Easter Microplate Expedition, March 12 - April 6, 2005
Click on any name to read an interview from the scientists. Please visit the ship's crew page to meet the Atlantis crew, Alvin pilots and The Shipboard Science Services Group
Robert Vrijenhoek, Cindy Lee Van Dover, Victor Campos Araneda, Caren Braby, Katharine Coykendall, Megan Evans, Shana Goffredi, Ana Hilario, Karen Jacobsen, Shannon Johnson, Joe Jones, Daniel Layton-Matthews, Vicki Orphan, Jenny Paduan, Greg Rouse, Michel Segonzac, Nicole Stroncik, Jessica Wallace, Nerida Wilson, Robbie Young
Robert
Vrijenhoek, Ph.D. top of page
MBARI Senior Scientist
/staff/vrijen/
What is your role on this cruise?
Chief scientist and Principal Investigator of NSF-funded research
program.
What are your primary goals?
Our immediate goal is to obtain biological samples from a series of hydrothermal
vents between 23° and 38° south latitude along the East Pacific Rise and the
Pacific-Antarctic Ridge. Our main concern is to determine whether topographical
features, such as the Easter and Juan Fernandez Microplates, create isolating
barriers for along-axis dispersal of vent-endemic organisms.
What do you expect to find?
Back at MBARI, we will examine DNA sequences from the animals collected
during this expedition and use the genetic data to investigate patterns and
rates of dispersal (gene flow) among these vent localities. In addition, we
expect to find some species that are new to science. Such discoveries occur
just about every time we explore a new deep-sea region. Taxonomic experts
collaborate with us to identify the organisms and publish formal descriptions
of the new species.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
The few weeks before an expedition are always hectic with all the worries
about your equipment and scientists getting to the ship on time. It's not
much fun to travel much anymore with all the concerns about security. Nevertheless,
the opportunity to visit new places and see new things outweighs the inconvenience
and keeps me going. The cruises themselves are enjoyable once you leave the
dock. I enjoy most the interactions with a diverse group of scientists. Frankly,
most of the chemistry, geology, microbiology, and oceanography I have learned
was acquired at sea with the help and patience of my scientific colleagues
and collaborators.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
My title at MBARI is Senior Scientist. I became a scientist because its
like living in Neverland. Creative scientists don't have to grow up. They
find rewards in looking at the world with a child-like wonder, asking endless
questions about how things work, how things came to be, why things work one
way rather than some other way, and not being easily satisfied with answers
found in the textbooks. So, we find our own answers by designing experiments
and conducting investigations like this expedition. I always wanted to be
a biologist. Several of my college professors recognized my boundless curiosity,
so they encouraged me to go to graduate school and earn a Ph.D. Its a decision
I have never regretted. I might look a little old and grey-haired, but inside
I am still a 9-year old boy who likes to play in puddles.
Any other comments/thoughts for those reading about you?
I don't want to leave the impression that being a scientist is easy,
nothing but fun and games. Getting the education that allows us to function
as research scientists requires many years of hard work, including college
and graduate degrees that must be earned. Sometimes, our best efforts result
in failed experiments. But we learn from the mistakes. Also, succeeding as
a scientist requires a bit of good fortune. Occasionally good new opportunities
pass your way, but just being lucky is not enough. Being armed with a broad
education, the right set of questions, and proper tools allows a scientist
to exploit those opportunities in creative ways.
Cindy
Lee Van Dover, Ph.D. top of page
Majorie S. Curtis Associate Professor, Biology Department, The College
of William & Mary
What is your role on this cruise?
Principal Investigator of an NSF-funded research program
What are your primary goals?
My team is engaged in a comparative study of community structure of invertebrates
(small polychaetes, gastropods, and crustaceans) that live within mussel beds.
We will collect quantitative samples of this community from the mussel beds
at 38°S, and compare this community with what we have already documented for
mussel beds to the north, at 17S, 9N, and 11N on the East Pacific Rise. This
work complements that of Bob Vrijenhoek's team, whose molecular studies are
restricted to a few species. Bob gets a much more detailed look at what individual
species are doing at a genetic level, while we provide an overview of how
the entire community (dozens of species) changes along the ridge axis and
across potential barriers or filters to species' dispersal.
What do you expect to find?
