Notes From the Field: Student Rachel Edwards Writes From a 5 Week Pacific Cruise Onboard the R/V Falkor                  I am the very fortunate recipient of Schmidt Ocean Institute’s (SOI) Student Opportunity aboard R/V Falkor. This particular cruise is exploring Shatsky Rise’s magnetic anomalies using a magnetometer and mapping the bathymetry using a multi-beam echo-sounder. Shatsky Rise is located about 1,000 miles east of Japan and is home to Tamu Massif, the world’s largest single volcano with an area comparable to that of New Mexico. Figure 1: On the R/V Falkor in Honolulu's Port 34. As the selected student, I am neither part of the crew or the scientific team, but I am able to participate in all facets of the expedition. I offer my perspective of the science being conducted as well as what life is like aboard the Falkor by contributing to SOI’s blogs. This experience has been a great opportunity to immerse myself in the world of geophysics and learn about topics I have never studied before. We have been at sea for about ten days, and I have accrued many educational and life experiences that I never would have acquired at home. Most notably, I had never seen the Pacific Ocean before nor had I been on a ship overnight. Both of those are firmly crossed off the bucket list seeing as how, at the end of this cruise, I will have spent five weeks in the middle of the Pacific! Daily life on the ship is fairly routine now that we have worked out most of the kinks. There are eight students on board, mostly from the University of Houston, where our Chief Scientist, Dr. Will Sager, teaches and conducts research. One of his former students, a professor of geophysics at Texas A&M University, also sent one of her PhD students to be part of the science team. Figure 2: The control room where all the magic happens. There are four, three hour, twice daily shifts in which two students stand watch. My shifts are from 3 to 6 AM and PM. Watch keepers sit in the control room (Fig. 2) and record speed, course over ground, latitude and longitude coordinates of the Falkor, water depth and magnetometer depth every half hour on the hour. I have been fortunate to tag along with the crew and ask them various questions about what they do on Falkor and how they do it. So far, I have toured the engine room, the bridge, and the deck. The engine room generates the power to move us through the water as well as offer electricity and air conditioning to the interior of the ship. Falkor was previously a fisheries protection vessel under the name Seefalke. When purchased by SOI in 2012, the interior was refitted to make her suitable as a research vessel. The engine was not refitted at that time which now keeps the engineers and fitters busy! Three engineers work round the clock with shifts of eight hours each. At present, one of the four generators on board is getting refit which takes up the time of a fourth engineer. They are aided by two fitters who have experience with welding and working on engines. If the engine room is the heart of the ship, the bridge is her brain. This is where the captain, chief officer, and navigational officer work. Located near the top, the bridge has a multitude of controls used to control the heading and speed of the ship. Windows are constructed to have a 180 degree angle, giving officers the best perspective to detect any potential hazards while at sea. Night vision is also preserved by complete darkness or by only using red lights throughout the nightshift. Deck hands work incredibly hard to keep Falkor in top shape. In the words of Captain Bernd Buchner, a “clean ship is a safe ship.” Any leak or signs of rust are dealt with and fixed immediately in order to maintain the integrity of the ship. I spent several day assisting the deck hands clean the ballast and freshwater tanks. Residue in these areas builds up on the tank floors and walls and has to be scrubbed off twice a year. My job comprised of holding the spotlight so they could see exactly where they needed to scrub. Figure 3: After they no longer needed the spotlight to scrub the freshwater tank, I watched from above (you can see my feet) as Lars and Henrik finished the job. Marine technicians are those that are in charge of keeping the scientific equipment on board running accurately. They also are in charge of deploying any science equipment that is necessary for a particular cruise such as Maggie the Magnetometer. It was the first time they had deployed that particular piece of equipment, so students just observed as Maggie was deployed. The Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT) is deployed daily, and I have been allowed to both observe and help deploy this equipment. An XBT is used to collect water temperature and a depth of up to 1,000m. Since the speed of sound varies as a function of temperature, the XBT’s temperature profile is inputted into the multi-beam data processor in order to make our sonar measurements more accurate. Figure 4: Talking to Leighton the Marine Tech while holding a deployed XBT. Figure 5: Lars and Paul help deploy Maggie the Magnetometer. Very unexpectedly and unrelated to my acceptance to this expedition is media journalist/outreach coordinator Suraida Nanez-James. She is a TAMUCC alumnus and was a previous researcher at Harte! Suraida was one of the first people I met on board and much to my surprise she was wearing a Corpus Christi t-shirt. She now works at the Texas State Aquarium as the Manager for Distance Learning and Outreach. She conducts outreach by way of live connections to schools around the United States, and I help her with some of them. This is a picture of us after crossing the International Date Line. Captain Bernd held a ceremony marking nearly all of the scientific crew and several of the ship’s crew into the Domain of the Golden Dragon. Suraida is wonderful to work with, and Harte should be proud to have been instrumental in the training of such a scientist! Figure 6: Suraida and me, the newest members of the Domain of the Golden Dragon This cruise has been a wonderful, once in a lifetime learning and personal experience. I’ve met people from around the world who I now call friends and future colleagues. A million thanks to Dr. Jim Gibeaut, my advisor, for giving me the time to take advantage of such a great opportunity and to Harte for sponsoring my travel. I am more grateful than I can express. Please also check out SOI’s website for updates and info into the science that is going on: http://www.schmidtocean.org/story/show/4551. Figure 7: The sunrises, sunsets, and stars viewable from sea are undoubtedly a highlight of this expedition and a great way to start and end my day.