From February 5-9, 2020, Professor Shana Goffredi wasÌýchief scientist forÌýa research cruise aboard the R/V Western FlyerÌýtoÌýexplore the fascinating undersea world off the Southern California coast, from San Diego to Santa Monica.
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The researchers onboard (a team of animal biologists,
Tune in for our daily blogs as we visit the following sites:
- - This site was discovered in 2012 only 30 miles offshore by graduate students from Scripps Institution of Oceanography on a cruise aboard the R/V Melville. This seep hosts a variety of fascinating marine life, including colorful bacterial mats, clam and tubeworm aggregations, and large carbonate outcrops.
- – This area is the site of 3 of our specific seafloor targets, large mounds with active venting of methane gas, and an ancient fossil seep that was extensively mapped in 2010 by scientists at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
- Rosebud – In 2011, scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography sank a 20-m long fin whale that had washed ashore after it died from a ship strike. Since then, the ecosystem at Rosebud has been thriving, and includes numerous worms and snails that are found nowhere else on Earth.
Ship and Submersible
We’ll be aboard the RV Western Flyer, owned and operated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute. The Western Flyer is a 117-foot oceanographic research vessel designed specifically for deploying, operating, and recovering tethered submersibles. In order to visualize and sample the seafloor, we’ll be using the 10,000 lb remotely-operated submersible ROV Doc Ricketts, built in 2009.Ìý
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