Our primary study site is at 38S. Until this dive series, the furthest
south anyone has sampled is 32S, where there were indications that the faunal
assemblage was shifting from one resembling communities at 17S and to the
north on the East Pacific Rise, to an assemblage that begins to pick up species
we had previously thought were only in the western Pacific. The extra 6 degrees
of latitude and the presence of the Juan Fernandez Microplate between 32S
and 38S may mean that we will see even more of a "western Pacific" trend in
the species that make up the faunal lists from the mussel beds. We will have
the chance to test this hypothesis when we return to sea on a second cruise,
together with the Vrijenhoek group, to sample mussel beds at hydrothermal
vents of two western Pacific back arc basins (Lau and Fiji). Because we are
diving in an extremely remote location where no one has ever sampled before,
we have the chance of finding organisms that belong to groups of animals never
before seen at vents, so there is an element of exploration and discovery
in our work that gives this cruise an added spice.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
I never like that first day at sea―I get seasick!
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
I am a college professor. The academic world of teaching and research
is a dynamic and exciting one. Each day brings a new challenge, each day brings
a new reward. I am never bored, I interact with wonderful colleagues, I have
a chance to learn new things about the world and to help others to learn.
I took a non-traditional route to becoming a college professor, but the basic education requirements are the same for us all - high school, college, graduate school, post-doc. I was a college drop-out; I worked as a technician for several years before finally going to graduate school, my post-doc was as a technician and pilot with the Alvin group, I spent a wonderful year as a visiting scholar at Duke University before getting a "real" job in Alaska as a program manager of a NOAA-sponsored program that funded deep-sea research. Finally, in 1998, I was offered and accepted a position as assistant professor at The College of William & Mary. After my 5th year here, I was awarded tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor.
Any other comments/thoughts for those reading about you?
There is so much of the deep ocean that is unexplored and unknown. Our
ignorance of processes in the deep sea is so profound that generations of
scientists will be working to understand all that goes on there. I hope that
the human impact on our planet does not force these generations to come to
race to understand the deep ocean as it undergoes irreversible changes that
will dramatically alter the climate of our planet.
Victor
Campos Araneda, M.Sc.
Molecular Microbiologist, Universidad de Concepcion
http://www.udec.cl, http://www.Copas.cl
What is your role on the cruise?
Chilean observer
What are your primary goals?
Learn new sampling techniques and new lines of investigation.
What do you expect to find?
The hydrothermal vents are well known for extremes in geochemical conditions,
as well for the exotic life they support. Within such context, I hope to determine
the composition of the bacterial community, examine the spatial heterogeneity
of bacterial population, use molecular techniques and describe their roles
in the system.
What is your favorite part of a research cruise?
The science meetings, since we learn about others’ new investigations.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become
one? And how did you become one?
Professor of Microbiology at the Universidad de Concepcion, studying the distribution
and composition of bacterial communities in hydrothermal vents. The hydrothermal
vent organisms are living in an unexpected deep-sea environment, several thousand
meters below the sea surface, where the earth´s crustal plates are unusually
hot and contain high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide. This environment
may be considered extreme given the pressure, the high temperature and chemical
toxicity. The fauna of the hydrothermal vent communities use an unexpected
mode of animal nutrition in which chemoautotrophic bacteria symbionts are
maintained within specialized cells of the host animal. This discovery motivates
the following questions: what is the composition the bacterial community in
this extreme system and what is the relationship between changes in physicochemical
parameters and bacterial population distribution? I plan to use molecular
techniques to study these questions.
Caren
Braby, Ph.D. top of page
MBARI Postdoctoral fellow
What is your role on this cruise?
As part of the Vrijenhoek lab, my primary role will be to help collect
animals for later genetic analysis in our lab at MBARI. This will mean hours
of time in the ship's laboratories sorting and identifying animals, before
preparing them for transport back to the United States. As with any research
cruise, I will spend time in the lab working on our own projects, as well
as assisting our colleagues who need an extra hand.
What are your primary goals?
My goal is to learn more about the genetic structure of hydrothermal vent
animals along the Eastern Pacific Rise and around the Easter Island Microplate.
Just like animals you would find in the rocky intertidal (like mussels, barnacles
and sea stars), hydrothermal vent animals usually have large adult forms and
microscopic larval forms, which can be carried by deep-sea currents. We would
like to know whether the geologic structure of deep-sea mountain ranges hinder
the movement of larvae by directing the flow of these currents away from suitable
habitat. We can determine this by comparing the DNA of the adults from various
locations.
What do you expect to find?
