People
Seamounts Cruise, Date 2004
Click on any name to read an interview:
David Clague, Alice
Davis, Jenny Paduan, Lonny
Lundsten;
Joe Jones, Jim Hein, Brandie
McIntyre, Kathie Marsaglia, Tessa
Hill,
David Clague
top
of page
MBARI Marine Geologist
/staff/clague
What is your role on this cruise?
I will be the Chief Scientist on the cruise.
What are your primary goals?
We are trying to learn how, when and why volcanoes formed near the
California margin. To do this, we collect rock samples that we can age-date
to determine the when part. We also analyze the rocks to determine their
chemistry that tells us about how deep the magmas were generated and what
melted under what conditions to form the magmas. We also look at the samples
and the outcrops on the seafloor to determine what the eruptions were
like--was the lava effusive or explosive. Lastly, we want to understand why
the volcanoes formed and how they relate to the evolution of the margin of
California during and after the time when the San Andreas fault system
formed.
What do you expect to find?
Mn-covered lava and volcaniclastic deposits. Maybe some beach cobble
or sand deposits on the shallower seamounts. Lots of animals living on the
rocks.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
My favorite part of a research cruise is the
intensity of new discoveries and incorporating what we have just seen into
the plans for the rest of the dive or the next dives. Worst part is dealing
with bad weather that can prevent our planned programs from happening.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one? And how
did you become one?
Love finding out how the world works and wanted to get paid to do it. I took
lots of science and math classes in high school and college and majored in
geology, then on to graduate school in oceanography.
Alicé
Davis top
of page
MBARI Research Specialist
What is your role on this cruise?
My primary role on this cruise is to keep track of the samples
collected and the descriptive notes taken on the dives.
What are your primary goals?
My primary goal is to have a concise inventory of samples collected
so we will be able to get started on the chemical analyses as soon as we
return.
What do you expect to find?
I hope we get lots of samples with fresh volcanic glass because it
allows us to interpret volcanic processes better than with whole rock
samples that are frequently altered.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
My favorite part of the cruise is seeing the fascinating underwater
landscape and exotic critters. My least favorite part is leaving my garden,
especially at this time of year.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one? And how
did you become one?
I wanted to be a scientist (actually an astronomer) since I was about 6
years old. My mother told me girls could not be scientist. I got married and
had two children before I started College. I fell in love with geology when
I saw the red rock deserts of the southwest. I became intrigued with
volcanoes in college and for over twenty years I have studied volcanic rocks
on the ocean floor all over the Pacific Ocean.
Jenny Paduan
top
of page
MBARI Senior Research Technician
/staff/paje
What is your role on this cruise?
General science support: prepping all the lab supplies before the
cruise and shipping everything home at the end; preparing the real-time GIS
beforehand, using it during dives to track where the ROV is on our
bathymetric maps, and making dive track maps afterward; annotating the ROV
video during dives; making sure the samples don't get mixed up when the
sample drawer gets emptied on deck; and then cleaning, photographing, and
bagging the samples afterward. When we get home the real work begins!
What are your primary goals?
That everything runs smoothly. My wishes: That we get to all the dive
targets we are planning and can collect all the samples we hope to find.
What do you expect to find?
I hope to find Manganese-covered, weathered, old lava, lots of
animals exploiting the lava's hard substrate and lofty position in the ocean
currents, and if we're really lucky, Architeuthis, the elusive giant
squid!
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
Favorite: the excitement of new discoveries, piecing together
scientific puzzles, exploration. Least favorite: getting 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!
Lonny Lundsten
top
of page
MBARI Research Technician
/staff/lonny
What is your role on this cruise?
I will be in charge of video data management, utilizing MBARI's Video
Annotation Reference System to annotate video data in real time. My work
entails identifying unique biological and geological features that will be
seen during the dive, while using MBARI created software to log the
observations. Additionally, I will be assisting with the collection and
processing of specimens collected during the cruise, preparing them to be
for specific identification and further analysis by MBARI scientists.
What are your primary goals?
My goal is to be an asset to the science party.
What do you expect to find?
I hope to learn more about the biologically unique communities found
on these seamounts.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
My favorite part of going on an MBARI research cruise is when I see a
new, unique, interesting, or stunningly beautiful organism, which poignantly
makes me realize how much of the oceans have yet to be discovered and
described.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one? And how
did you become one?
I decided to get into the marine sciences because of my desire to learn and
understand more about the marine environment and it's varied habitats. I
received a B.S. in Marine Ecology at CSU Monterey Bay and am Pursuing a M.S.
at Moss Landing Marine Laboratories.
Joe Jones
top
of page
MBARI Research Technician
What is your role on this cruise?
My role on this cruise will be assisting with sorting and organizing
organisms we bring up with the ROV. I will also be performing tissue
dissections and DNA extractions on tissue samples we collect.
What are your primary goals?
My primary goal is to sort and preserve biological samples from the
ROV dives so that they are catalogued and archived.
