Author: Tim Crone

A Video Camera on the Bottom of the Ocean

Here is a video montage showing highlights of the seafloor deployment of the VentCam (created by Carl Robinson): You can read more about this project here, and more on the deployment of this particular instrument here.
The Transit Home

We are in the midst of a four-day transit from our study site on the East Pacific Rise to the Atlantis’ next port of call in Costa Rica. All of the scientists aboard will depart for home from there, while many of the crew will stay on for another leg of the cruise. The transit…
Christmas at Sea

As you know yesterday was Christmas, and things are just a little bit different on such a holiday aboard a research vessel. Although the sub was in the water, many of the crew had the day off. As far as I can tell, most of them work around the clock, so such a rest was…
But Time Will Not

Not everything on a research vessel always goes according to plan. Today we awoke to find out that during the night the primary CTD winch failed, leaving about 2000 meters of cable and a large instrument package over the side. Alvin cannot dive when we have a wire in the water, so this situation is…
A Light in the Darkness

After a search during dive 4576, Scott finally found a suitable site for the VentCam deployment, and later that evening we launched the system overboard for its first trip to the seafloor. The next day, with the help of pilot Bruce Strickrott and pilot-in-training Anton Zafereo, we dove in Alvin to recover the device and…
And the Work Begins

Monika Bright of the University of Vienna had the first dive of the expedition yesterday and brought back with her all sorts of squishies both tiny and small from sites of diffuse venting around the high-temperature hydrothermal vents far below the ship. Being that I am a geophysicist, I don’t fully understand all the biological-type…
Gumby Suits

The first day of any UNOLS cruise is filled with myriad meetings, briefings, and safety courses. All new crew members and scientists are provided a comprehensive orientation to introduce them to many of the ships operations, safety equipment, and procedures. Among other things, we learn about separating our plastics from the biodegradable trash, what kind…
Journey to the EPR

Yesterday we set sail from Manzanillo, Mexico, bound for a hydrothermal vent system on the East Pacific Rise (EPR) near 10 degrees North. The EPR is part of the world’s mid-ocean ridge system where new crust is formed as Earth’s plates spread apart. Many of the most exciting Earth processes occur at mid-ocean ridges, including…

A Video Camera on the Bottom of the Ocean

Here is a video montage showing highlights of the seafloor deployment of the VentCam (created by Carl Robinson): You can read more about this project here, and more on the deployment of this particular instrument here.
The Transit Home

We are in the midst of a four-day transit from our study site on the East Pacific Rise to the Atlantis’ next port of call in Costa Rica. All of the scientists aboard will depart for home from there, while many of the crew will stay on for another leg of the cruise. The transit…
Christmas at Sea

As you know yesterday was Christmas, and things are just a little bit different on such a holiday aboard a research vessel. Although the sub was in the water, many of the crew had the day off. As far as I can tell, most of them work around the clock, so such a rest was…
But Time Will Not

Not everything on a research vessel always goes according to plan. Today we awoke to find out that during the night the primary CTD winch failed, leaving about 2000 meters of cable and a large instrument package over the side. Alvin cannot dive when we have a wire in the water, so this situation is…
A Light in the Darkness

After a search during dive 4576, Scott finally found a suitable site for the VentCam deployment, and later that evening we launched the system overboard for its first trip to the seafloor. The next day, with the help of pilot Bruce Strickrott and pilot-in-training Anton Zafereo, we dove in Alvin to recover the device and…
And the Work Begins

Monika Bright of the University of Vienna had the first dive of the expedition yesterday and brought back with her all sorts of squishies both tiny and small from sites of diffuse venting around the high-temperature hydrothermal vents far below the ship. Being that I am a geophysicist, I don’t fully understand all the biological-type…
Gumby Suits

The first day of any UNOLS cruise is filled with myriad meetings, briefings, and safety courses. All new crew members and scientists are provided a comprehensive orientation to introduce them to many of the ships operations, safety equipment, and procedures. Among other things, we learn about separating our plastics from the biodegradable trash, what kind…
Journey to the EPR

Yesterday we set sail from Manzanillo, Mexico, bound for a hydrothermal vent system on the East Pacific Rise (EPR) near 10 degrees North. The EPR is part of the world’s mid-ocean ridge system where new crust is formed as Earth’s plates spread apart. Many of the most exciting Earth processes occur at mid-ocean ridges, including…