Follow along as participants in the cruise provide updates and reflections on their experiences, the science, the technology, and other elements of the expedition.
September 13, 2013 | By M. Dennis Hanisak
Our Coral Ecosystem Connectivity 2013 cruise involved a team of 22 scientists and divers working on two ships, the R/V F.G. Walton Smith and the M/V Spree, to accomplish all of our mission objectives.
Read moreAugust 26, 2013 | By M. Dennis Hanisak
A major task of our cruise is to characterize benthic habitat at Pulley Ridge and the Tortugas area by conducting video and still image transects with a remotely operated vehicle.
Read moreAugust 25, 2013 | By M. Dennis Hanisak
One of the tools we have on the R/V Walton Smith for this cruise has the intriguing name of MOCNESS, possibly a play on Loch Ness, and its mythical monster. MOCNESS is the acronym for Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System.
Read moreAugust 22, 2013 | By M. Dennis Hanisak
Mesophotic reefs are deeper reef systems (to 150 meters in the clear waters of the subtropics and tropics) that still receive enough light for photosynthesis, the process that drives nearly all ecosystems in the world.
Read moreAugust 21, 2013 | By Robert Cowen, Ph.D.
Population connectivity refers to the exchange of individuals from one population or sub-population to another.
Read moreAugust 20, 2013 | By Chris Malinowski
Yesterday, the start of our daily operations coincided with the first of several gnarly squalls to pass through our area. Undeterred, the team accomplished the usual day’s objectives.
Read moreAugust 19, 2013 | By Brian Cousin
Yesterday, the start of our daily operations coincided with the first of several gnarly squalls to pass through our area. Undeterred, the team accomplished the usual day’s objectives.
Read moreAugust 18, 2013 | By Rick Riera-Gomez
The dive profiles we are planning during this cruise will be similar to what we conducted last year. Most of the dives we did were in the 75m (225 fsw) depth range for about 20 minutes.
Read moreAugust 17, 2013 | By Cedric Guigand
Yesterday, for the third night, FAU Harbor Branch’s Brian Cousin and I set our light traps right before sunset.
Read moreAugust 16, 2013 | By Felicia Coleman and Chris Malinowski
We arrived at Pulley Ridge on August 14 around 1600, having eaten and slept our way across 350 miles of water.
Read moreAugust 14, 2013 | By Felicia Coleman, Ph.D.
Hello from the southern tip of Pulley Ridge, a 100+ km-long series of north-south trending drowned barrier islands on the southwest Florida Shelf.
Read moreAugust 13, 2013 | By Brian Cousin
The R/V F.G. Walton Smith is ready to get underway for the Coral Ecosystem Connectivity expedition.
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