From the time I started my marine biology education, I have been fascinated
with the mysterious hydrothermal vent ecosystem. I expect to find an array
of animals that can easily be seen from the submarine, including giant
Riftia tube worms, mussels, crabs, and fish. I also expect to find an
astonishing number of species that can not be seen from the sub, especially
polychaete worms that live in association with the larger animals. The most
exciting part is that we will surely find things that we could have never
expected!
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
Research cruises are intense experiences. There is a tremendous amount
of work and there is often little time for rest. However, there is so much
to learn from the animals themselves and from the other scientists that the
time flies by. This is my favorite part of cruises. My least favorite part
is that I leave my family and my most cherished neighbors behind for over
a month.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
I am a Postdoctoral Fellow at MBARI. Even as a little girl, growing up
in coastal California, I always had more fun exploring tidepools than doing
just about anything else. What did I want to be when I grew up? A marine biologist!
I earned my M.S. at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories studying deep-sea cephalopods
and Ph.D. degree at Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station studying
the ecological physiology of marine invasive species. I am now developing
molecular techniques to identify larvae in plankton samples so that we can
better understand larval dispersal in both the surface and deep oceans.
Katherine
Coykendall
Graduate Research Assistant, MBARI
What is your role on this cruise?
I will be helping to sort and dissect animals as they are brought on board
from the Alvin.
What are your primary goals?
My goals are to 1) not get seasick 2) increase my sparse knowledge
of deep sea fauna and geology.
What do you expect to find?
I don't necessarily expect to find anything in particular. I hope to see a
wide variety of critters throughout the dive sites so I can become familiar
with the ecosystem.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
Favorite: lots of good food, extensive library on board, being surrounded
by many different kinds of experts. Least favorite: wondering if I'm going
to get seasick.
What is your job title?
Graduate research assistant. My undergraduate major was marine science, my
graduate work is in genetics. Why did you decide to become one? And how did
you become one? I've wanted to be a marine biologist since the 3rd grade.
I enjoy math and puzzles so genetics seemed a logical choice. I picked a college
with a good marine science program and I volunteered early and often in labs
to find out what I wanted. Researchers LOVE volunteers!
Megan
Evans top of page
Undergraduate Student at the College of William & Mary
What is your role on this cruise?
I will be assisting Cindy Van Dover and Michel Segonzac with sorting
samples collected from mussel beds and helping in any other way I can.
What are your primary goals?
To see how mussel bed diversity differs in relation to the Easter Microplate
and to get my first glimpse of a hydrothermal vent in person. My current research
involves looking at Blake Ridge mussels under TEM so I hope to preserve mussels
from the Pacific for future comparison.
What do you expect to find?
We expect to find differences in the community structure of mussel beds
above and below the Easter Microplate.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
I don’t know yet—this is my first one! I’m most looking forward to seeing
the ocean every day and least looking forward to seasickness and bad weather.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
I first became interested the deep sea when my elementary school participated
in a program in conjunction with National Geographic. We were able to watch
live feed from the ROV Jason in the Gulf of California. I was fascinated
by all the strange looking creatures and the idea on an unexplored frontier.
At William and Mary, I had the opportunity to join Cindy Van Dover’s lab and
research polychaete worms from hydrothermal vents. A year later I started
my senior honors thesis on viruses in mussels from methane hydrate seeps.
Shana
Goffredi, Ph.D. top of page
Senior Research Fellow, California Institute of Technology
What is your role on this cruise?
To carry out my own research goals and, like everyone, to contribute
to the general success of the cruise. It is definitely a team effort when
you are at sea. The hours are long and the setting is not the most comfortable
so it requires that everyone pitch in when they’re feeling up for it. We have
a great group of scientists on board so it should not only be a learning experience
but also very worthwhile scientifically.
What are your primary goals?
My primary research interests concern the ecological physiology of
marine animals. I enjoy studying the complex associations between animals,
particularly marine invertebrates, and their surroundings. The goal of eco-physiology
is to identify and determine the adaptive significance of physiological mechanisms.
I consider extreme environments the ideal place to accomplish this goal. Animals
living in these environments are pushing the limits, or at least our perceived
limits, of physiology and biochemistry. Obvious extreme environments include
the deep-sea and sulfide-rich hydrothermal vents and seeps, which we will
be exploring on this cruise.
What do you expect to find?
It is always hard to predict what you might find when exploring an area
of the seafloor that has never been observed before. Past experience suggests
that we will make many new discoveries, hopefully of wild and wonderful animals
that are making a living in ways we could never imagine.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
Being at sea can be the most peaceful and the most grueling of experiences.
