Jason returns to the Thompson with the recovered LV03A junction box from 2600 m at the base of Axial Seamount. Credit: Z. Nachod, university of Washington, V21.

The CTD/Niskin rosette being recovered after cast to 200 meters at Axial Base. Credit: Z. Nachod, University of Washington, V21

The wall of screens inside the Jason control van is where the pilot, navigator and hotseat are, while the logger and camera positions are behind them. Credit: Z. Nachod, University of Washington.

The rosette containing Niskin bottles (gray) and the CTD (underneath bottles). J. Winter- University of Washington, V21.

A Flytrap Anemone clings to the Sea Cube biological experiment that was deployed on the sea floor in 2020. Credit: J. Willson, University of Washington, V21.

These graphs show chlorophyll-a concentration over depth. The peak in the graph is an example of a thin layer—this is what we are hoping to find in our project. This figure is from a paper written by James Sullivan, Percy Donaghay, and Jan Rines titled “Coastal thin layer dynamics: Consequences to Biology and optics” published in 2009.

The logging station for controlling Jason's imaging and video system. A biological experiment (center) was recovered from Axial Base that was deployed last year. Credit: C. Fink, University of Washington, V21.

The cloudy sea off the fantail of the Thompson; this is when my fellow students went out on the aft deck around 21:00 after my shift. C. Fink, University of Washington, V21.

The station in the Jason van where I learned how to do the Jason logging tasks. Credit: C. Fink, University of Washington, V21.

A beautiful storm petrel briefly joined the ship on Leg 1 of VISIONS'21. Credit: M. Elend, University of Washington, V21.

Myriad screens in the Jason control van are used to monitor and conduct operations with the ROV at Axial Base (2600 m). Credit: A. Baker, University of Washington, V21.

The aft deck of the Thompson is lit in the early morning as the ship conducts 24 hr operations. Credit: A. Baker, University of Washington.

Axial Base V21 2020-2021 mooring

The science pod, for the Shallow Profiler Mooring at Axial Base, is latched beneath Jason for installation on the 200 m deep platform. Credit: M. Elend, University of Washington, V21.

A science pod is latched beneath Jason for deployment on the Shallow Profiler Mooring at Axial Base. Credit: M. Elend, University of Washington, V21.

The Shallow Profiler Mooring platform, hosting the instrumented Platform Interface Assembly (left) and winched science pod (right) - both have been in the water since last year. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI; V21.

Beautiful chains of salps swim around the top of the Shallow Profiler Mooring at Axial Base. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI; V21.

The ROV Jason raises the bale on the platform interface assembly for recovery. Jason will latch into the top of the bale, secured beneath its underbelly. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI; V21.

A swarm of beautiful salp aggregates swim around the Shallow Profiler Mooring at Axial Base at a water depth of ~ 600 ft. Credit: UW/NSF-OOI/WHOI; V21.

The first CTD cast goes over the side of the Thompson on Leg 1 of the RCA expedition. Credit: J. Willson, University of Washington, V21.

A look inside the Jason operation van during the first dive taken at 2147 as the vehicle worked at the Axial Base Shallow Profiler Mooring. Credit: J. Willson, University of Washington, V21.

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A beautiful sunrise greets the students onboard the R/V Thompson as she steams towards Axial Base. Credit: C. Fink, University of Washington, V21

The CTD rossette awaits its deployment into the Pacific. Credit: C. Fink, University of Washington, V21.

The inside of the wet lab on the R/V Thompson where CTD samples are brought. Credit: C. Fink, University of Washington, V21.

UW undergraduate Connor Fink, onboard the R/V Thompson as she sails out of Seattle for Leg 1 of the RCA 2021 Expedition. Credit: C. Fink, University of Washington, V21.

The first CTD cast is conducted on the R/V Thompson for the RCA 2021 expedition. Credit: A. Baker, University of Oregon, V21.