Author: Mike Vardaro

19&20 August 2023 Last night, a few of the students and my professor, Dax Soule, all got together in the ship’s media

July 31, 2023

21 August 2023 I woke up this morning to surprisingly calm waves – or at least it seemed that way to me

July 31, 2023

21 August 2023 My time aboard the Thompson did not go exactly as I anticipated, but as everyone around me kept saying,

July 31, 2023

17 August 2023: Processing Samples The Thompson is one of a fleet of four research vessels, which are owned by the US

July 31, 2023

Velella velella (aka By-the-Wind Sailor) These bright blue, free-floating hydrozoans can be found in the open ocean in most warm and temperate

July 18, 2023

Sunflower Sea Star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) This sea star, found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, is one of the largest sea stars in

July 18, 2023

Morning Sun Star (Solaster dawsoni) These sea stars are found on either side of the North Pacific, usually in rocky habitats but

June 1, 2023

Rockfish (Sebastes sp.) These orange or red rockfish are a common sight at Southern Hydrate Ridge (~780 meters water depth), often resting

May 26, 2023

Ocean Sunfish (Mola Mola) The largest bony fish in the world (and one of the strangest) is often seen near the surface

May 26, 2023

Salps (unidentified species) Salps are planktonic tunicates, and are in Phylum Chordata along with fish and all vertebrate animals! They move by

May 19, 2023