Aboard R/V Sally Ride, we’re always studying the ocean as part of the science – but that’s not the only water we have to be concerned with. Thankfully for those in the science party, the engineering crew takes care of all the rest (in addition to keeping the ship’s propulsion and electricity up and running). The ship is capable of making … Read More
The Internal Waves of La Jolla Canyon
As you may recall, last month R/V Sally Ride was easily visible from La Jolla and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The science mission was to recover moorings (strings of instruments anchored to the seafloor) that were deployed in the La Jolla Canyon area a few months earlier. Belonging to the lab of Scripps professor Dr. Matthew Alford, these moorings collect data for the study … Read More
ROV Jason visits the Del Mar Seep
In 2012, a methane seep was discovered by a group of SIO graduate students on a UC Ship Funds research cruise onboard Scripps’ now-retired research vessel Melville. SIO’s ROV Trident was used to take video of the site as well as collect samples from the seafloor. Now called the Del Mar Seep, it’s the first of its kind to be studied off the coast of San … Read More
Experiments on the Seafloor with ROV Jason
During last month’s cruise aboard R/V Sally Ride, an ROV named Jason (after the Greek mythological hero and explorer) was deployed in order to test the ship’s capabilities, performing scientific operations under the direction of Scripps scientists. Labs at the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP) at Scripps study seismographic data from the ocean floor using tiltmeters to measure … Read More
Ecological Insights from ROV Jason
Last month, R/V Sally Ride went out to sea for a week with the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason onboard, which is owned by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI). One of the science verification cruises, the main purpose was to ensure that the ship was able to support the ROV work in a way that the technicians at WHOI are … Read More
The Ever-Changing Lab
The lab space on R/V Sally Ride is on the main deck, just forward of the fantail. There is a “wet” lab and a “dry” lab, separated by a door. The wet lab connects right to the staging bay via water-tight door, where equipment to be deployed over the side of the ship can be stored when it’s not being used. Sampling can … Read More
Drones for Science
During a recent science verification cruise, Dr. Eric Terrill’s group from here at Scripps Institution of Oceanography tested out some of their suite of remote-controlled oceanographic equipment – modified aerial and aquatic vehicles that can be loaded up with sensors and sent out on scientific missions. Drones are becoming more and more popular – from the hobbyist to the military, … Read More
Kayak Upgrade!
During a recent science verification cruise a remote-controlled kayak from Dr. Eric Terrill’s group at SIO was tested, using R/V Sally Ride as a platform. It sits in a custom-built frame, which was lowered into the water using the ship’s A-frame. From there it was operated by a hand-held controller just like those for toy cars, leaving the frame and heading off … Read More
Outreach with ONR
Those of us who work and live aboard research vessels know that many of them are owned by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) and operated by oceanographic institutions such as Scripps, Wood’s Hole, and the University of Washington. ONR is a division of the United States Navy that, after World War II, funded the AGOR (Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research) fleet of … Read More