R/V Atlantis Research Cruise Participant

From December 2006 to January 2007, I joined researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution aboard the R/V Atlantis to explore hydrothermal vent communities along the East Pacific Rise of the mid-oceanic ridge system. With the use of the submersible "Alvin", we investigated larval settlement by deploying and recovering larval settlement plates from diffuse-flow and high-flow vents and quantifying recruit coverage on plates. During Dive #4286, I assisted with deploying and recovering settlement plates, assessing species composition at sites, and collecting HOBO temperature loggers. While onboard I also assembled, deployed and recovered planton pumps and conductivity, time and depth sensors (CTDs).

Assembling plankton pumps Retrieving a plankton pump

The morning of our Alvin Dive (#4286) Boarding the submersible

With the submersible pilot, Mark Spear Settlement plates ("sandwiches") deployed at a diffuse-flow site

A cnidarian on basalt at ~2600 meters A "black smoker" at a high-flow site