In 2004, while an undergraduate honors student at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, I joined my advisor, Dr. Lewis Abrams, many other scientists, and the crew on research cruise TN-165 in the Pacific Ocean.
(R/V Thomas G. Thompson of the University of Washington)

Some of these pictures were taken using what was known as a “film” camera.

While I had little to do with the ROV JASON II (Woods Hole) or the side-scan sonar unit seen above, I did assist with attaching the relatively tiny MAPR (Miniature Autonomous Plume Recorder) units to the other instruments and instrument cables to search for signs of undersea hydrothermal venting.

My senior honors project involved analyzing MAPR data and writing a thesis on evidence for hydrothermal venting in Endeavor Deep, a tectonic feature found at the triple junction of Pacific, Nazca, and Antarctic plates (Juan Fernandez microplate).

I noticed two potential small plumes in the MAPR data, but nothing too conclusive or astonishing. While we found no active venting sites, we did witness tube worm carcasses and hydrothermally stained rocks along the walls of Endeavor Deep (pictures unfortunately lost in the changing of computers and/or time, but I will upload later if I find some).

In the next part, I’ll highlight more joys of field work, but here is a preview of Rapa Nui (Easter Island). This runway was built as an emergency landing site for the Space Shuttle. #spacefacts

And one of the best parts of the mission was meeting all the friendly scientists! (and the extinct volcanoes)