Slideshows
Sea to Space Particle Investigation
List View » The Sea to Space Particle Investigation aims to improve the accuracy of particle size distribution products gathered from satellite and remote-sensing data. These data contain critical information that can improve our understanding of how Earth's living marine resources and carbon sequestration are responding to rising carbon dioxide levels and climate changes. The field campaign took place from January 24 through February 20, 2017.
A view of the R/V Falkor at sunset. Credit: SOI
A satellite image shows the cruise track against a background of ocean color data. Colors indicate the amount of chlorophyll, where red is the highest and blue the is lowest. Credit: Norman Kuring (NASA)
Noah Walcutt (URI) inspects mangled sediment traps recovered from the first sampling site. Shark damage was later confirmed. Credit: Melissa Omand (URI)
A rosette is recovered at night. Credit: NASA GSFC
Philipp Guenther retrieves sediment traps in heavy seas. Credit: Stephanie Schollaert Uz (NASA)
Working on the ocean presents many challenges, including the threat of rough seas, inclement weather, nosy vertebrates, and round-the-clock sampling. Credit: NASA GSFC
Nitrogen is a key nutrient at the very base of the food chain, and its availability directly impacts the global marine ecosystem. Biogeochemical Oceanographer Hugo Berthelot samples different geographical locations under varying weather conditions as part of his research on the nitrogen cycle. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute
Dr. Mannino measures biological process rates. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute
Oceanographyer Colleen Durking studies particle size and distribution. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute/Monika Naranjo Gonzalez
Composite image of the contents of one sediment gel trap created from a series of photographs taken with a microscope. Credit: SOI
Zrinka Ljubesic (University of Zagreb) uses a microscope to identify phytoplankton and zooplankton in seawater samples. Credit: Stephanie Schollaert Uz (NASA)
The R/V Falkor contains wet and dry laboratory space, a control room for sonar and ROV operations, and offices. Here, Seaver Wang supplies water to a mass spectrometer in the Wet Lab. Credit: Monika Naranjo Gonzalez (SOI)
Dr. Antonio Mannino installs a Coulometer in the on-board wet lab to measure particle productivity in water samples. Credit: Monika Naranjo Gonzalez (SOI)
Designed to simulate naturally available light at different times and depth, the electro-squid 4000 experimental photosynthetron measures the biological activity and composition of microscopic plankton and the optical properties of seawater. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute/Ryan Vandermeulen
Phytoplankton are incubated in a one-of-a-kind photosynthetron, an incubation chamber used to study and measure the balance of phytoplankton oxygen/carbon exchange. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute/ Ryan Vandermeulen
Water is fed through the FlowCam at a specific magnification wherein a camera is triggered to take a digital image of each particle that passes by the field of view. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute/Aimee Neeley
Biological Oceanographer Aimee Neely uses a FlowCam to study particles suspended in seawater. The FlowCam combines the functionality of an imaging flow cytometer and a microscope in a single, powerful tool. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute/Monica Naranjo Gonzalez
High-resolution images of suspended particles are captured with an Imaging FlowCytobot (IFCB). The IFCB - an in-situ, automated submersible, uses a combination of flow cytometric and video technology to generate 30,000 images per hour. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute/Ivona Cetinic
Stephanie Schollaert Uz monitors the speed and direction of water flowing under the ship with an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). Credit: SOI
A plot of the Wirewalker's track as it drifted freely for three days. Credit: SOI
The Wirewalker is a vertical profiling instrument package propelled by ocean waves. When attached to a cable, the motion of ocean waves "walks" the Wirewalker to the bottom as it takes continuous samples in the water column. Credit: SOI
Chief Officer Philipp Guenther assembles a Wirewalker, an autonomous platform used to collect high frequency data. Credit: SOI
A neutrally buoyant sediment trap (NBST) is deployed off the R/V Falkor. Credit: SOI
An aluminum block below one trap holds an iPhone camera programmed for time-lapse image collection. The images will be used for holographic research in collaboration with Brown University. Credit: SOI
Melissa Omand, Colleen Durkin, Phillipp Guenther and Ben Knorlein prepare a sediment trap for deployment. Credit: SOI