When you get a quiet moment at sea there is nothing that compares… the vast
ocean really gives new perspective to our hectic lives on land. The least
favorite: no routine exercise and none of my favorite foods (I eat tofu for
a week when I get back from a 4 week cruise).
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
Marine Biologist. I always knew I loved biology but it wasn’t until college
that I gained exposure to the ocean and the possibility of becoming a marine
biologist professionally. Educationally, it was sort of a natural progression
from undergraduate study (where I majored in Biology/Marine Science) to a
graduate doctoral degree at UC Santa Barbara (Ph.D. in Ecology, Evolution,
and Marine Biology). After that I went to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research
Institute as a post-doctoral researcher and stayed on for another 3 years
as a research associate. After that I was hooked! I can’t imagine doing anything
else with my career.
Ana
Hilario top of page
Ph.D. Student, Southampton University
What is your role on this cruise?
On this cruise I will be looking at reproductive aspects of vestimentiferans.
I will also be assisting with the daily cruise logs to shore.
What are your primary goals?
My goal is to learn more about the biology and geology of the hydrothermal
vents in the vicinity of the Easter and Juan Fernandez Microplates.
What do you expect to find?
Lots of tubeworms!
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
My favorite part of a research cruise... hmmm... the ocean! What I don't
like? That's an easy one: waking up early in the morning!
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
I am currently finishing my Ph.D. at Southampton University. I got into
marine biology because of a curiosity in the ocean and all its living creatures.
I studied aquatic sciences as an undergraduate at University of Porto (Portugal)
and have spent the last 3 years in the Southampton Oceanography Center studying
the reproduction of Vestimentiferan tubeworms from hydrothermal vents and
cold seeps.
Karen
Jacobsen top of page
Scientific Illustrator, In Situ Scientific Illustration
What is your role on this cruise?
My role is to draw and paint all the sample material— mostly vent
animal life and, also any “landscape” or scenery that is seen through video
and or while diving in Alvin. I will visually record as much as possible,
and be working with Cindy Van Dover’s and Bob Vrijenhoek’s team to produce
anything they might need to assist with public outreach projects, or supplement
their own research presentations.
What do you expect to find?
Although not involved directly with any specific research task, I expect
to find an entire ecosystem of vent life that is new to me, and to fill my
sketchbook pages with incredible images of the fauna found.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
My favorite part of a research cruise is being involved with the cruise
in the first place. Tahiti –Easter will be my 8th cruise and Fiji/Lau will
be my 9th, and I love the total emersion into my work that I don’t do when
I am working at home. Transit days are often the most difficult for me, besides
heavy seas or getting seasick. But being away from my loved ones is also hard,
but email makes that so much better now.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
As mentioned before I am a scientific illustrator, or natural science
illustrator, but I specialize in expedition illustration. I started life as
an artist, and college as an art major, but I was always thinking there was
something different for me to pursue within the field of art since my work
was focused on what I could see, not abstract emotional representation. One
day while walking through the science lab building en route to class, I saw
a flyer for: Natural Science Illustration/For Science Majors and that was
it, I knew what I was supposed to do. So I did it, and re-invented up my own
career as expedition illustrator in the process. My first research trip was
in 1984 with marine mammologists Bernie Le Boeuf from UCSC, and Karl Kenyon
searching for the Caribbean Monk Seal, and since then I have done trips with
archeological digs in the Middle East, old growth forests studies in Southern
Chile, marine work from the Chukchi and Bering Seas, Japan and all sorts of
blue water stops in between.
Shannon
Johnson top of page
Research Technician, MBARI
/staff/sjohnson/
What is your role on this cruise?
To assist with collecting and processing samples. I hope to make my
first dive on Alvin as well!
What are your primary goals?
I am interested in sampling more gastropods and Lepetodrilid limpets
from the SEPR for studies on population genetics.
What do you expect to find?
Lots of tubeworms like Riftia, with gastropods and limpets living
on their tubes. Also polychaetes like Alvinellids as well as Bathymoliolid
mussels.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
My favorite part is when the animals first come up from the sub, it is
really fun and exciting to see in person all the stuff you see on the screen
in the control room. On the monitors, everything looks HUGE, then it comes
up and it is so tiny. We are always finding new things and new species so
it is very exciting work. The hardest thing will be being away from my fiancé,
Shane, and my dog Cassy.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
Research Technician. It was always my dream job. I have a hard time paying
attention to any one thing for a really long time so research is great. Everything
is always changing and you very seldom do the same thing for an extended time
period. Being a tech is the best of both worlds because you are able to do
original research and write papers, but you don't have to write grants to
get funded. I became a technician as I was finishing graduate school. I started
part-time at MBARI, then I got lucky and a got a full-time position.
