Posts by Hannah Piecuch
Scientists using HOV Alvin aboard R/V Atlantis discover pristine deep-sea coral reefs in the Galápagos Marine Reserve
Scientists have discovered extensive, ancient deep-sea coral reefs within the Galápagos Marine Reserve (GMR)—the first of their kind ever to be documented inside the marine protected area (MPA) since it was established in 1998. The reef, found at 400-600 meters (1,310-1,970 feet) depth at the summit of a previously unmapped seamount in the central part of the archipelago, supports a breathtaking mix of deep marine life.
Read MoreOregon Public Broadcasting: Deep-sea volcano off the Oregon Coast helps scientists forecast eruptions
Oregon Public Broadcasting Reporter Jes Burns on takes a deep dive into monitoring volcanic activity at Axial Seamount—using ROV Jason—and developing future volcanic predictions. Read the whole story here and don’t miss the video version (or its original sea chanty).
Read MoreTwo new Alvin pilots
Rick Sanger (#44) and Nick O’Sadcia (#45) are the newest Alvin pilots, making them qualified to pilot the sub on science expeditions in the deep sea. Rick Sanger is one of Alvin’s newest Navy-certified pilots. Photo by the Alvin Team, © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Rick Sanger is a research engineer at WHOI and has…
Read MoreNDSF user spotlight: Roxanne Beinart on microbes and deep sea science
Roxanne Beinart, photo by Alex Deciccio. Roxanne Beinart is a professor of biological oceanography at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography. She’s been using NDSF vehicles since early in graduate school and is a member of the Deep Submergence Science Committee (DeSSC). We sat down with Beinart to hear about how all…
Read MoreIncreased bandwidth on UNOLS fleet
Aerial view of R/V Atlantis and R/V Neil Armstrong at sea together. Photo by Kent Sheasley © Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Both R/V Neil Armstrong and R/V Atlantis will have expanded bandwidth at sea for the rest of 2023. The faster upload and download speeds are part of a fleetwide trial, funded by the Office…
Read MoreDiving into ocean data: Meet the NDSF data team
The National Deep Submergence Facility—home to Alvin, Jason, and Sentry—is more than just an innovator and operator of underwater vehicles. It also manages data collected by those vehicles. And that adds up to a lot of data.
Read MoreGoing with the flow
Science at sea—part two In the spirit of adjustment, I asked scientists on the expedition how their goals and approaches have evolved since we’ve been underway. Here is a sampler of what they said: Isaac Keohane (University of South Carolina) brought two computers and an external hard drive on the expedition for redundancy. As luck…
Read MoreThe importance of having a plan B (and C, D, E, and F)
While power outages aren’t excessively common on research cruises, this event does encapsulate the nature of conducting science at sea: anything that can go wrong might go wrong at any given moment and—as happened today—without any prior warning. Chief Scientist Chris German’s mantra is to treat every day at sea like it may be your last day for conducting science, which is why he always has a plan B (and a plan C, D, E, and F if it comes to it).
Read MoreAlvin Program and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution honored with IEEE Milestone for Technical Innovation and Excellence
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) has been recognized by IEEE, the world’s largest technical professional organization advancing technology, through its Milestone program for the long-running success of its human-occupied submersible Alvin. Read the press release here.
Read MoreCNN: Humans can dive deeper into the world’s oceans than ever before with Alvin
WHOI scientists talk with CNN about what the sub’s latest upgrade means for deep-sea science. Read the whole story.
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