Sediment traps collect particles falling toward the sea floor. These particles - marine snow - are made up of organic matter, dead sea creatures, tiny shells, dust, and minerals. Credit: WHOI
Artist at Sea Kirsten Carlson poses with a replica of a cyanometer, a tool used to measure 'blueness', or the color intensity of blue sky. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute
Melissa Omand reacts to the first virtual reality experience created on board R/V Falkor: holographic images of plankton suspended in the water. Credit: SOI
Computer Scientist Benjamin Knorlein (Brown University) integrates virtual reality with a digital holographic microscope to present an up-close look at plankton in a view so finely detailed that the human eye can't capture it under normal observation. Credit: SOI
A holographic picture of a diatom chain. Credit: SOI
Noah Walcutt examines a holographic camera installed on a rosette. The camera can capture 40,000 images in a single deployment. Credit: SOI
A sampling rosette carrying a CTD is deployed off the R/V Falkor at night. Credit: SOI
A CTD may be incorporated into an array of Niskin bottles (referred to as a rosette). The bottles close at predefined depths to collect discrete samples for analysis. Credit: Monika Naranjo Gonzalez (SOI)
A CTD is used to measure the conductivity, temperature, and pressure of seawater (the D stands for depth, which is closely related to pressure). CTDs generate a vertical profile of the water column from surface to bottom. Credit: Hannes Grobe
Research Oceanographer Dr. Antonio Mannino stands next to the HyperSAS radiometer. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute/Kirsten Carlson
The HyperPro radiometer is an in-situ, free-fall profiling unit designed to measure the apparent optical properties of the ocean. It is periodically deployed off the stern. Credit: NASA GSFC
A view of the HyperSAS radiometer in the bow during rough seas. The lenses of the radiometer must be cleaned periodically because of sea spray. Credit: Kirsten Carlson (SOI)
The HyperSAS radiometer, installed in the bow, continously follows the angle of the sun and measures the color of the sea through a downward looking lens, and the color of the sky through another lens pointed upward. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute/Ryan Vandermeulen
Radiometers observe and capture the color of sea and sky by measuring different wavelengths of light. The team will use two different radiometers on this cruise: HyperSAS and HyperPro. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute
The team will use the data collected on this investigation to ground-truth satellite observations of ocean color (seen here in this composite image of average chlorophyll concentrations in Spring, 1998 to 2004. Credit: NASA
The R/V Falkor departs Honolulu on January 24, 2017. Credit: SOI
The carbon cycle consists of processes that exchange carbon within and between the ocean, atmosphere, Earth interior, and the seafloor. Along with the nitrogen and water cycles, the carbon cycle comprises a sequence of events that are key to make Earth capable of sustaining life. Credit: Kirsten Carlson
Phytoplankton are critical to our existence. They produce much of the world’s oxygen and remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, thereby helping to control climate. This collage shows a small number of the different kinds of phytoplankton that inhabit Earth's ocean. Credit: Heidi Sosik (WHOI)
The focus of Chief Scientist Dr. Ivona Cetinic´ (USRA/NASA) and her multidisciplinary team of oceanographers, engineers, biologists, and computer scientists is to study ocean particles, and specifically, the tiny phytoplankton that make up the base of our food web. Credit: SOI
The R/V Falkor cruise track superimposed on a map of sea surface temperature. The cruise will take 28 days to sail from Honolulu, HI to Seattle, WA. Credit: PO.DAAC/NASA
Carlie Wiener (SOI) examines a model of the R/V Falkor made out of legos. Credit: SOI
R/V Falkor was originally built as the Seefalke in 1981 in Lübeck, Germany as a fishery protection vessel but was converted for oceanographic research in 2009-2012. The 82-meter ship has a maximum speed of 17 knots and contains 16 berths for scientists, technicians, and cruise personnel. Credit: Schmidt Ocean Institute
Scientists from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) will collect data in collaboration with the Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) on a month-long cruise in the Pacific aboard the R/V Falkor. Credit: SOI
The Sea to Space Particle Investigation aims to improve the accuracy of particle size distribution products gathered from satellite and remote-sensing data. These data contain critical information that can improve our understanding of how Earth's living marine resources and carbon sequestration are responding to rising carbon dioxide levels and climate changes. Credit: SOI
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