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Equipment
Crew
West Coast Expedition
July 20 - August 30, 2002
West Coast of North America
Crew
Click on any name below to read an interview
Leg 1
Ellen Avery,
Dave Clague,
Karen von Damm,
Shana Dreyfuss,
Jim McClain,
Eric Olsen ,
Jenny Paduan,
Sierra Senyak,
Janet Voight,
C. Robert Young,
Rob Zierenberg
Leg 2
Ed Delong,
Kevin Gomes,
Paul McGill,
Mike Perfit,
Tony Ramirez,
Peter Saccoccia,
Bethany Schaarschmidt,
Debra Stakes,
Maurice Tivey,
Meg Tivey,
Geoff Wheat
Leg 3
Claire Currie,
John Delaney,
Mitch Elend,
John Frantz,
Peter Girguis,
Deb Glickson,
Deborah Kelley,
Marvin Lilley,
Randy Prickett,
Tony Ramirez,
Debra Stakes,
William Wilcock
Dave
Clague
Title: Senior Scientist (Expedition Chief Scientist)
/staff/clague
What is your role on this cruise?
Chief Scientist
What are your primary goals?
sampling volcanic rocks and pyroclastic deposits to determine eruption styles at mid-ocean ridges
What do you expect to find?
Small bubble-wall fragments of glass formed during strombolian eruptions and highly vesicular lava
samples of mid-ocean ridge basalt
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
best part 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.
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
Love finding out how the world works and wanted to get paid to do it.
How did you become one?
I took lots of science and math classes in high school and college and majored in geology, then on to graduate
school in oceanography.
Claire Currie
Graduate Student
www.seos.uvic.ca
What is your role on this cruise?
To help out wherever needed. Mostly, this involves logging information/data and
helping with the rock samples.
What are your primary goals?
As the Canadian representative on this cruise, I want to observe firsthand how the
ROV operations are performed on the MBARI vessel so that I can explain it to my
colleagues when I return home. I would also like to learn about the tectonics at a
spreading centre and hydrothermal vents.
What do you expect to find?
I expect to learn about the local tectonics at a mid-ocean ridge, and learn about
the challenges of working with a remotely-operated vehicle in a deep sea environment.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
Favourite - getting to know people from other research
institutions and learning about what they are working on Least favourite - being seasick
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
I became a scientist because I wanted to study earthquakes.
How did you become one?
I studied geophysics as an undergraduate. Now, I am doing a Ph.D. in geophysics
Shana
Dreyfuss
Technician
What is your role on this cruise?
Annotating video and manning the > navigation station during dives. Cataloging geologic sediments and samples.
What are your primary goals?
To gain more information and personal experience having to do with my senior thesis "Modeling Hydrothermal Circulation in the Ocean's Crust" under the guidance of Jim McClain.
What do you expect to find?
I hope to be able to see some flanges (aka upside-down hot tubs) and of course hydrothermal vents and chimney's.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
Good question. This is my first cruise. So far I am enjoying myself. Being on this research cruise is a wonderful opportunity for me to expand my knowledge and experience as Geologist entering into the scientific world.
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
Geology opened up a whole new view of the world which fascinated me. I randomly took Geology 1 during my second quarter at UC Davis and decided that it was the most interesting class that I had taken so far. From there I took Geology 50 with Prof. Jim McClain as the lecturer and was convinced that Geology was for me. Before I entered college, I knew that whatever I decided to do with my life, it had to be science related because I found that those were the classes that I put the most effort into and which intrigued me the most.
How did you become one?
I studied hard for 5 years and graduated this past June 2002 with a double
major in Geology and Spanish from UC Davis. I plan to work in the consulting world for a couple of years and then return to school for a
masters degree.
Peter
Girguis
Postdoctoral Research Fellow
What is your role on this cruise?
I am going to be looking for microbes that eat methane. I am especially interested in those that live in mud (I've always liked mud to be honest). I hope that we will find some new sites where there's methane coming up through the mud, because that's where you usually find these bugs.
What are your primary goals?
I wouldn't mind seeing an Orca (Killer Whale) or two, but mainly I hope to find some new sites that have methane-eating microbes.
What do you expect to find?
