The R/V Thompson has been a hive of activity the past 24 hrs with dives at the methane seeps at Southern Hydrate Ridge, the recovery of science pods on the Shallow Profilers at the Oregon Endurance Offshore site, a dive at the Shallow W
For the past two days we have been working at one of the best know methane seep sites known called ‘Southern Hydrate Ridge’. It has been studied for numerous years by geologists, chemists and biologists because it hosts extensive bac
Over the past few days, we have traversed some of the most extreme environments on Earth. Yesterday, we left Axial Seamount after finishing work at 280°C hydrothermal vents teaming with novel life. From there, ROPOS documented for t
For the past two days, ROPOS has been delivering and recovering instruments to the International District Hydrothermal vent field at Axial Seamount. Work at this site is complete, except for on instrument that may go in tomorrow.
After completing work in the ASHES hydrothermal field, the R/V Thompson transited across Axial caldera to the International District hydrothermal field. It is here that a diverse, cabled underwater laboratory is installed to monitor and
The VISIONS’15 Team onboard the R/V Thompson includes nine members of the ROV ROPOS group, and a contingent of scientists, engineers, technicians, and students that total 36. On most legs, 35 berths are full. Staffing requirements are dete
Today we had a fantastic dive in the ASHES hydrothermal vent field that hosts multiple, small metal sulfide chimneys encased in rich biological communities. The main goal of the dive was to install and recover a high definition camera at the act
Last night the team had a chance to finally get some much needed sleep during a 16 hour transit from the Slope Base site, to the base of Axial Seamount. Axial is the larg
Starting last night about midnight, our “day” became very busy with three rapid dives with the ROV ROPOS to recover and reinstall instrumented science pods on a 12 foot across, 7 ton platf
Today was a quiet day for some of the Cabled Array Team. Many of us have been working very long hours getting ready for this expedition. So, we took opportunity of the ~36 hr steam to Slope Base to catch up on some much needed sleep, being …
