The continental shelf of Tasmania is pretty steep. If you were on the bottom of the Tasman Sea, it would be like driving in a car across a desert and running into a mountain 4,000 meters high (13,000 feet). The grade up this mountain road would be about 8%, the steepest of any interstate in the U.S. The mountains that … Read More
Falkor: Beginning a Research Career
For new comers to science, it is important that they begin their journey in some particular way. Some may embark on land based science or even pure laboratory work. I have started with something way out of my comfort zone… a research cruise. If you had of told me this time last year that I would be embarking on ship-based … Read More
Falkor: The climes they are a changin’
Having collected another set of data from our familiar C2 site, we are now steaming to a location a bit south of the A1 mooring. Once there we will begin another CTD/LADCP profile until the weather chases us away again. This time a storm is coming up from the south, and so we will be running north to stay just … Read More
Falkor + Revelle: Collaborations on the waves
The Tasman Sea is not happy. For the past couple of days, waves have been crashing over the bow, and sustained winds have routinely been blowing above 35 kts. Several of us have been sick, or at best, feeling very tired. We haven’t been able to profile with the CTD/LADCP system. It has been rough. The Tasman Sea on a … Read More
Revelle: Stepping Below
The main priority of the crew on a research ship is to get everyone home intact. At sea, even simple tasks can hold hidden risks and dangers—an unexpected wave or sudden heading change when the ship turns abruptly can send a crew member skidding across the deck or overboard. Therefore the view from the bridge, or the control center of … Read More
Falkor: We’ve Got Data!
The moment that all field scientists crave has arrived – preliminary data! Team T-Beam ran two successful profiles and are hot on the trail of identifying the area of highest energy of the internal tide. Here’s an update of their progress so far. During a preliminary 30 hour period, the ship steamed back and forth across a 200km transect thought … Read More
Revelle: How did we get here?
Studying the ocean is similar, in a way, to studying the farthest reaches of outer space. Just as we don’t have a full grasp on the physical boundaries that separate deep space from whatever else may be beyond, we don’t, as of yet, have a complete topographical map of the bottom of the ocean. Since light can only penetrate the … Read More
Falkor: Waves in the sky!
Although we are furiously chasing after internal waves underneath the ocean surface in the Tasman Sea, we got a pleasant surprise the other day on a transit between stations – beautiful atmospheric “internal waves” in the sky above us! – Amy Waterhouse, Falkor The Tasman Tidal Dissipation Experiment//Supported by the National Science Foundation
Falkor: Looking into the Plastisphere
Whilst Falkor is rushing about chasing internal waves for next few weeks, this platform is also being modestly utilized to hunt down any microplastics that may cross its path. Back in my home state of Victoria, I have been collaborating with researchers Slobodanka Stojkovic and Mark Osborn from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), and citizen scientists to investigate … Read More
Revelle: The Sphere Half Full
If you haven’t gleaned this already, studying hidden processes miles below the ocean’s surface is challenging. Even worse, we’re cruising in an unpredictable region in the Tasman Sea, a spot notoriously dubbed the “Roaring Forties” due to the strong winds ripping from the west through the Southern Hemisphere between 40 and 50 degrees latitude. We’re limited to the tools we … Read More