I expect that what we'll find will not be what we expected to find. That's the best part of scientific studies. Hopefully, we'll be able to contribute something new to science.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
Usually, my favorite part of a cruise is when the sub comes up. You never know what's in the basket. Also, I enjoy talking to the ship's crew and the ROV's crew. They often know more about the environments than we do. Plus, they've got great stories about being at sea.
I don't think I have a least favorite part of a research cruise.
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
I'm not sure that I decided anything...it just happened. Mainly, I've always enjoyed the ocean and my parents were supportive of whatever I did, so long as I did it whole-heartedly.
How did you become one?
I became a scientist by asking some professors if I could work in their lab. Being a scientist requires that you never stop asking questions, and not just scientific questions. You should keep asking for advice, you should keep asking for collaborations, and you have to keep asking for money. These aren't bad things to ask for, and they give you the chance to
'give' in return, by sharing all the amazing scientific discoveries with the world,
Deb Glickson
University of Washington Graduate
Student
What is your role on this cruise?
One of my roles is to help stand watches while the ROV is in the water. There are several different jobs needed for each dive—I contribute to the dive log, Vicki, and ArcNav. The log provides a record of what we do during each dive, and is essential for answering basic questions like, “When did we drill that hole?” or “Where did we pick up that rock sample?”. VICKI is a video editing program that videotapes our entire time on the seafloor, and allows us to make still images of particular interest. ArcNav tracks the ROV’s position and shows us where our samples were taken and our position in relation to physical features.
Another role is to help with the samples once they’ve been collected. There’s a lot of work to do after a dive—the rocks, mud, biological samples, and water samples need to be brought into the lab and many of them need immediate attention. On this cruise, I have been lucky enough to do a number of these jobs. I have picked fresh glass off of rock samples, processed the fragments stuck to wax cores, helped sample mud, and even gotten to help with deep-sea biology like bivalves and tubeworms. I’ve really enjoyed this aspect of my position on the cruise.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
Well, my least favorite aspect of a cruise is
easy—seasickness. I get
seasick pretty easily and it is not enjoyable. However, it is worth it to be a member of a research cruise.
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
By high school, I thought I would end up doing something
in the sciences because I had really enjoyed earth science and biology,
but had no idea what I was going to do when I started college. My sophomore year, I took an introductory geology class (at
University of Florida—Go Gators!) that just blew me away. My professor was a volcanologist who worked at mid-ocean ridges,
and his job was so cool! That
class led to BS and MS degrees in geology, and now I am going back to grad
school for a PhD in oceanography, focusing on marine geology and
geochemistry.
Editorial note: Deb Glickson’s undergraduate professor that inspired her to pursue a career in marine geology is none other than Mike Perfit, one of the cruise participants from the previous Tiburon dive series to the Cleft Segment.
Kevin
Gomes
Software Applications Developer
/staff/kgomes
What is your role on this cruise?
We have just installed some internally developed software for
visualizing ROV dives in 3D space. It will be used to perform post-dive analysis, data
correlation and future dive planning. I will be supporting the software to
make sure it is running properly and to make any field modifications that are
necessary.
What are your primary goals?
To make sure the software meets the needs of the scientists on the
cruise and that it becomes a useful tool that will improve the effectiveness of our
ROV dives.
What do you expect to find?
Hopefully, no problems!
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
My favorite part is that this will be my first cruise and since that is
the case, I don't have a least favorite part yet [:)] .
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
Growing up I was always extremely curious as to how we could create such
incredible technology that would allow us to achieve such things as visiting
the bottom of the ocean or the surface of the moon. I guess my curiosity
got the better of me [:)] .
How did you become one?
School, hard work, persistence, and teamwork. Although that may sound
cliché, I do believe you can achieve anything you want to and the higher the
goals, the harder they are to obtain.
James
S. McClain (Jim)
Professor of Geology and Geophysics
http://geology.ucdavis.edu/people/faculty/mcclain.php
What is your role on this cruise?
I am a co-investigator for the project, my focus will be to study the GR-14/Sea Cliff Hydrothermal Field.
What are your primary goals?
To determine the structures that may accommodate the hydrothermal activity at GR-14. These structures may include faults and evidence of recent volcanic activity.
What do you expect to find?
