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InFORMing Research

The wasting of the stars: A look into the largest ocean epidemic in recorded history

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By Peter Arcuni
July 18, 2017
Originally published in Peninsula Press
Audio report

In June 2013, Steve Fradkin hiked the rugged coast of Washington State’s Olympic National Park to count the stars. In the summertime, the lowest tides expose the slippery rocks of the intertidal zone from daybreak until noon. Perfect conditions for spotting Pisaster ochraceus, the five-armed purple, orange and red sea stars common to Pacific waters along the western edge of the United States. Continue reading The wasting of the stars: A look into the largest ocean epidemic in recorded history →

Monitoring, Oceanic

Cruising Big Blue ’17: The Life Aquatic

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by Annaliese Meyer
13-Jul-2017
60˚ 18.866’ N 171˚ 15.836’ W

1200 hours: We set steam from Dutch Harbor two days ago, and have been making fast headway towards our first station. Dutch Harbor was absolutely breathtaking, astounding, astonishing – my adjectives are woefully inadequate when attempting to describe it. We lapsed into movie comparisons as we sailed through the sunlight that filtered through mist, wrapped ‘round rolling mountaintops. I think the closest we came in terms of comparisons was walking out of the Shire, the Cliffs of Insanity from the Princess Bride, and the song-bound hills of the Sound of Music. Continue reading Cruising Big Blue ’17: The Life Aquatic →

Monitoring, Oceanic

Cruising Big Blue ’17: Out of Sight of Land

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By Annaliese Meyer

05-Jul-2017
50˚ 23.840’ N 131˚ 12.998’W

0800 hours: At breakfast this morning, I made to introduce myself to the crew member sitting next to me. Rather amusingly, he informed me that we had, in fact, met about 8 hours earlier when I had been blearily starting a new sample in the aft lab and he had been checking in as part of the midnight to noon watch. Given my reindeer pajamas and bemused 1 am expression, I think it was fairly obvious I hadn’t been entirely conscious at the time. I’m reluctant to let my samples run all night without supervision, and every couple hours I have swap to a new 20 L carboy filled with seawater. The result is an alarm set for every 2 hours through the night, and lots of short naps through the day. I also have a secret stash of chocolate covered coffee beans for when times get desperate – I might also use them to make friends with the night watch crew. Continue reading Cruising Big Blue ’17: Out of Sight of Land →

Monitoring, Oceanic

Cruising Big Blue ’17: I Need to Explore

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IMG_5301
InFORM undergrad research assisitant, Annaliese Meyer at her bench on the Laurier.

by Annaliese Meyer

One snowy, early morning in January of this year, I was sitting in a first-year Earth and Oceans Sciences class, clinging to my coffee cup for dear life. My professor, Dr. John Dower, then began saying something that completely dispelled any need for caffeine: he was describing the opportunities for undergraduates on research cruises. Wow, I thought, this is something I absolutely need to explore. I had never before considered that I might be able to go out to sea during my undergrad, but the possibility was suddenly real. Continue reading Cruising Big Blue ’17: I Need to Explore →