Bioluminescence and Vision on the Deep Seafloor 2015

Mission Logs

Follow along as participants in the cruise provide updates and reflections on their experiences, the science, the technology, and other elements of the expedition.

  • Final Days

    July 28, 2015  |  By Tamara Frank

    July 27: ROV Pilot

    I just read my colleague’s (Charles Messing) opening sentence in his log post, and I have one small addition: Working as a scientist on a deep-sea expedition offers numerous opportunities for both wonder and satisfaction and incredible frustration.

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  • ROV Pilot

    July 27, 2015  |  By Tony Saecier

    July 27: ROV Pilot

    At times my job is hard work, like when installing all the parts of the remotely operated vehicle system onto the vessel so we can do a job. Other times my job can be easy, like when the ship is moving from one location to another and I can just hang out for a while.

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  • Crabs, Lobsters and Shrimp, Oh My!: The Evolution of Light Detection in the Deep Sea

    July 26, 2015  |  By Heather Bracken-Grissom, Ph.D

    July 26: Crabs, Lobsters and Shrimp, Oh My!: The Evolution of Light Detection in the Deep Sea

    There is no other way to say it... Glowing things are cool. We all love the 4th of July because of the amazing reds, blues, and greens that light up the sky in a dazzling array of shapes and colors.

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  • Wonder and Satisfaction

    July 25, 2015  |  By Charles Messing, Ph.D.

    July 25: Wonder and Satisfaction

    Working as a scientist on a deep-sea expedition offers numerous opportunities for both wonder and satisfaction.

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  • MEDUSA is back!

    July 24, 2015  |  By Dr. Edie Widder

    July 24: MEDUSA is back!

    Medusa is back. We found it within a half hour of reaching the bottom. It looked fine but we quickly realized it had dropped its sacrificial weight but was still just sitting there – not a good sign.

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  • Beautiful Life

    July 23, 2015  |  By Sönke Johnsen, Ph.D.

    July 23: Beautiful Life

    Some things in life are easy, like scarfing down a bag of chips. Some things start out hard and then become second nature, like driving a car. But some things are genuinely hard, all the time. Hitting a fastball, parenting a child, and – as it turns out – driving a submarine.

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  • Medusa Deep in the Gulf of Mexico

    July 22, 2015  |  By Dr. Edie Widder

    July 22: Medusa Deep in the Gulf of Mexico

    Medusa didn’t return from its second deployment. We sent the acoustic signal to drop its 75-pound sacrificial weight and return to the surface at a little after 9 PM. From the depth that it is at, below 1,900 meters, it should take a couple of hours to reach the surface, but no such luck.

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  • Preservation Posse

    July 21, 2015  |  By Brenna Hays

    July 21: Preservation Posse

    I am here on Research Vessel Pelican as part of the “preservation posse” with Dr. Messing. Our job, once the poking and prodding are completed, is the taxonomic identification and preservation of specimens collected on each dive.

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  • Medusa in the Gulf of Mexico

    July 20, 2015  |  By Mackellar “Mackey” Violich

    July 20: Medusa in the Gulf of Mexico

    Today is the fifth day of our cruise and the Medusa is on her second drop. This is the first time for the Medusa to be in the Gulf of Mexico. The Medusa was the first camera to capture the live images of the Giant squid in the Pacific in 2012.

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  • Life At Sea

    July 19, 2015  |  By Eric Burdett

    July 19: Life At Sea

    The well-seasoned members of the research expedition knew what to expect ahead of time; however, for some of the graduate students such as myself, this is our first experience living at sea.

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  • Vision of Crustaceans

    July 18, 2015  |  By Jorge L. Pérez-Moreno

    July 18: Vision of Crustaceans

    As part of the Bracken-Grissom team, I am studying the vision of crustaceans in the deep sea. Specifically, we are interested in the visual pigments that enable crustaceans to detect light.

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  • Day 3

    July 17, 2015  |  By Katie Thomas

    June 17: Day 3

    We are on the third day of our cruise and things are going well. Initially we saw many oil rigs and ships surrounding us, but now there is nothing but sapphire blue water in every direction.

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  • First Days

    July 16, 2015  |  By Dr. Tamara Frank

    June 16: First Days

    We arrived at the R/V Pelican on a beautiful July day, and immediately got to work unpacking our crates and setting up our labs. Because of the amount of work involved setting up the remotely operated vehicle (ROV), the ROV crew has been working steadily since yesterday.

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