Too early to tell, but we hope to find evidence of recent faulting.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
Most favorite part. On a cruise, you have the opportunity to be totally focused on the research, without any outside distractions. In addition, one is guaranteed to observe new phenomena. We almost certainly be surprised.
Least favorite part. Being away from my family, and being confined to a very small amount of living space.
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
I have always been fascinated by the physical principles that underlie what we see in nature. Growing up in California, I was aware of earthquakes from a very early age, and became aware of other geological phenomena such as volcanoes. It was natural to go into geophysics, in order to apply my background in physics to geological observations. I also grew up near the California coast, and the ocean was my playground. Thus, I moved into marine geophysics.
How did you become one?
I received my undergraduate degree in physics at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. I then received my Ph.D. in geophysics from the University of Washington. I did two years of post-doctoral work at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, and then joined the faculty at the University of California, Davis.
Eric Olson
University of Washington
Oceanographer
What is your role on this cruise?
Collect fluid samples and extract the dissolved gases.
What are your primary goals?
To get gas/fluid samples from nesca and GR14 sites
What do you expect to find?
I imagine the data will be close to the same as that collected 2 years ago.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
Favorite- travel to exotic places like galapagos and easter island. Least favorite- all the packing, shipping, ship loading and ship unloading that goes with a research cruise.
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
I enjoyed science and wanted opportunities to see a lot of different parts of the world.
How did
you become one?
In high school, I discovered that oceanographers typically come from a pure science. I liked chemistry and decided to try that approach.
Jenny
Paduan
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?
Beautiful, glassy lava pillows and sheet flows, and hopefully lava bubble-wall fragments
(Limu o Pele); hydrothermal vents; good visibility compared to Monterey Bay; bad weather...
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.
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
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.
How did
you become one?
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!
Michael
R. PerfitProfessor of Geology
University of Florida
http://www.geology.ufl.edu/PerfitWebsite/
What is your role on this cruise?
I am the igneous petrologist and volcanologist on the cruise (along with Debra Stakes). I am in charge of all the "hardrock" sampling, descriptions and curating. I will also be working closely with Maurice Tivey in subsampling the basalts we recover for paleomagnetic analysis. I will be sampling basalts using the ROV and a wax corer from discrete sections of the Cleft segment, making sure that we know their exact tectonic and morphologic associations as well as their relative ages compared to the youngest basalts in the axis. Back in my labs at the University of Florida, I will be analyzing the glass from the lavas for major and trace elements, and some of them for their isotopic composition.
What are your primary goals?
The primary scientific goals of this cruise is to collect geological samples and observations that will test our ideas of how oceanic crust forms. We suggest that only part of the crust is formed at the mid ocean ridge, and then this bottom layer of volcanic rocks is capped by additional lava flows with time and distance from the mid-ocean ridge. We will use the chemistry and magnetic orientation of the samples to determine their relative ages. We will also look for specific geological features that tell us the relative sequence of events--such as a young fault that breaks apart an older lava flow but then is covered by a younger lava flow.
A specific goal of the proposed investigation is to integrate existing geochemical and observational data with newly acquired acoustic, magnetic and geochemical/petrologic data in order to discern individual flow units and discrete eruptive episodes along the ridge axis and in off-axis environments. Defining the spatial distribution of recent lava emplacement and extent of geochemical heterogeneity within the neovolcanic zone is a necessary first step toward understanding the recent nature of crustal accretion along this portion of ridge. Determining the off-axis eruptive history is necessary to test the "split-ridge" hypothesis which proposes the JdFR undergoes tectonomagmatic cycles in which a magmatically dominated axial ridge is split and rafted away during the following period of tectonism (Kappel and Ryan, 1986; Tivey and Johnson, 1987). In addition, the detailed geological observations combined with more regional petrologic and geochemical investigations (rock cores and previous Alvin dives) will allow us to test hypotheses regarding chemical heterogeneity of the mantle, magma extraction mechanisms, development of subaxial magma bodies, and the effects of ridge-transform intersections (globally) on MORB chemistry (e.g. Langmuir and Bender, 1984; Christe and Sinton, 1981, Sinton et. al. 1983; Perfit et al., 1983, 1998).
