September 4th, 2024
It has been nearly one month since I left Seattle with Andrew and Mitch to drive down to Newport, OR for the mobilization of VISIONS24. This was the third time driving down to Newport for this cruise and had only previously participated in the cruise for a couple legs, so the switch to the whole thing was a big change. One of my main jobs on the cruise, besides assisting the RCA team with their research has been to be a student ambassador for the new students who are coming to sea for the first time. Seeing the amazement of the students when we leave Newport at the beginning of each leg is just amazing because it’s awesome to see students who feel the same way about the ocean as I do.
For the entirety of the cruise, I have had the 1600 – 0400 watch which is opposite the shift of Andrew and Jolee. I have done many CTDs (which for some reason mostly happen at night), taken photos, switched a countless number of storage drives, built and recovered few of our uncabled instruments with others from the RCA team and students, and have ended up in the hotseat controlling the camera for a few exploratory dives which was amazing.
I would say that the best part of cruise has got to be the rocks. Hydrothermal vents and volcanoes have a special place in my heart and whenever anything related to one comes up it gets my full attention. I had managed to miss International District Vent Field in both of my previous years I was out here so seeing it in the Jason van for the first time was fantastic. The vents Escargot and Diva which are the topic of choice for my senior thesis, were the coolest to see mainly because both are boiling at ~1500 meters depth in the ocean which just seems unreal.
As I have been spending this time out here that it would be so easy to not know that any of these amazing sites are out here. There are just so many amazing geologic structures and features that we get to see first-hand. Like last night, we even got to survey an old lava channel with many collapse zones and pillar-like arches between International District and a vent named Skadi.
A month at sea is a long time and having an opportunity to do this is more than I ever could have dreamed of. Thank you, Deb and the RCA team, for continuing to bring me along and teaching me about some of the most fascinating geology and processes occurring in the deep-sea.