Any other comments/thoughts for those reading about you?
I love my job!
Joe
Jones, Ph.D. top of pageMBARI Research Technician / Project Manager
What is your role on this cruise?
My role on this cruise will be assisting with sorting and organizing organisms
we bring up with Alvin. I will also be performing tissue dissections
on samples we collect. I’m also responsible for making sure everything we
need is on the ship for the dives as well as making sure all the samples and
equipment get home safely.
What are your primary goals?
My primary goal is to sort and preserve biological samples from the
Alvin dives so that they are catalogued and archived. Additionally, my
goal is to make sure all of the samples get back to our research lab in the
best possible condition.
What do you expect to find?
I hope to find additional populations of deep-sea animals that our
lab is studying. We use genetic tools to determine relationships among hydrothermal
vent organisms from throughout the Eastern Pacific. We have a general idea
of what we’ll find, but the deep-sea is always full of surprises and new species.
“Expect the unexpected” is my general motto when at sea.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
My favorite part of a research cruise is the total immersion (pun
partially intended) in the dive and the sample processing. Working until 2
AM is not that bad with all the excitement of the new animals and rocks. Also,
my favorite part with this particular cruise will be the opportunity to dive
to the bottom of the ocean in the Alvin. It makes all the years (11
total) of hard work worth it! The least favorite part for me is being away
from my loved ones and the garden. It’s hard to have a garden at sea.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one? And how
did you become one?
My official job title is Research Technician/Project Manager. I do a lot
of DNA work including molecular biology and phylogenetics. I also do
a lot of managerial work such as making sure the research lab is fully stocked
and running smoothly. I am also responsible for managing the lab’s various
project budgets.
When I was growing up in South Carolina, my parents would take my sister and I to the beach for a family vacation. My parents encouraged my interest in nature and the ocean when I was about 5 years old. I became fascinated with the diversity of tide pools and learning about the tides. My family owns a lot of land with ponds and creeks where I spent a lot of time exploring. My fascination with fish, in particular, started when I was old enough to hold a fishing rod and has increased continuously since. Also when I was growing up, I was interested in how things work and why certain animals were found certain places and not others. I obtained my B.S. at the University of South Carolina in the Marine Science Program. I spent a lot of time volunteering in an ichthyology research lab where I became serious about my pursuit of a Ph.D. I also became involved with the Marine Science Undergraduate Society (MSUS) where I helped organize undergraduate research trips to local barrier islands. During my senior year, I did an independent research project in Dr. Joe Quattro's lab on population genetics of an estuarine flatfish. Dr. Quattro encouraged me to return to his lab after a brief summer at the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) working as a visiting scientist. I returned to Dr. Quattro's lab where I became involved in a number of projects ranging from population genetic structure of summer flounder (my Masters thesis) to conservation genetics of pygmy sunfishes in the southeast United States. I moved to UC Santa Cruz following my Masters where I worked in Dr. Giacomo Bernardi's lab. I focused on two native California freshwater minnow species using DNA markers and phylogenetic methods. I’ve been working with Bob Vrijenhoek at MBARI for about 2 1/2 years now. It’s a great lab to be in with all the exciting projects and people. Plus, we all get to travel to exotic places to collect unusual animals with equipment such as the Alvin.
Daniel
Layton-Matthews top of page
Ph.D. Student, University of Toronto
What is your role on this cruise?
Shipboard Guest Investigator - Research Assistant
What are your primary goals?
My primary goal on this cruise will be the curation and handling of sulfide
samples collected during the dives. These samples will provide material for
a cooperative research study on mineralized samples involving the University
of Toronto, University of Ottawa, University of Kiel and MBARI.
What do you expect to find?
Previous dredging and TV grab sampling by the FS SONNE and NO L'ATALANTE
cruises recovered rock samples from active and fossil hydrothermal vents together
with abundant vent fauna. I anticipated finding seafloor sites with both active
high temperature venting (>300 C) and lower temperature diffuse venting.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
This is my first research cruise, however based on my previous research
projects involving remote fieldwork in the Canadian Artic, my least favorite
part will likely be being away from my family. My favorite parts of any fieldwork
project is the science and the people that you met along the way.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
Geochemist/Economic geologist. Early in my academic career I became fascinated
by the mechanisms of metal sourcing, mobility and concentration in the Earth's
surface and subsurface. I also enjoy working in remote field areas, and since
most new mineral deposits are found in new and often remote areas, my personal
interests fit nicely with this type of research. My current research involves
the sourcing, mobility and deposition of selenium (Se) in ancient and modern
seafloor ore systems, which has allowed my participation in this research
cruise.