We propose to complete a geologic, tectonic, and magmatic study of the Cleft Segment (Fig. 1) of the southern Juan de Fuca Ridge (JdFR) that will address the evolution of this moderate spreading-rate ridge segment over the past ~200 kA. This will be done in collaboration with D. Stakes at MBARI who is providing ship/facilities support and M. Tivey (WHOI) who is submitting a complimentary proposal to study the magnetic properties of the crust and determine paleomagnetic "ages" of the volcanic carapace. This study is motivated by: the apparent simplicity of the Cleft Segment, the near-symmetry of the ridge crest, availability of high-resolution bathymetry to guide the sampling, structural coherence of major eruptive units, and the juxtaposition to the Fracture Zone that offers off-axis windows into the volcanic "stratigraphy" of the upper crust (Juteau et al., 1995). Additionally, this segment has had an optimal balance of magmatism and tectonism that allows the recognition of off-axis eruptions while maintaining structural coherence of the volcanic carapace formed on-axis and a spreading rate that provides for a sequence of eruptive cycles that are proximal to the rise crest. The results have wider implications for the development of intermediate -spreading rate ridges in general (see Carbotte and Macdonald, 1994; Small, 1998).
As part of the collaborative effort, M. Perfit (PI) and his graduate student will join Stakes and Tivey to systematically map, sample and magnetically measure the Cleft segment. Our first field season was successfully completed using the ROV Tiburon on board the Western Flyer during July 2000 (see summary below) and MBARI will provide support for at least one additional field season in 2002 (see attached letter of support). We seek funding for the next three years to: 1) complete geological mapping and petrological and geochemical analysis (including U-series dating) of samples recovered during our 2000 cruise/dive series 2) support participation in the dive program planned for the summer of 2002; 3) analyze rock samples recovered during all of the cruises for major, minor and trace elements; and representative samples for Sr, Nd and Pb isotopes; 4) provide information to and collaborate with M. Tivey and Julie Carlut (ENS in Paris) in order to relate compositions and observational "ages" to paleointensity measurements and to integrate near-bottom magnetics with geologic observations; 5) evaluate the composition and origins of off-axis flows, how these flows correspond to recent models of mantle melting and flow, off-axis volcanism, and the thickening of Layer 2A; and 6) to test and develop models (see Section 5) for the recent (~ 200 kA) tectonomagmatic evolution of the southern JdFR ridge. Although this is a stand-alone project, the studies proposed here will be made in collaboration with geodynamic, hydrothermal and geophysical measurements being made by scientists from MBARI, WHOI, and NOAA (Chadwick and Embley). It should be noted that the JdFR will be the focus of a multichannel seismic (MCS) study in July 2002 (Carbotte, Detrick, Kent, Harding) and that we have plans to integrate our volcanologic and tectonic observations with the models of crustal structure and dimensions of crustal magma bodies determined from the MCS surveys.
What do you expect to find?
We expect to find a complex "patchwork" of lava flows that vary in age in any given part of the ridge. Some of these lavas may have formed off-axis away from the axial "cleft" that we know has been recently active. We also expect that the chemical characteristics of the lavas we recover will have certain geochemical "fingerprints" that will allow us to determine their "genetic lineages" which will provide information of where in the mantle they formed and when they may have erupted.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a
research cruise?
I love the adventure of being at sea and the excitement that comes with discovering new things about the seafloor. Every time I dive to the bottom of the ocean I get excited about seeing part of the seafloor that have never been seen by humans before.
I also enjoy interacting with the other scientists and crew members at sea.
My least favorite part is being seasick. I also don't like getting less than 4-5 hours of sleep each night, but fortunately this cruise is fairly short and I can do without much sleep.
Why did you decide to become a
scientist/engineer/etc? How did you become one?
