David Clague
Senior Scientist, MBARI
Dave's research interests are nearly all related to the formation and degradation of oceanic volcanoes, particularly Hawaiian volcanoes, mid-ocean ridges, and isolated seamounts. Topics of interest include: compositions of mantle sources for basaltic magmas and conditions of melting; volatile and rare-gas components in basaltic magmas and their degassing history; chronostratigraphic studies of eruption sequence and evolution of lava chemistry during volcano growth; subsidence of ocean volcanoes and its related crustal flexure, plate deformation, and magmatic activity; geologic setting of hydrothermal activity; origin of isolated seamounts; and monitoring of magmatic, tectonic, and hydrothermal activity at submarine and subaerial volcanoes.
Jenny Paduan
Senior Research Technician, MBARI
Jenny works with Dave Clague in the Submarine Volcanism project. On this expedition, Jenny will be in charge of the GIS work, including use of the recently acquired, high-resolution MBARI Mapping AUV data of our dive sites. She will also stand watches in the ROV control room, help with rock and sediment sample workup and curation once the vehicle is on deck, and coordinate these cruise logs for our group's two legs of the expedition. She is now quite solidly a marine geologist, but her degrees are in biochemistry (Smith College) and biological oceanography (Oregon State University). She is thankful for the opportunities that have led her to study volcanoes, and loves being involved with the research and going to sea. She looks forward to discovering more about how the Earth works.
Brian Dreyer
Science Postdoctoral Fellow, MBARI
Brian completed his Ph.D. in igneous geochemistry at Washington University in Saint Louis in 2007 and has since been working in MBARI's Submarine Volcanism Group. Brian applies the principles of isotope geochemistry to young samples of volcanic rocks to gain insight into aspects of magmatism. Much of his postdoctoral work focuses on eruption and petrogenetic timescales of Axial Seamount, the most volcanically active portion of the Juan de Fuca Ridge. His other research interests include geochemistry of the Earth's mantle, magmatic interaction between oceanic spreading centers and hotspots, and exploiting the systematics of rare isotope species to quantify material flux through subduction zones.
Kyra Schlining
Senior Research Technician, MBARI
Kyra has been working in the Video Lab at MBARI for 13 years. She received her BS from the University of Victoria, BC, and her MS from Moss Landing Marine Labs. Kyra's specialty is identifying deep-sea fish and invertebrates and operating MBARI's video and annotation system, VARS. On this expedition she will assist in the identification, collection, and preservation of biological organisms. She is looking forward to some time in the field getting up close and personal with interesting spineless subjects.
Karen Salamy
Software Engineering Technician, MBARI
Karen worked as a research technician for many years at MBARI before moving into the software engineering department. She was recruited for this cruise due to her knowledge and experience with ocean sediments and marine geology. Karen's duties on the cruise will include control room work and sample handling for the scientists. She is excited to participate on a marine geological research cruise again after working on computers for so many years.
Christoph Helo
PhD Student, McGill University
Christoph completed his degree in geology at the University of Munich and is a Ph.D. student at McGill University, Montreal since 2006. His research focuses on Axial Volcano, specifically on the processes that lead to the formation of the hyaloclastites, the evolution of the magmatic gasses and potential trigger mechanisms for the explosive eruptions. He has been out on a MBARI cruise before, on the Vance 2006 expedition.
Marilena Calarco
PhD student, La Sapienza University Rome, Italy
Marilena is a marine geologist. Her research focuses on submarine flanks of volcanic islands. She mainly works with seafloor mapping and samples collected around Aeolian and Pantelleria volcanic islands, Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. Her active research interest is the combination of marine morphologies and volcanological data.
John Skutnik
Student, Endicott College
John will be experimenting with newly modified squeeze water samplers at hydrothermal vents on Axial Seamount during this expedition. He will perform various chemical analyses of the samples on two dives. He feels the opportunity to participate in this expedition provides great insight and experience for his future.
Nicola Wheatley
Graduate Student, Naval Postgraduate School
Lieutenant, Royal Navy
Nicola graduated from University of Plymouth, UKwith a BSc (Hons.) in Ocean Science. Her research topic included determining the turbidity of seawater using an ROV and modulation transfer theory. In 2001, she joined the Royal Navy becoming a Hydrographic, Meteorological and Oceanography Officer in 2004. She has been involved in hydrographic survey operations, meteorological and oceanographic forecasting and more recently instructed tactical oceanography and meteorology. Currently, she is studying for her MS in Physical Oceanography at the Naval Postgraduate School.
Nichelle Baxter
University of Florida, Gainesville
Nichelle is a PhD student at the University of Florida. Her research interests are in near-ridge seamounts, such as the Vance and Lamont seamount chains. By studying trace elements and isotopes in lavas from both chains, she hopes to better understand how these seamounts form and what they may illustrate about melting processes in the underlying mantle.