Kearstin, Malea, and Jessica peer out from behind immersion suit hoods during survival suit practice. Credit: Mitch Elend, University of Washington.

Undergraduate students from the UW School of Oceanography practice getting into emergency immersion suits during the first leg of the Cabled Array VISIONS'15 cruise. Credit: Mitch Elend, University of Washington.

Jesse Turner, UW School of Oceanography senior, prepares a zoonplankton net to sample organisms in the deep sea as part of the VISIONS15 program. Credit: Mitch Elend, University of Washington

UW undergraduate students Jessie and Diana happy to be onboard the R/V Thompson as we depart Seattle for the Ocean Observatories Initiative Cabled Array cruise 2015. Credit: Mitch Elend, University of Washington.

Under beautiful blue skies, the R/V Thompson prepares to exit the Ballard Locks to begin the Cabled Array VISIONS'15 expedition as part of NSF's Ocean Observatories Initiative. Photo Credit: D. Kelley, University of Washington.

VISIONS'15 Slide Banner Image

Joe Kalisch 

Jesse Turner 

Quae Atwood

Diana Park

Cole Rogers

Jessie Hild

Malea Saul

Erin Haphey 

Alexander Jamshedi

Erica Sampaga

Jessica Noe

Tracie Barry

Kearstin Williams

During the VISIONS'15 expedition, the R/V Thompson and the ROV ROPOS will be critical to successful deployments and testing of extension cables on the seafloor as part of  NSF's Ocean Observatories Initiative regional cabled observatory.

VISIONS'15 Slide Image

OOI Cable Array Map

The 200-meter platform instrument package is seen here. The mooring was successfully installed during VISIONS'14. Photo Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF, Dive 1797, V14.

The two-legged mooring has been successfully installed at Axial Base. The mooring includes an instrumented platform (12 feet across) at 200 m water depth, and an instrumented winched Shallow Profiler that travels from 200 m to just below the ocean's surface.     

This seafloor pressure sensor was deployed at Axial Base in 2014, and is connected to the MJ03A J-Box. Photo Credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF, Dive 1739, V14.

The Broadband Ocean Bottom Seismometer OBSBKA301 was deployed near MJ03A during Visions'14. The seismometer was placed into a caisson, then surrounded with silicone beads to solidify its position. Photo credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF; Dive R1739; V14.

The Hydrothermal Vent Fluid Resistivity and Temperature probe (TRHPHA301) was placed at the base of the vent called 'Escargot' in 2014. Photo credit: NSF-OOI/UW/CSSF; Dive R1729; V14.