When I was a young boy, I got a copy of National Geographic
magazine from my aunt and it showed a
bearded scientist doing research on the ice cap at the
South Pole without a shirt on. For some reason, this image of
how exciting exploration could be stayed
with me. Growing up on Long Island in New
York State, I spent much of my time at the beach and in the
water. Because I love the ocean and
science was one of my better subjects in school
I began to think of becoming an oceanographer. In 9th grade, I
took an Earth Science class, and the
teacher was really enthusiastic about geology
and that got me interested rocks....and no! I wasn't a nerd in
high school. I
went to St. Lawrence University, in upstate New York. My first semester, I took a introductory
geology course and that class pretty much sold
me on majoring in geology. The professor was a petrologist (a geologist who studies different rocks and
what they are made of), and he taught us
all about volcanoes and earthquakes which really interested
me. After I got my undergraduate degree, I decided that I
really wanted to be a full-time
scientist and do research and teach. I went to Lamont-Doherty
Geological Observatory, which is part of Columbia University
in New York to study marine geology. The combination of my interest in rocks, volcanoes and the oceans has
lead me to become a marine petrologist/geochemist.
Tony
Ramirez
Research Technician
What is your role on this cruise?
My primary role on this cruise is
using ArcNav to supplement the Western Flyer’s ROV navigation by
projecting the ROV position over bathymetric data. ArcNav is an
extension for ArcView developed within MBARI that imports the shipboard
navigation data into the ArcView display. This enables the science
party to tie geologic observations to locations on the bathymetry in
real-time, and assists the ROV pilots in navigating through steep or
difficult terrain. Apart from my ArcNav duties, I also photograph
shipboard operations and rock samples collected, and assist with
VICKI (the video recording and annotation system) and other control room
duties when needed.
What are your primary goals?
My primary goals during a research cruise are to facilitate the science in any way I can and to provide support
when needed for all science party operations. By using ArcNav for
real-time mapping of the seafloor I’m able to create maps for subsequent
dive planning during the cruise, and visually present the accomplishments of each dive. During previous cruises on the Western
Flyer, these maps greatly assisted the assimilation of the data
collected. My ultimate goal is to expand the ability of the scientists
to extract the data collected and make it more easily digestible.
What do you expect to find?
An especially critical aspect of
the Keck cruise will impact the work I perform at MBARI. This task
depends upon the viability of using the ROV drill sled to drill
oversized (2.9” diameter) coreholes in basalt and inactive sulfide
structures at Endeavour for later installation of seismometer sensor
packages. My part in the Keck project is to provide technical support
for the short-period and broadband seismometers and data loggers that
will be used as a seismic network to monitor tectonic activity. The
effectiveness of this ROV installation technology for this location is
critical to our seismic network design.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
My least favorite part of being at sea for extended periods of time is
being gone from my family. To work around this I generally have my
family meet me in port stops and see me on and/or off the research
vessel. This is actually one of my favorite aspects of a research
cruise since it enables additional family vacations to sometimes
beautiful and exotic locations. To me, the best part of being a member
of an ocean research cruise is working with other scientists with
diverse research goals. This gives me exposure to research outside my
field of interest, a variety of other research techniques and some very
colorful people, which are generally great to work with and learn from.
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc? How
did you become one?
My favorite place to be is in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.
The variety of rock types and exposed structures in the higher terrain
has inspired me to pursue a career focusing primarily on the geological
sciences. I’m currently a research technician for a lead scientist at
MBARI. Through her support and the support of the institution my
progress in becoming a scientist is continuing through education,
training and research cruises.
Bethany Schaarschmidt
OED Operations Administrator
What is your role on this cruise?
Video annotation/science technician/sample archivist
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
favorite part - I learn so much being immersed in the experience
(no pun intended). Least favorite part - two words: Top Bunk!
Sierra
Senyak
Science Writing Summer Intern
What is your role on this cruise?
My main job on the cruise is to write a story on the Gorda Ridge project
for the MBARI website, and to provide pictures for the daily logs that will be posted on the web. I will also help the science crew annotate
the video footage that is taken by the ROV, and will be an extra hand in the lab if needed.
What are your primary goals?
My primary goal is to write a fabulous article for the web. I'm also
hoping to learn all I can about hydrothermal vents and the organisms that live there.
What do you expect to find?
Since this is my first geology cruise, I don't have many expectations.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
My favorite part of a cruise is getting the chance to watch research
first-hand, and help out the scientists. It's the best - and most fun - way to learn about a subject.
My least favorite part of the cruise is the seasickness, and I miss running, biking, and all the other land activities I enjoy.
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
I decided to become a science writer because, although I liked science,
I didn't want to specialize in one particular area of study. Science writing allows me to learn about a huge variety of research projects.
How did
you become one?