Victoria
Orphan, Ph.D. top of page
Assistant Professor, California Institute of Technology
http://www.gps.caltech.edu/people/vorphan/profile
What is your role on this cruise?
To study hyperthermophilic (heat loving) microbial communities within and
surrounding the hydrothermal vents and to assist with group related cruise
objectives. The research on this cruise is very diverse- from geological mapping
to micro and macro-ecology. Everyone works together and helps each other out
with the various research tasks to ensure the major cruise objectives are
met.
What are your primary goals?
My research interests on this cruise relate to understanding anaerobic microbial
carbon and sulfur cycling within hydrothermal vent systems and identifying
the microorganisms mediating these geochemical processes. I am particularly
interested in methane producing archaea, or methanogens, living in these extreme
habitats and how they relate to the methanogenic microorganisms found in deep
subsurface environments.
What do you expect to find?
No extensive microbiological studies have been conducted in this area so it¹s
tough to predict what we might find. Based on past experience from other hydrothermal
vent environments, I anticipate that we will be able to successfully culture
hyperthermophilic anaerobes from these new vents and will likely find microbial
mats covering areas of the seafloor. Most of the detailed microbiological
analyses (microscopy, DNA/RNA analyses) and potentially exciting discoveries
will occur back in my laboratory after the cruise.
What is your favorite part of a research cruise?
I really enjoy the interactions with the research scientists and getting to
know the crew while at sea. Spending many weeks on a research vessel allows
for ample time to talk with the other scientists on board and to learn about
their research. I also love the sense of adventure associated with deep-sea
exploration. Most days offer something new and exciting and the only routine
aspect of the research cruise is the meal times. During the less busy moments,
I also enjoy the solitude afforded by a quiet little corner on deck, gazing
up at the stars and having some quiet time to think. What is your least favorite
part of a research cruise? I dislike feeling lethargic from the ship¹s rocking
and banging my shin every time I climb into the top bunk. It¹s also difficult
to maintain an effective exercise schedule while at sea which also contributes
to feeling sleepy. No routine exercise and none of my favorite foods (I eat
tofu for a week when I get back from a 4 week cruise).
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become
one?
Assistant Professor of Geobiology. Since the age of 6, the ocean and its inhabitants
have intrigued me. I had many wonderful science teachers in junior high and
high school who nurtured my interest in biology and marine science as well
as supportive parents who encouraged me to try anything that interested me,
from scuba diving to science camp. My interest and love of microbiology and
geology developed later from research and courses in college and graduate
school.
Jenny
Paduan top of page
MBARI Senior Research Technician
/staff/paje/
What is your role on this cruise?
1) Assist with the multibeam sonar mapping to make bathymetry and
side scan maps of the sites for the sub to navigate by and find hydrothermal
vents during each dive; 2) Coordinate the daily cruise logs on the web for
the educational outreach component of the expedition; 3) Collect samples of
limu o Pele and glass rinds from lava flows. We want to determine if superfast
spreading centers also produce small pyroclastic glass particles (limu o Pele),
as we have found on slower spreading ridges. These would be evidence of mildly
explosive eruptions, which have not been thought previously to occur in the
deep sea. (More on explosive
eruptions at mid-ocean ridges.) I will examine the suction sampler and
sediment scoop samples after each dive to see if volcanic glass particles
were collected along with the intended critters. I will also chip glass from
any lava samples recovered so we can analyze the chemistry of the underlying
flows to determine if the particles were derived locally.
What are your primary goals?
To make good quality, high-resolution maps; to have interesting daily
updates published promptly; to bring home lots of volcanic glass samples.
What do you expect to find?
Beautiful hydrothermal vents, lots of glassy sheet flows, and hopefully
limu o Pele.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
Favorite part: the excitement of discovery. Least favorite: being seasick.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
I have always loved science: What are the plants around me, the animals,
rocks, landforms, the stars? What are they made of? How did they get to be
the way they are? What makes them function and persist? How are we impacting
them? I love the interdisciplinary nature of Oceanography: to understand the
ecology of an animal, you must also understand the chemistry, physics, and
geology of its habitat. When I was young, I wanted to study volcanoes, then
to become an astronomer, then a veterinarian. I was a biochemistry major at
a liberal arts college, and went to graduate school to study marine biochemical
ecology. Fortunately, along the way I took several geology courses, because
my path has taken me full circle back to studying volcanoes!
