Updates

By Darlene Trew Crist As we steam towards the Oregon coast, I thought it might be helpful to share my perspective of all of the hard work that has occurred over the past eight days at sea and why it matters.  Twelve adults of various ages and genders, who comprise the Endurance 17 Team, worked extremely hard during this time at sea.  They lugged heavy stretch hoses, wrapped and unwrapped…

This morning the Endurance Team recovered the anchor for the Washington Offshore Profiler Mooring from 533 meters below the surface. It was the last piece of equipment to be recovered or deployed during leg 1 of the Endurance 17 expedition. The R/V Thomas G. Thompson is now steaming into the Oregon shore to outrun a brewing storm so the ship can be at the dock while it passes. Congratulations to…

This morning as work on the back deck was winding up with the last anchor secured, the Endurance 17 team was greeted by a huge pod of Pacific white-sided dolphins.  The dolphins joyfully swam along the starboard side of the ship, jumping over the ship’s wake, and winning the race. It was a grand site.  Watch the video here to enjoy the show.

Half of the Endurance 17 team was on deck at 6 am to begin operations early for there was a lot to accomplish.  Before breakfast, the team had brought the Washington Coastal Surface Profiler Mooring onboard and had secured it to the deck. After breakfast, the rest of the contingent joined in for a full day of recovery work.  After the rest of the first mooring components were recovered, some…

The best way to describe life at sea is it functions as a routine.  Wake up. Eat breakfast.  Deploy or recover ocean observing equipment. Break for lunch. Deploy or recover ocean observing equipment. Break for dinner.  Finish deploying and recovering ocean observing equipment, if needed. Most deck operations are completed before dark, so everyone figures out how to spend time during the evening.  Activities include card games, working out at…

One of the challenges of recovering ocean observing equipment is to snag large, heavy equipment in moving water and guide it to the rear of the ship for pickup.  The Endurance 17 team has made the snagging of this equipment much easier with an innovative design that uses modified commercial off-the-shelf pelican hooks – typically used to prevent falls – and a newly designed pickup pole.  A former team member…

Trenity Ford, a PhD candidate at Oklahoma State, is onboard the Thompson to collect and redeploy a foraminifera substrate experiment. Foraminifera are single-celled protists that can live both inside and outside of their shells. He reports on his experiences during Endurance 17 here. Bookmark the site and follow along to have another insider’s perspective about this expedition.