I got my Bachelor's degree in marine biology, and I'm now a graduate
student in science writing at Boston University. I came to MBARI through the summer internship program.
MBARI Marine Geologist
What is your role on this cruise?
I will be the Chief Scientist on the cruise. This means that I have
the responsibility of deciding the priorities of the
cruise and exactly where the ROV should dive. The project is funded by my
MBARI geochemistry project for which I promised
certain scientific and technical accomplishments. Like
most cruises, there will be other senior scientists joining us on the
cruise, so I don't really have to face making all the decisions by myself.
What are your primary goals?
Our goals are to study
the tectonic history and structure of the northernmost extent of the San
Andreas System, as exposed along the Mendocino Fracture Zone. The MBARI
program, lead by Debra Stakes, will focus on the lithology of uplifted
oceanic crust. The seven dive days of this cruise will explore the
deformed ocean crust of the Mendocino Ridge, the uplifted contact between
the Pacific and Gorda plates and the enigmatic channels on the easternmost
Gorda Escarpment
What do you expect to find?
We will be conducting research on the Gorda
Escarpment in order to test hypothesis about the origin and makeup of this
area. Hopefully we will be able to support our hypothesis, or
perhaps even come up with a new hypothesis, about the way that the Gorda
Escarpment formed.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
My favorite part of a research cruise is actually sailing away
from the dock. At this point, there
are no more proposals to write or things to buy. If you forgot to bring
something, you must innovate. You have a fixed plan
in your head and you must always be prepared to be surprised. Each surprise may demand a change of plans!
My least favorite part of the cruise is the last few days before we get to sail. This time is all taken up with worrying over the last details. How many rock buckets to bring? How big should the truck be that will return our equipment and samples to our home base? Are the airline tickets all arranged? Are the rental vehicles all arranged? And we all have family logistics to worry over. I have a 7 year old daughter that needs transportation to and from summer camp and lessons. The list goes on and on. Sometimes I am lucky to remember to pack my toothpaste. There's no store on the ship....
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc? How did
you become one?
I decided to be an oceanographer after I saw a movie in fifth grade about exploring the earth's last
great frontier. I was definitely most attracted to the discovery part
of the job and the travel to exotic places. I also
liked the idea of not having to choose one science
to focus on. Oceanography was a blending of all sciences in the
pursuit of understanding the ocean and the seafloor. I was also good at mathematics and science as early as fifth grade. I
remember tutoring my friends in sixth and seventh grade. When
I started college, I decided to major in chemistry, which was the most
challenging subject for me in high school. What I discovered was that
I did great in all my math classes, really good in physical chemistry
and the laboratory sciences and really bad in organic chemistry
and any other course that required extensive memorization (boring,
boring, boring). After two years of struggling in college, I remembered
my goal of oceanography--the blending of sciences to understand
the natural world. So I decided to add geology as a second major,
and became the first real "geochemistry" major at Rice University.
I discovered that physical chemistry and thermodynamics control
rock chemistry and even the mineralogy. Chemistry is a lot more colorful
when you can hold the results in your hand! My undergraduate days
were followed immediately by five years of graduate school with a focus
on marine geochemistry and then two post-doctoral programs. The first
program took me to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean in the submersible
ALVIN and the second took me to the deserts of Oman to look at
fossil seafloor. Since then I have spent time both at NSF and as a college
professor. MBARI is definitely the best possible realization of my
grade school dreams.
Margaret
K. Tivey
Associate Scientist
Department of Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry
WHOI
http://www.whoi.edu/dept/profile.go?id=860
B.S. Stanford University, 1980, Geology
M.S. University of Washington, 1983, Geological Oceanography
Ph.D. University of Washington, 1989, Geological Oceanography
Research interests:
- Quantification of heat and mass transfer in hydrothermal systems
- Field studies of active vent sites
- Examination of mineral textures and mineral precipitation processes in seafloor massive sulfide deposits
Selected publications (updated 1999):
Tivey, M.K., and S. Singh (1997). Nondestructive imaging of fragile
sea-floor vent deposit samples. Geology, 25, 931-934. Tivey, M. K. (1995). The influence of
hydrothermal fluid composition and advection rates on black smoker chimney
mineralogy: Insights from modeling non-reactive transport. Geochim.
