 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
THE SEA OF CORTEZ Exploring Beneath Steinbeck's Wake MISSION DISPATCH 1 • 03/12/03 Edie Widder - HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution It was 1969 when Bill Hamner, a young scientist from UC Davis, made a pioneering leap into the blue waters of the Gulf of California and launched a new era in ocean exploration. Hamner was an ornithologist who had developed an interest in marine science - partly driven by a developing allergy to birds. To pursue his interest he wangled a berth on a midwater trawling cruise to the Gulf of 
California, aboard the R/V Proteus. Curious about the plankton that inhabited the open ocean environment
and frustrated by the mangled mush that was coming up in the trawl nets, he convinced a young graduate
student named Bruce Robison and a postdoc named Dan Hartline to don SCUBA gear and jump into the middle
of the ocean with him. What they saw amazed them - a universe of gossamer transparent creatures - the source
of the gelatinous mush from the trawls. The experience was both intellectually thrilling and heart-poundingly
life threatening. Absorbed in observing these alien creatures and their behaviors, Hamner drifted down to 200
feet without realizing it and could have easily sunk to his death had he not become aware in time. When the
three surfaced they found the ship had drifted 2 miles off. Fortunately, they were spotted and recovered,
or the science of blue-water diving might never have been born.
Two days ago I flew into La Paz in Baja California to join a research cruise that is a modern reenactment of two historic missions. One of these was the first major scientific collecting cruise to the Gulf of California (also known as the Sea of Cortez). That trip was organized by Ed Rickets and John Steinbeck in 1940. Their explorations and scientific discoveries were published in a book called "The Log from the Sea of Cortez" that was written by both of them, but is generally ascribed solely to Steinbeck. Their vessel was a chartered 
purse-seiner, called the Western Flyer. Our vessel is named after that historic vessel, but there the
resemblance ends. Because this is a very modern research vessel - a twin hulled swath ship designed for
stability and outfitted with the very latest in tools for exploring the midwater environment - the Remote
Operated Vehicle (ROV) Tiburon, owned and operated by the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute.
The Chief Scientist on this leg of the mission is Bruce Robison and he has invited Bill Hamner to join him,
along with a group of other midwater biologists like myself, to retrace the path the R/V Proteus followed
back in 1969. As we steam to our first station the ROV is being fitted with my intensified camera and SPLAT
screen, for recording stimulated bioluminescence. Our first dive is now only a couple of hours away and the
excitement is building. No one has ever used tools such as these to explore these waters and we are anxious
to see what's down there.
 |
|
| ||