Greg
Rouse, Ph.D. top of page
South Australian Museum
http://www.ees.adelaide.edu.au/people/enviro/grouse01.html
What is your role on this cruise?
I work on polychaete annelids and we expect to find a diverse assemblage
of these worms. I'll be photographing and processing the worms for morphological
and molecular studies.
What are your primary goals?
To find as many wonderful worms as possible.
What do you expect to find?
A lot of wonderful worms. I'm very interested to see vestimentiferans
since I have mainly worked on them 'from a distance'. We'll try removal techniques
that might yield some other organisms not seen before.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
Favorite is when the samples come up and the processing begins. Least
favorite is when its too rocky to photograph specimens well.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
Senior Research Scientist; South Australian Museum.
I wanted to be a marine biologist as a boy. I enjoyed all the strange creatures I saw in rock pools by the shore. A Science degree followed by graduate school. An interest in photography and microscopes led me to worms and I've studied them ever since.
Michel
Segonzac, Ph.D. top of page
IFREMER
What is your role on this cruise?
My role is to sort and try to pre-identify the fauna collected. I will
collaborate with Cindy Van Dover on the characterization of the invertebrate
community at 38°S, with a special emphasis on the invertebrates that live
in mussel beds.
What are your primary goals?
In addition to the primary goals described above, I plan to use a
baited trap to collect the scavenging fauna of the vent communities, and to
compare them with those from northern sites. These scavengers include octopus,
crabs (and their ecto-parasites), galatheid crabs, shrimps, fish. This work
contributes to the goal of developing a complete faunal inventory and will
be undertaken in collaboration with Bob and Cindy. Another important goal
of mine is to talk with my American colleagues and exchange ideas about the
biology of the vent animals.
What do you expect to find?
The animals cited above, plus other few known animals (and probably
new species); plus other few known colleagues… to exchange ideas about the
fauna.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
I do not know exactly, but all is good for me. To meet new people,
to taste American cooking, and other big pleasures and surprises!
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one? And how
did you become one?
The same as above, and responsible of the sorting center Centob (IFREMER,
Brest).
I never decided. Chance decided for me. I have always studied biology, but first I worked on the ecology of marine birds in sub-Antarctic islands, then on mammal and bird ecology in West Africa (Senegal). For the past 30 years, I have managed the sorting center associated with the Deep-Sea Laboratory at the French oceanographic institution IFREMER, in Brest, France.
Nicole Stroncik, Ph.D. top of page
Christian-Albrechts University of Kiel
What is your role on this cruise?
Shipboard Guest Investigator - I will collect samples of glasses,
chip glasses from recovered lava samples and prepare the glasses as well as
the rest of the lava samples for geochemical analysis.
What are your primary goals?
My primary goals are to bring home a lot of fresh volcanic glasses for
geochemical analysis. These glasses will be the basis for a cooperative research
study on the geochemical and isotopic heterogeneity of submarine lava flows
involving the University of Kiel and MBARI.
What do you expect to find?
During our cruises with the RV SONNE we recovered a large number of fresh
and glassy lava flow samples using a dredge and a TV-grab, thus I anticipate
to see a lot of nice sheet flows. Furthermore we did some video-mapping by
OFOS down there showing some beautiful white smokers and I'm very curious
if those are still there and how they will look now.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
My favorite part of the cruise, as is with any fieldwork you do as a geologist,
the thrill of discovery and meeting new people and see how other groups work.
Also, my favorite part with this particular cruise will be the opportunity
to dive with /Alvin/. For a geochemist working at such a remote place as a
mid-ocean ridge the thrill of finally seeing the object of your studies in
situ can only be compared to a space shuttle flight. My least favorite part
is being away from my family and friends on land.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
My official job title is research assistant - but I'm a geologist specialized
in geochemistry. In the first and in the last instance I became a geologist
to satisfy my curiosity in how our planet works. Thus I studied geology and
after getting my Diploma I started out to get my PhD, since this is the best
way in Germany to make sure that you can work as a scientist in a research
institute or at a university. So far I have never regret this decision.
Any other comments/thoughts for those reading about you?
To be honest, being a research scientist is a lot of fun and I have
never wanted to be anything else, but it gets damped down a bit by the never
ending struggle for funding. Well, I guess this changes if you are able to
find a permanent position.
