counting shooting stars and wishing on them for good weather days.
Go night ops!!!
-MC
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a food post
One of the most important things at sea is mealtime. It’s not unfair to say that everything on the ship revolves around it. So, for all those interested in this important event that happens three times a day, keep reading. We have three excellent people (steward Brian, cook Ashley, and mess attendant Vong) who keep the kitchen rolling every day. Breakfast starts at 7AM and always includes a hot and cold buffet. Every day the cold buffet has a big selection of fruits (melons, berries, starfruit, grapes), yogurt, and granola. On the hot side, pick your favorite between pancakes, French toast, bacon, eggs, sausages, potatoes, oatmeal and the day’s specialty, which can be anything from avocado toast to cheesy potato pancakes. Lunch rolls around at 11:15AM and is different every day. You can always count on at least four different things to choose from. Some favorites have been Taco Tuesdays, mediterranean bowls, burger day, and fish n’ chips. And there’s always a salad bar--it’s amazing how long they can make the lettuce and fresh veggies last! Don’t forget to come up to the galley at 3PM for Cheese O’Clock to enjoy a nice charcuterie board of various meats and cheeses. Sometimes it’s smoothies, nachos, or hummus instead. If you aren’t full by then, just wait two hours until 5:15PM when dinner is served. Dinner always includes both a Surf and a Turf, as well as various veggies & sides and, most days, fresh bread. It’s a bit fancier than lunch and some favorites so far have been pistachio-crusted salmon, seared ahi tuna, cassoulet, flank-steak Saturdays, Irish stew, and ramen. Top off dinner with some of Ashley’s delicious chewy toffee cookies or Brian’s peach cobbler. Safe to say, we are eating well on Atlantis. Thank you Ashley, Brian, and Vong!