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Today marks the third full day aboard the R/V Atlantis, and I’m continuing to learn more about what life and scientific research are like aboard a research vessel. We started the day with a series of lectures and presentations in the morning, where we continued learning about oceanographic research and some of the different types of science that can be conducted aboard the ship.
After the morning presentations, two other students and I participated in a video project about the “Do’s and Don’ts” aboard a vessel. The project gave us a chance to talk about some of the things we have learned since coming aboard, especially when it comes to safety and adjusting to living and working in an environment that is very different from what most of us are used to on land. It was also a fun way to take what we have been learning and turn it into something that could help others who may find themselves aboard a research vessel in the future.
Later in the day, one of the SSSG crew members took us on a more in-depth tour of the science labs aboard the Atlantis. We were able to walk through the different laboratories and learn more about what each space is designed for and how scientists use them while conducting research at sea. One of the highlights for me was getting to see where members of the Alvin team do much of their lab work. Before coming aboard, I had heard and learned about the research conducted from vessels like the Atlantis, but being able to walk through these spaces gave me a much better understanding of how the research is done.
The tour also gave me a greater appreciation for just how much is packed onto a research vessel. Every space has a purpose, and the ship is essentially a moving scientific facility. Being able to see the laboratories, equipment, and workspaces firsthand made the experience feel even more real. It is one thing to learn about oceanographic research in a classroom, but it is completely different to stand in the spaces where that research is happening while traveling across the ocean.
Once we finished the tour, we were asked to begin brainstorming ideas for a research project that we would like to work on during our time aboard the Atlantis. This was probably one of the parts of the day that interested me the most because it gave us the opportunity to start thinking like researchers rather than only learning about the work of others. We had to consider what questions interested us, what could realistically be studied with the resources and time available to us, and how we could turn a general interest into an actual research question.
Being surrounded by scientists, crew members, other students, and the tools used to study the ocean has already started giving me new ideas about the kinds of questions I may want to explore. We are only three days into the trip, but each day has introduced me to another side of oceanographic research that I had previously only been able to learn about from the classroom.
