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Loaded with supplies, a biomedical researcher crosses the gangplank from dock to deck. Once at sea, there are often no options for resupply.
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The Research Vessel's paint receives some touching up.
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Wilderness photographer Mark Carroll, the correspondent from our Shark Mission to Brazil, returns to bring you the action from the Keys. Click below to learn a bit more about Mark...
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The mission promises to be as intense technically as it will be scientifically. Beyond scuba, researchers plan to launch the JOHNSON-SEA-LINK I (JSL) manned submersible twice a day to probe the depths, 3000 feet down. The submersible and scuba divers will work in tandem to conduct a biodiversity survey of the Florida Keys -- the first of its kind to incorporate data from depths accessible by the JSL. This survey will benefit resource managers as they seek to understand future threats to the area, and as they work to prevent damage to delicate, undersea ecosystems.
To provide a window onto this science frontier, I'll be transmitting daily dispatches to @Sea in order to share in the thrill of discovery, the unforeseen challenges, the routine of life on a research vessel, the remarkable workings of science and the sea.
Tomorrow the ship cuts its ties to land and heads to the ocean. This morning it is alive with terrestrial activity. People swarm on the deck and the dock, loading, checking, tweaking -- their actions motivated by the promises of the upcoming mission. For over a year, many of these scientists have prepared for tomorrow's departure. They all have stories to tell and mysteries to uncover. I look forward to documenting their experiences and discoveries. For now, everyone just seems anxious to finish the packing and preparations and move down the Harbor Branch Ship Channel to the open ocean.
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The R/V EDWIN LINK has recently returned from over four months at sea, and there are many standard maintenance tasks that must be attended to for the ship to stay in its accustomed, meticulous state. |
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