Cosmochim. Acta, 59, 1933-1949. Tivey, M. K., S. E. Humphris, G. Thompson,
M. D. Hannington, and P. A. Rona (1995). Deducing patterns of fluid flow
and mixing within the TAG active hydrothermal mound using mineralogical
and goechemical data. Journal of Geophysical Research, 100, 12,527-12,555.
Tivey, M.K., L.O. Olson, V.M. Miller and R.D. Light (1990). Temperature measurements during initiation and growth of a black smoker chimney. Nature, 346: 51-54.
Maurice
A. Tivey
Dept. of Geology and Geophysics
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
http://www.whoi.edu/dept/profile.go?id=409
What is your role on this cruise?
I am a professor of Geology at Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution and will be going on this cruise in
order to further my research.
What are your primary goals? (research or otherwise)
The primary goal of this study is to obtain oriented
rock cores of the extrusive lava sequence in order to
establish how the lavas construct the upper part of oceanic
crust. Post-depositional rotation of the lava sequence, or
lack thereof, can be estimated by measuring the magnetic
inclination of the lavas remnant magnetization. This is the
main objective of the magnetic sampling during the MBARI
cruise.
In the proposed survey with the MBARI ROV drill, we plan to
take advantage of the natural lateral exposure of a vertical
cross-section of upper ocean crust at the Blanco transform and
sample a complete section of upper oceanic crust. In 1995, I
carried out a series of submersible dives that mapped the
lateral extent of magnetic polarity boundaries within the
extrusive crust [Tivey et al., 1998]. These measurements show
the dipping and bending of polarity isochrons towards the
spreading axis, however, no directional measurements have been
made of the magnetic vectors. The proposed project will
attempt to make such measurements for the first time from an
ROV.
A secondary goal of the project is to learn more about the technology and problems associated with drilling the seafloor for oriented rock samples with ROV-based and small portable drill systems.
How did you become a scientist?
I went to Dalhousie University in Canada, and
graduated in 1979 with a degree in Geology. I then
received my master's degree in Geological Oceanography from
the University of Washington in 1981, and continued on to
receive my Ph.D. in 1988.
Janet
Voight
Associate Curator, Invertebrates (Field Museum in Chicago
image courtesy of © The Field Museum
What is your role on this cruise?
Biologist
What are your primary goals?
Collect macrofauna to document deep-sea biological diversity. Specimens collected will be deposited for study at The Field
Museum in Chicago to compliment our growing deep-sea collections. Deploy artificial substrates for collection during my cruise with ALVIN
next summer.
What do you expect to find?
In short, I expect to find dense local populations of small animals at
the hydrothermal vents we explore and sparse populations of larger individuals at “normal” deep-sea sites.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
Favorite part: Discovery
Least favorite part: Packing. Because I have to travel from Chicago to the west coast to participate in North Pacific cruises, days or even weeks before we sail I have to know what I will need and ship it out.
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
I became a scientist because I wanted to learn about animals and how
they live. Discovering new things and understanding why they are the way they are, as well as how they got that way are fun. As a scientist I
decide what the questions I want to answer and how to best go about answering them. I focus on questions that are so interesting to me that
even when they seem to be impossible to answer, I keep working at them until I discover something no one else in the world has ever known.
How did you become one?
I became a scientist by working hard to do well in school, college and
graduate school. I’ve also benefited from being lucky and the help and support of friends and colleagues.
Karen
Von Damm
Professor of Geochemistry and Earth, Oceans & Space,
University of New Hampshire
What is your role on this cruise?
I will be collecting, analyzing, and preserving water samples for
further analysis back in my laboratories at the University of New Hampshire.
The big question I am working to address is the overall importance of
seafloor hydrothermal vent systems to ocean chemistry. I've worked at quite a few sites on the global mid-ocean ridge system. The two sites on the Gorda Ridge (one in Escanaba Trough and one further north known as the Sea Cliff hydrothermal field) are of interest for several reasons:
What do you expect to find?
If I knew, I wouldn't have to go to sea and collect samples.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
116 ft is small to spend 2 weeks on.
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
Its never boring.
How did you become one?
Lots of education - but done in a series of steps - and having a lot of
curiosity about the world.
