by 
Friday, March 21, 2025
We knew today would be a big day, but we weren’t sure what to expect. The sky was cold and gloomy, and the waters had turned from bright and deep blue to navy, almost grey. It was clear we were no longer in the Gulf Stream and much closer to Florida than New England.
John Kemp told us about the OTZ (Ocean Twilight Zone) buoys we would be recovering, but the ‘recovery’ was not quite what we thought it would be. After standing in the cold for…a while, we could see the buoy from the starboard (right side) of the ship and we patiently waited as we drifted towards it. When the buoy was within reach, deck crew latched onto it and carefully maneuvered it to the back deck. A team of very well trained crew members connected the buoy to the A-frame and bull lines to haul it in slowly and carefully.
One of the recovered OTZ buoys safely on the deck!
The buoy itself is about 1.5 meters (~5 feet tall), and it is connected to a ~100 meter wire that holds other equipment and sampling gear. Just when we thought we had seen all the marvels of engineering aboard this ship, the crane swung around to move the recovered buoy into place on the deck! Once the rest of the wire was wound up and sampling gear removed, the STEMSEAS group went inside to thaw.
With our fingers thawed enough to type, Jamell led us in a mini-coding workshop. Within a half hour we had all produced our first ‘Hello world!’ code (a 1950’s computer science tradition) and completed an icebreaker activity. We wrapped up with excitement about becoming computer scientists and set off for lunch.
Dr. Jamell Dacon teaching the STEMSEAS group how to code in Python
After a delicious lunch of phở, bbq chicken sandwiches, fries, salad, roasted veggies (and more!), we returned to the lab for a brainstorming session. We collaborated on ideas for incorporating STEMSEAS expeditions and data into K-12 classrooms, and designing our own STEMSEAS expeditions.
Later, Joe Montoya set up a ring net for us to collect and sort through zooplankton. They’re kinda cute, also kinda weird, but overall really important.
They are the most abundant multicellular organisms in the world and their vertical migration (through the water column) is the largest migration of biomass in the world! If you saw “Finding Nemo”, the little animals called krill that swam away from the whale are zooplankton!
Some of us spent the rest of the evening playing games and building on our new friendships. Some of us played board games but ruined those new friendships. (Just kidding!)
Sunset from the bridge
The sunsets at sea are spectacular, and I’ll miss these little moments. I will also miss not having to wash my own dishes or cook. But, I miss my family and am looking forward to seeing them soon.
Oh, did I mention how good the food is aboard this cruise?! These chefs are amazing!
Until next time,
Onjalé (Onji) Scott Price
