This page links to blog articles as they are posted from CoralFISH research cruises at sea.

CoralFISH Cruise Blog

R/V Pelagia in Galway
These photos were taken on the ship as the crew and scientists did some last-minute preparations before sailing. NIOZ's R/V Pelagia tied up in Galway Harbour before setting sail for the North Atlantic. Scientific supplies were being brought aboard to support the research. A record number (5) of landers is aboard the vessel - all can be seen here, one hasn't had its yellow buoyancy attached yet, but its frame is visble behind the 'long-legged' lander on deck. This device can take multiple cores of the seafloor. This is the view from the bridge. Thomas Linley from OceanLab in the University of Aberdeen is onboard to work with the CoralFISH lander, and to blog about his experience. This is his container. The lander on the upper deck has been built especially for CoralFISH research. The container on the lower deck on the right is the control room for the landers. The crew enjoy some relaxation time - this is the crew that have just finished a cruise to Greenland. This device on the lander is able to trap particles from the water column to bring back to the surface for analysis. Everything has to be tied down to make sure it doesn't move when the ship is out at sea. Here, one of the labs that is used to freeze-dry samples is prepared. Lots of freezers (at -20 and -80 deg C) to preserve samples (and some food!).
16 Oct 2009 - 15:18 by CoralFISH	R/V Pelagia October 2009 | comments (0)