C. Robert
Young
Graduate Student (UCSC) and Research
Technician (MBARI)
What is your role on this cruise?
I am representing Jeff Drazen and the Vrijenhoek Lab in the collection and
documentation of deep sea organisms. It is my responsibility to identify and
to preserve the biological samples that we collect.
What are your primary goals?
I plan to collect vent associated fauna for ongoing studies of genetic
diversity and population structure of vent and seep organisms. I will also
collect information on the reproductive biology of animals at the Mendocino
site (first dive).
What do you expect to find?
We will see clams, tubeworms, limpets, gastropods, corals, octopuses, fish,
polychaetes, tunicates, sponges, bacterial mat, and who knows what else. That's part of the fun.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
My favorite parts are the excitement of exploration and the interaction in
the field with experts from many disciplines (geologists, water chemists, other biologists) that help me learn about the physical and biological
environment that my study organisms inhabit. I like to travel, so cruises
sometimes send me to interesting places like Mexico, Mauritius or the Seychelles. I also like the limitless supply of ice cream bars. My least
favorite part of research cruises is the inability to walk more than 100 feet
in any one direction for weeks at the time.
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
I have always been intrigued by evolution, and now I get to study it. My
particular niche, population genetics, is entertaining because you use molecules (DNA) to infer processes that occur over thousands of kilometers.
You have to think across scales that span orders of magnitude, and I find that fun. In addition to biology, I enjoy math, statistics, computer
programming and writing. Science allows me to use all of these skill, so I
guess I would say that I chose science because it most fit my interests.
How did you become one?
I took a population genetics class at the University of South Carolina
taught by Dr. Joe Quattro. That class and several other classes that I took after that time got me interested in these kinds of questions. I
volunteered in Dr. Quattro's lab for a while to learn the ropes of genetic work. I was awarded a Howard Hughes Undergraduate Research
Fellowship for the following year that supported a project on killifish from North Carolina. After I graduated, Dr. Quattro hired me as a
technician working on South American mosquitoes. From there, I moved to MBARI as a technician for Dr. Robert Vrijenhoek and began working on
population structure of deep-sea invertebrates. Shortly thereafter, I was accepted into the Ph.D. program at the University of California,
Santa Cruz, with Dr. Vrijenhoek as my major advisor. The rest, they say, is history.
Robert
Zierenberg, better known as "Z"
Professor of Geology, UC Davis
http://www.geology.ucdavis.edu/
What is your role on this cruise?
I'm the tour guide for the Escanaba Trough hydrothermal fields. I was on
the Alvin submersible dive when the hydrothermal vents at this site were first discovered in 1988 and have been studying this area on many different
research cruises since 1986. I will try to be sure we find the best sites
for the water chemists, biologists, and geologists to collect samples to study.
What are your primary goals?
We are trying to understand how the hydrothermal vents change through time.
When we visited the vents with the same ship and ROV in 2000, we found that
some vents had shut down and no longer had any hot water or animal communities. Other vents had not changed in terms of the chemical
composition of the fluids or the temperature. This was somewhat surprising
since we had drilled some deep holes in this area with the Ocean Drilling Program ship, the JOIDES/Resolution, in 1996. We don't understand the
plumbing that feeds the hydrothermal vents very well.
What do you expect to find?
The exciting thing about science is that you don't always know what to
expect to find. We have been studying this site for several years, but each time we come back we find new things. I know what this area looked
like two years ago, we will have to wait for the first dive to see if it has changed.
What is your favorite/least favorite part of a research cruise?
My favorite part is learning new things from the other scientist on board.
No scientist knows everything, everyone has their own areas of expertise and I always learn new things from my fellow scientists. My least
favorite part is not being able to go for a walk and get away from the ships lights so I can look at the stars.
Why did you decide to become a scientist/engineer/etc?
I never really decided to become a scientist. I was always interested in
understanding how things work and why things were the way they were. I like to try to understand the world I see around me just because it is
interesting and fun. It turns out that is what science is, so I guess I'm
a scientist.
How did you become one?
Obviously, the science classes I took in high school and college were an
important part of my training to become a scientist. I also read science magazines like Scientific American and Science News. The real way to
become a scientist is to ask questions and then try to find the answers by
whatever means you can.