What do you expect to find?
I hope to find additional populations of seamount animals that our lab
is studying. We use genetic tools to determine relationships among
seamount organisms from throughout the Eastern Pacific.
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. The least favorite part for me is being away from my loved
ones.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one? And how
did you become one?
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 Quattro¹s 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. Quattro¹s lab where I became
involved in a number of projects ranging from population genetic structure
of summer flounder (my Master¹s thesis) to conservation genetics of pygmy
sunfishes in the southeast United States. I moved to UC Santa Cruz
following my Master¹s where I worked in Dr. Giacomo Bernardi¹s lab. I
focused on two native California freshwater minnow species using DNA markers
and phylogenetic methods. After my Ph.D., I went to Germany where I worked
in Dr. Axel Meyer¹s lab on color genes in a Central American cichlid fish.
Currently, I am working as a research technician for Dr. Bob Vrijenhoek at
MBARI.
Jim Hein
top
of page
Marine Geologist, Geochemist, and Paleoceanographer
Coastal and Marine Geology
U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA
http://walrus.wr.usgs.govWhat is your role on this cruise?
My interest is in seamount-hosted deep-sea mineral deposits, and therefore, my
role on the cruise is to study such deposits on seamounts located offshore
California. Examples of
these deposits include cobalt-rich iron-manganese crusts, phosphorites,
barite, and polymetallic sulfides. Researchers
have two interests in these types of mineral deposits:(1) their economic potential and use as analogs to on-land
mineral deposits found in the geologic record; and (2) their use as recorders of paleoceanographic changes, such as changes
in primary productivity, current patterns, climate, and erosion rates of the
continents. We will compare the deposits collected on this cruise from a continental margin setting with
strong coastal upwelling to similar deposits found on seamounts in
open-ocean settings.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
Less
is known about the deep ocean than the surface of the moon and every cruise dedicated to the study of the deep ocean makes
fundamental new discoveries. This
is my primary attraction to marine geology and my favorite part of research
cruises.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one? And how
did you become one?
I received a B.A. in
Geology from Oregon State University in 1969 and a Ph.D. in Earth Sciences
from the University of California at Santa Cruz in 1973.
I have been a marine geologist with the USGS since 1974. Recently, I have been involved in studies of hydrothermal deposits
that occur at oceanic fracture zones, island arcs (including a cruise to the
Mariana arc, March/April 2004), and spreading centers. I have authored or
co-authored over 340 papers and abstracts and I am a Fellow of both the
Society of Economic Geologists and the Geological Society of America and was
President of the International Marine Minerals Society.
Brandie McIntyre
top
of page
USGS Physical Science Technician
What is your role on this cruise?
Sampling
What are your primary goals?
Collect samples for paleo-oceanography and mineral resource assessment
What do you expect to find?
I hope to find lots of Fe-Mn crust
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
I don't know yet, this is my maiden voyage on a research cruise!
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one? And how
did you become one?
Brandie R. McIntyre received a B.Sc. (geology)
from California State University, Fresno and joined the U.S. Geological Survey
in 2001 as a Physical Science Technician.
She is currently working on her graduate degree (geology) and teaching
credential at San Jose State University and is doing research on marine mineral
deposits and environmental geochemistry. She got here with lots of hard work and lots of luck!
Kathie Marsaglia
top
of page
Assistant Professor
Geological Sciences
California State University Northridge
http://www.csun.edu/%7Ekmm61309
What is your role on this cruise?
marine sedimentologist
What are your primary goals?
1) to learn about the volcanic, sedimentologic and tectonic history
of the California Borderlands
2) to learn about ROV technology and MBARI
What do you expect to find?
I hope to find lots of interesting sediments and sedimentary rocks
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
favorites
- observing things that no one has seen before and trying to explain them
- the smell of the ocean
- meeting new people and learning about different disciplines/technologies
least favorites
- waking up to go on shift
- stormy seas
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one? And how
did you become one?
I enjoy deciphering the mysteries of the deep from the sedimentary record. I
got here only with the support of family, professors and colleagues plus
some luck and a lot of hard work.
Tessa Hill
top
of page
UCSB Graduate Researcher
What is your role on this cruise?
On this cruise, I will be observing, learning about, and hopefully
collecting deep sea corals that live on the seamounts.
What are your primary goals?
I hope to analyze the geochemistry of the corals we collect to
understand past deep ocean temperature changes.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
My favorite parts of going on research cruises are.... the view of the
ocean every day and learning new things.
What is your job title? Why did you decide to become one? And how
did you become one?
I am currently finishing my PhD at UCSB and I'll be starting a post-doctoral
position next fall at UC Davis, where I will study the deep sea corals that
we collect on this cruise. I got into this field because of a curiosity and
interest in the ocean and climate change. I studied marine science as an
undergraduate at Eckerd College (FL) and have spent the past 5 years at UCSB
studying records of climate change from sediment cores.