Research Cruise Video Blog

Day One - Ship Tour
My name is Jeff Schilling, the CMOP multimedia producer. I have boarded the R/V Wecoma to film what life is like aboard a research cruise. For the next 10 days I will be uploading daily video blogs of the activities aboard ship. Some science. Some fun. Today's blog is of the ship docking and a tour of the sleeping quarters. Plus I take the challenge of putting on the emergency life suit in under 60 seconds. Watch Video

Day Two - CTD Introduction
Chief scientist Byron Crump has assigned me a 12 hour shift of performing CTD casts. In today's blog, I learn about the CTD from the marine technician, Dave O'Gorman. Watch Video

Day Three - CTD Marathon
Now that I am up to speed on how to operate the CTD, Justin and I performed a cast every half hour for 12 hours straight. Byron was chasing salinity in the Columbia River estuary. Tired and a little haggard, I recorded this video blog at the end of my shift. Watch Video

Day Four - The Wet Lab
We collected water samples at different depths today with Niskin bottles attached to the CTD. The water goes to the scientists in the wet lab for filtering and measuring chemical properties. Today's video blog has Byron Crump giving a tour of the lab and the work going on in there. Watch Video

Day Five - DNA Extraction
This is our last day in the Columbia River before heading out into the ocean. Caroline Fortunato, graduate student from University of Maryland, let me film her performing the first step in DNA extraction of water samples. Strangely enough, this procedure starts with pliers. Watch Video

Day Six - Argos Drifter Operations
Today we are following patches of water with a drifter. This unique looking piece of equipment has a blue cylindrical shape, red wings, orange floats, and electronic sensors. The chief scientist, Byron Crump, explains the scientific purpose of the drifter. Watch Video

Day Seven - Primary Productivity
In the oceans, almost all primary production is performed by algae, with a small fraction contributed by vascular plants and other groups. Peter Kahn, OHSU graduate student, demonstrates one technique to perform primary productivity measurements. Watch Video

Day Eight - RNA Filtering Process
A large portion of life aboard a cruise is collecting and filtering water. Lauren Vice, a summer research intern, has become proficient in RNA filtering of water samples. Today she explains each step in the filtering process. Watch Video

Day Nine - Bacterial Production Measurement
Byron Crump performs bacterial production measurement of our latest water samples in the radioactive isotope lab. Watch Video

Day Ten - Sailing on the Wecoma
We are almost home. Justin Roberts, a CMOP intern, wrote a song about our adventures aboard the R/V Wecoma. It is a fun look back at what life was like aboard a research vessel. It's not all chasing salinity and collecting marine microbes. Watch Video

Complete Cruise Video Blog
I have edited the entire cruise blog into a single video for you to view. The run time is 32 minutes.
Watch Video