http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/DISCOVRE/discovre_2010/discovre_2010-9-24-25.html

Cruise Log: 9/24-25/2010


Night watch has success with the multicore!

Amanda Demopoulos

After a few early defeats, we finally had success with the multicore at VK 882 and VK 906. We were able to collect two full sets of 8 cores at each of these sites, all from background soft-sediment areas away from the reef. Each core has a different fate. Certain cores will be used to characterize the benthic infaunal community structure and food webs. Sediments also will be analyzed for organic carbon, nitrogen, particle size, and microbial community structure to characterize the sediment environment. All of these parameters will allow us to understand the diversity and abundance of sediment fauna (aka infauna) and the environment in which they live. These data will be compared to the sediment collections near the reef to evaluate if deep-sea reefs are diversity hotspots for sediment communities. Please stay tuned for more posts as we move to our third and final site, the West Florida Slope.

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http://fl.biology.usgs.gov/DISCOVRE/discovre_2010/discovre_2010-9-26.html

Cruise Log: 9/26/2010


Dramatic at sea transfer

Amanda Demopoulos

While finishing up our final dive at VK 906, the ship's crew prepared for a critical at-sea transfer of two of the ROV personnel. Important commitments on land required that these personnel return home and be replaced by two new members of the team. At-sea transfers are carefully orchestrated maneuvers that require the complete attention of crew on both the research vessel and transporting boat. As the transport boat approached the RV Cape Hatteras, the new ROV crew had to quickly jump on the ship and transfer their personal gear without losing anything overboard. The timing of the transfer is critical because one ill timed move can result in either damage to the boat or injury to the personnel. In the end, this transfer was successful, and the new ROV members are already working hard to get ready for our final study site.