Notes from the Field

NAAMES-IV Expedition: March 25, 2018

March 27th, 2018 by Kristina Mojica

We left out of San Juan Puerto Rico and crossed the Sargasso sea and the
abysmal plain to our first station for the last NAAMES cruise. Here
the North Atlantic is our mistress and her secrets we will explore. As
ships crew we find ourselves in some of the most remote locations on this
pale blue dot and few are more remote feeling than the desolate ocean
between Newfoundland and the Azores.

A tumult of rough seas and blustery storms being blown down from the
Arctic. Here is where we will settle in for the next twelve days, here is
where the science happens.

The R/V Atlantis cruising across the North Atlantic Ocean

I am always amazed at the orchestration of these multi platform trips, as
it is beyond difficult to get every piece of gear and every person at a
start point let alone an end.

We live in close proximity for nearly thirty days at a time with a lack of
sleep and long hours but we do it together and we do it for a cause bigger
than our creature comforts. A fact that helps me sleep well at night.
NAAAMES is personally one of my favorite trips and it isn’t for the cold
winds or the confused seas, it is for the crew of people, determined to do
something amazing, coming together as a family. It is my fourth trip out
here and I can safely say that they are in fact family now and could even
pass as ships crew themselves.

Derek Coffman (in front) and other members of the NAAMES scientific crew on the bow of the R/V Atlantis.

Written by Ronnie Whims

NAAMES-IV Expedition: March 24, 2018

March 26th, 2018 by Kristina Mojica

A seabird catching a ride on the R/V Atlantis as it moves north.

Like this young pelagic seabird (let’s call it a juvenile gannet) soon to spend its life at sea, taking a short respite on a chance encounter, I find myself fortunate to have found the research vessel Atlantis (as part of the NAAMES IV campaign). We are still on our trek north to our first station, and as a newcomer to Craig Carlson’s lab I have been learning the various techniques his lab uses to constrain DOM cycling in the surface ocean. My training began by twice daily measuring the incorporation rate of tritiated leucine into heterotrophic bacteria (i.e., bacteria production rate). We are measuring the incorporation rate of tritiated leucine as a proxy for the uptake rate of organic carbon, as dissolved molecules, by heterotrophic bacteria.

Because tritiated leucine is a radioactive compound I have do this work in, essentially, an outfitted shipping container, called the “Rad Van”. No it’s not the “totally rad, man” kind of Rad, but the Rad-ioactive kind of Rad is pretty awesome because it is used to tell us something about the environment. The processing time of surface samples has been fast so far, something like 10-15min twice per day, but we will soon begin full casts to 1,500m twice per day, requiring most of the day to work through what we collect.  Reflecting back on life in the Rad Van these last few days, it’s not so bad tucked away in there; it’s isolated and so can be quiet and at times lonely but to know that the isotopes will remain confined to that space is reassuring. As far as changes in bacteria production during this cruise, we expect rates to be high at the surface ocean decreasing with depth and increasing as we work northward into the more productive spring bloom of the North Atlantic. The idea is that the regions of the ocean with higher bacteria production rates are associated with greater organic matter sources on which they had adapted to grow at faster rates.

View of the North Atlantic from the deck of the R/V Atlantis

Though both this work and the NAAMES group are new to me, I am enjoying the work and eager to start looking at data. Many of the PI’s, including the Carlson lab, will participate in subsequently NASA supported cruises as part of the EXPORTS program. And I look forward to continuing this work on as a participant in that program. So perhaps once the trip on the Atlantis has provided its brief oasis, as it has for the juvenile gannet’s migration, I will be ready for the next leg of the journey as part of the Carlson lab.

Written by Brandon Stephens

NAAMES-IV Expedition: March 23, 2018

March 26th, 2018 by Kristina Mojica

Settling in 

It is day four aboard the R/V Atlantis where scientists (and wildlife) alike are beginning to settle into our expedition through the vast North Atlantic. Everyone seems to be adjusting to ship life and finding a routine. It didn’t take too long for me to accept this as my new life for 26 days. It is easy to forget about the rest of the world while at sea. Out here, it is just you and your work, the others on the ship, the sea, and a few seabirds.

Even the phytoplankton have been seemingly absent as we sail through the clear, sapphire water of the Sargasso Sea. This isn’t too surprising because this area of the ocean is generally nutrient-limited, so many of the larger phytoplankton groups we are interested in are not able to grow well in this region, resulting in very clear, deep blue water. This should provide an interesting comparison as we continue northward towards more productive waters.

Under the warm, sunny skies of the past few days, the water has been very inviting, like a siren it beckons us to jump in for a swim; but of course doing a swan dive off the ship would be a terrible idea. Although we are busy with sampling and measurements, we take every chance we get to soak up the warm sunshine on deck because it probably won’t last much longer. On the outside decks, our stowaway wildlife celebrity, Herbert (named by Nick H.), the Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) has been with us since Puerto Rico. Herbert can be found resting on the upper decks of the ship or flying along side the ship catching flying fish, and loves to pose for photos.