Jessica
Wallace top of page
Graduate Student, The College of William & Mary
What is your role on this cruise?
My main role is to assist Cindy Van Dover and Michel Segonzac
by sorting mussel bed samples, and to help in other ways as much as possible.
What are your primary goals?
My main objective is to help with sampling and learn as much as I
can from my fellow scientists on the cruise. Our main goal is to describe
the biogeography and community structure patterns of hydrothermal vent organisms
around the Easter Microplate.
What do you expect to find?
We expect to find new species along the Pacific Antarctic Ridge south
of the Easter Microplate. These vent communities may belong to the biogeographic
province shared by the rest of the East Pacific Rise, or may be very different
due to dispersal barriers.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
So far I have only been on one shorter cruise in the North Atlantic.
Being in the middle of the ocean was incredibly beautiful, and it was fascinating
to see what would come up from the deep. My least favorite parts are worrying
that bad weather will keep us from doing our research, and missing the people
back on land.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
I have always loved the ocean, and my interest in the deep sea was
sparked when I heard Bob Ballard speak at the U.S. Naval Academy during my
junior year at William and Mary. I started working in Cindy Van Dover’s lab
shortly thereafter, sorting Mid-Atlantic Ridge mussel bed samples. I am now
finishing my last semester of my Masters degree in Cindy’s lab, describing
the reproductive anatomy of vent polynoid polychaete worms from the East Pacific
Rise. I love studying the deep sea since so little is known about such a large
area of the planet.
Nerida
Wilson, Ph.D. top of page
Postdoctoral fellow, Auburn University
What is your role on this cruise?
I will be helping to sort samples collected from the vents and surrounding
areas, and to then fix and process tissue for histology and molecular work.
What are your primary goals?
To make sure that this process gets done in a timely manner
What do you expect to find?
The only things I expect is to see are animals associated with hydrothermal
vents! The rest is anybody's guess...
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
My favorite thing is simply being out on the water, and seeing things
that I have never seen before. My least favorite part is not having fresh
chocolate milkshakes or ice coffee.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
Postdoctoral research fellow, Auburn University. I was always interested
in seeing what washed up on beaches, and what lived in rockpools. Then I started
to SCUBA dive and see many more animals in their natural environment. I think
I have always wanted to be a biologist, so I did a science degree at university,
and went on to do a Ph.D.
C.
R. (Robbie) Young top of page
MBARI, Graduate Research Assistant
What is your role on this cruise?
I will identify, sort, and archive biological samples that we collect.
I hope to collect tubeworms, clams, mussels, limpets, and other vent fauna
associated with these communities. We will also examine the bacterial symbionts
of these animals. I expect to find hydrothermal communities composed of mussel
beds, tubeworm patches, and clams.
What are your primary goals?
My primary goals are to examine the genetic structure of these populations
and to compare the animals from these sites to animals collected from hydrothermal
vent fields to the north.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research
cruise?
My favorite part of the research cruise is seeing a vent field for
the first time. My least favorite part of a research cruise is not being able
to walk in one direction for more than 270 feet for weeks at the time.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one?
And how did you become one?
I’m a graduate research assistant. I am doing my research at the Monterey
Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI), and I am a student in the Ecology
and Evolutionary Biology program at University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC).
To be a scientist takes a lot of training, and I went back to school to get
that training. I worked as a research technician for two years after getting
my undergraduate degree in biology at the University of South Carolina. I
moved to California in February of 2000 to work as a technician in Dr. Vrijenhoek’s
lab at MBARI, and went back to school that August. I expect to graduate from
UCSC at the end of this summer. My thesis includes three chapters. The first
is on the genetic population structure of a hydrothermal vent tubeworm (Ridgeia)
found on the Juan de Fuca, Gorda and Explorer (JGE) ridges in the northeast
Pacific. I am comparing larval dispersal of these tubeworms to currents in
the region predicted by a theoretical model of ocean circulation. The second
and third chapters concern the development of statistical methods to analyze
hybrid zones. I have also worked on several other studies while a student.
I’ve been involved in genetic studies of mussels on the East Pacific Rise
(EPR), bacterial symbionts of tubeworms on the EPR, and limpets on the JGE
ridge system. I worked on mathematical models of spawning strategy in these
systems and a model aimed at describing the effects of hunting policy on population
dynamics (population growth) of large game animals in Tanzania. I’ve worked
on phylogenetic studies, including species collected from hydrothermal vents
in the Indian Ocean and a group of malaria carrying mosquitoes in South America.