Follow along as participants in the cruise provide updates and reflections on their experiences, the science, the technology, and other elements of the expedition.
November 3 | By Chuck Fisher, PhD
Our final dive of this expedition was an exploratory dive to an area 7 miles to the SW of the site of the Deepwater Horizon disaster and to the same depth as that site.
Read moreNovember 2 | By Ronald Brown Safety Officer
Catching a scientist for an interview simply means you must search out one of the labs. But looking for Safety Officer Bryan Begun required a different tact.
Read moreOctober 31 | By Sheli Smith, PhD
Growing up near the Pacific Ocean in Oxnard, California, Walter Cho always loved the ocean, so going into biology in college was not a big leap.
Read moreOctober 30 | By Cheryl Morrison, PhD
There are many known cases of Lophelia pertusa colonizing man-made structures, such as shipwrecks and oil rigs here and in the eastern North Atlantic Ocean.
Read moreOctober 29 | By Sheli Smith, PhD
Yesterday we prepared all day for the long dive that would allow the archaeologists, the ecologists, geneticists, and geologists to study and collect samples.
Read moreOctober 27 | By Sheli Smith, PhD
Tina Enderlein first came to my attention through emails. This incredibly organized woman kept the entire crew on track making sure we submitted myriad forms, took online courses for NOAA, and got inoculated.
Read moreOctober 26 | By Dannise V. Ruiz
Approximately 230 species of black coral (Antipatharia) are distributed from shallow (5m) to deep waters (8600 m) around the world.
Read moreOctober 25 | By Mark Schrope
Yesterday morning at 7:30 a.m. and according to schedule, the Jason ROV was looking at the last of the sediment traps the team will be collecting this trip.
Read moreOctober 24 | By Samuel E. Georgian
Greenhorn. Rookie. Novice. When it’s your first time out at sea, these are all phrases that you hear pretty often.
Read moreOctober 23 | By Ian MacDonald
Jason gives us amazing access to the deep-sea. This is my third expedition with Jason and the technology keeps getting better.
Read moreOctober 21 | By Andrea Quattrini
Octocorals in the deep sea are highly diverse, and new species are continually being collected and described with the help of deep-sea expeditions such as this one on the R/V Ron Brown.
Read moreOctober 20 | By Lara Henry
There isn’t a lot known about the basic physiology of corals, especially that of deep-sea corals. Like any other animal, corals need to breathe oxygen to survive.
Read moreOctober 19 | By Kody Kramer
This past weekend, the cruise visited a brand new, unexplored area called Green Canyon 246 (GC246).
Read moreOctober 18 | By Pen-Yuan Hsing
One objective of this cruise is to learn why we find deepwater corals where we do.
Read moreOctober 17 | By Timothy M. Shank, PhD
It was a balmy afternoon on September 3, 2009 when the crew of the NOAA Ship Ron Brown and a few of us scientists let go of a 50-foot long line, a mooring that included a 500 pound anchor, 300 pounds of positive floatation, a meter to measure current speed and direction, and a sediment trap to collect the rain of falling particles to the deep.
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