The stowaway wildlife celebrity, Herbert (named by Nick H.), a Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) that has on board the R/V Atlantis since it left Puerto Rico.

Aside from a quick two night trip on the R/V Atlantic Explorer a couple of years ago, this is my first long research cruise. Some of my friends have been on previous NAAMES cruises and have come back with fantastic stories of their experiences, so when I was asked to join, I was extremely excited to participate. I am also very thankful to both Chief Scientist Mike Behrenfeld and my professor, Kim Halsey, for inviting me to be a part of the NAAMES expedition, it has been, and will continue to be the experience of a lifetime. Being surrounded by other scientists who have similar research interests has been the best part. So far, I’ve really enjoyed getting to know all of the wonderful people that are a part of this team. From interesting conversations in the lab, to socializing during the sunset sing-alongs on the bow of the ship, and of course, doing work that I am passionate about, this has been an amazing adventure so far.

Another beautiful sunset aboard the R/V Atlantis

Written by Eric Moore

 

NAAMES-IV Expedition: March 22, 2018

March 26th, 2018 by Kristina Mojica

Rookies at sea

Laura and I come from different geographical backgrounds. I grew up in the hot Mediterranean climate and Laura experienced the rainy climate of northern France. For our next adventure, we were both called to sea for the same purpose: Science. We are not talking about your average kind of research, but what we believe is the most exciting kind: studying ocean-atmosphere coupling onboard of a fully equipped oceanography research vessel: The R/V Atlantis. For us, this is reminiscent of the famous sea explorer and scientist, Jean Jacques Cousteau. To celebrate the end of our gruesome PhDs, we are going to spend the next twenty-five days in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean (aka, in the middle of nowhere) with land nowhere in sight. What a thrilling start of our scientific careers!

As we are writing this blog, our ship is steadily heading at twelves knots over calm and rough waters to reach the northern Atlantic Ocean. It is there that a beautiful annual phytoplankton bloom is starting. In a restricted environment, one would think that this adventure could be overwhelming and overcrowded. But veterans’ tips, everybody’s involvement and their welcoming attitude led to a smooth transition from land to sea. It is also impressive to watch all members follow their daily patterns which look like a beautifully orchestrated dance amid chaotic waves and winds.

As newbies to the sea, we discovered that the periodic rocking of the ship leads to a state of comatose, distracting us from our true purpose; to report hourly that all instruments are working. Luckily, great company (and a few role playing games), (amazing) food, and strong coffee kept us, so far, “sane”.

During the transit there is a little time for some fun role playing games. Her murder on the R/V Atlantis: (top) Georges hangs while Laura casually reads “Generation Kill”. (bottom) a few moments later, Laura faces the same fate.

The atmosphere-ocean boundary looks infinite from our vantage point and one might mistake it for simple. Yet the biology that lays beneath the water could affect the physical and chemical properties of tiny particles, created by the breaking of waves, that are lofted into the atmosphere. These particles are too small to be seen by the naked eye but play an important (yet uncertain) role on our climate; aerosols are the seeds on which clouds form. It’s not every day that an expedition of such magnitude happens, but when it did, we were not afraid to get wet.

Written by Georges Saliba and Laura-Helena Rivellini

Goodbye Pyeongchang

March 26th, 2018 by Ivan Arias

Leaving Pyeongchang from Gangneung Station. Photo by Ivan Arias.

The winter Paralympic games ended last Sunday, March 18, and also with it the observation period of ICE-POP officially ended. It is with mixed feelings that we are leaving Pyeongchang. On one hand, the ICE-POP team was happy that the objectives of the campaign were successfully accomplished and many of them were also excited to come back home after working intensively in the field. On the other hand, people were saddened because this once-in-a-lifetime period is over. We got to experience the Olympic spirit, Korean culture, an astonishing landscape, and delicious food.

We were also happy to head home with good snow events under our belt. Many good cases occurred in between the Olympics and Paralympics and during Paralympics itself. On February 28 we had one of the most interesting cases of the campaign. Daegwallyeong Valley received more than 60 centimeters of snow and more than a meter uphill. The picture below shows our crew trying to access the site after this storm.

Daegwallyeong site after snow storm. Photo by Ivan Arias.

This case stands out not only for the amount of snow that fell, but also for the good transition between different precipitation phases. The following plots show the reflectivity for the Ku and Ka bands of the D3R NASA Radar:

D3R PPI Reflectivity image at Ku frequency band.

D3R PPI Reflectivity image at Ka frequency band.

In addition to February 28, good precipitation cases also occurred on March 4, March 7, and March 15. The D3R was switched to profiling mode and it will remain in Pyeongchang until the middle of May. Now that the observation period is over, it is time to analyze the data and research ways to improve our understanding of precipitation in complex terrains. We definitely will miss Korea.