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Erin Pulster, Environmental Chemist from Mote Marine

Science is all about asking the right questions…and then carefully developing approaches that provide clear answers. The advent of new technology allows scientists to provide answers to particular questions with better and better resolution.   In a nutshell, that is what the Environmental Laboratory for Forensics (ELF) at Mote Marine Laboratory does.

The fishes sampled during the C-IMAGE cruises are being analyzed biochemically by scientists at Mote Marine Laboratories in Sarasota, Florida. Scientist Erin Pulster is tirelessly processing tissue samples from over 300 fishes collected during this expedition. When a fish arrives on board, Erin swiftly draws a blood sample before the blood  begins to coagulate. Then tissue samples from several organs are collected for later analysis at Mote Marine ELFS lab on shore. Each organ is being evaluated for possible DNA damage, while the blood is analyzed for fertility hormones and immune functions.

Erin preparing a shark for biometrics (lengths, weights and gender)

Erin works both on deck when fishes are collected and in the onboard lab. In the lab she carefully homogenizes (pulverizes) the organ tissues so the cells are isolated for preservation. The samples are frozen in liquid nitrogen, also called cryogenic preservation… now that sounds like forensics.

Erin puts each blood sample in the centrifuge, sometimes working half the night!

The ELF program was created by a team of scientists to use novel biomarkers to help answer pressing questions about effects of contaminants and other stressors.  Biomarkers are specific physical or chemical responses that can be used to measure or indicate the effects on an organism due to some sort of stressor.

When used in conjunction with more traditional approaches, the careful and well-validated use of biomarkers can provide powerful insights…as is occurring through ELF’s efforts with snapper and other bony fishes, as well as sharks and even invertebrates exposed to oil in the Gulf disaster.   ELF scientists are now using their unusual approach to better inform conservation efforts in a number of locations around the world.

The truth of the matter is that it is difficult to tease out all the environmental and human-related variables that could impact individuals and populations in the wild.   The answers come slowly and with much effort, and scientists simply do not know at this point whether the Deepwater Horizon event could have impacted organisms exposed to the oil.

 The Florida Institute of Oceanography operates two vessels that are utilized by member institutions and the wider marine science community to further scientific research on the Gulf of Mexico, its ecology, marine life and sustainability.

Captain White with USF President Genshaft

Captain Matt White

Captain Matt began his ventures at sea in the Coast Guard, where he started as a seaman, and worked his way up the ranks during his 12 year career. He majored in Liberal Arts.  He has been with the Weatherbird II for 3 1/2 years.  Growing up in the city, until the Coast Guard, never had a calling for water.  When not out at sea, Matt spends time with his wife and two year old daughter.He also enjoys home remodeling and computers.

When asked about his favorite expedition memory, Matt responded, ” This is a hard question, over the course of sixty plus cruises, the scientists have made great discoveries: finding a subsurface oil plume, 250m below the surface, rare sharks and critters brought up from 1000+ meters.  I am truly lucky to be a part of such great discoveries, that will last a lifetime.”

Ryan Healy; Assistant Captain

A Bachelor’s degree in Geography from Frostburg State in Maryland set Ryan on his path out to sea.  He has 13 years of experience on various vessels, but considers his true introduction to sailing occurred at the age of six.  Ryan started on the Weatherbird II on February 14, 2012.

Ryan has done a lot of long distance tall ship sailing, the kind ships which resemble pirate ships.  In fact, he worked on the very ship used on the making of the movie, “Master and Commander”.    When not cruising professionally, Ryan enjoys sailing as a hobby and traveling.   His favorite experience was sailing cargo across the South Pacific, when two islander fishermen were aboard.  They routinely played their ukuleles which they came to believe attracted the fish.  Ryan, when off watch, would lie in his hammock, listening to their music.  When asked if he believed the music attracted fish, he said, “I don’t know but if they didn’t play, they didn’t catch fish.”

First Mate (Assistant Captain)

George Guthro; Assistant Engineer

This is the ninth year of sailing aboard Florida Institute of Oceanography vessels for George.  He has been on the Weatherbird II  for three years.  Between serving in the Navy and spending 35 years as a professional truck driver, George has been just about everywhere, including throughout the Caribbean, Hawaii, Australia, Japan and the Philippines.  His work aboard the  Weatherbird II  , leaves little time for anything else.

George has been all over the world

Chris Baily; Assistant Engineer

Chris began his nautical career in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he worked for several years.  He has also ventured into the business world as a restaurant manager.  For the past thirteen years, Chris has been on vessels full time, the last year and a half on the Weatherbird II.

Chris considers his best life experience to be having his two sons, Tristn, age 13 and Ayden, age 8.  When not aboard the Weatherbird II, he spends time at the gym, the beach and of course, more fishing!  Getting to experience seeing all of the islands in the Caribbean while in the Coast Guard is one of his most memorable experiences.

Chris Baily controls the wench

Chris cautiously bringing in the 5 mile-long fishing line

Andrew Warren – Science Technician

Andrew earned his B.S. in Geographic Information Systems from Florida State and a B.A. in Environmental Science from U.S.F. His six years of vessel experience includes working for the Center of Ocean Technology and 1 ½ years aboard the Weatherbird II .

Andrew’s life experiences include diving on the Great Barrier Reef at age 16.  He now spends his off time fishing, diving, kayaking and anything else outdoors.

His favorite memorable experience is snow-skiing for the first time in Grindelwald, Switzerland six years ago.

Andrew and his way-too-cool hard hat

Andrew, the communications technician, handling the communication instruments, tracking weather and monitoring the data from the CTD (conductivity, temperature and depth recording device).

Michael Moles keeps the science party and crew well fed with his scrumptious meals

Mike Moles; Weatherbird II chef   Mike attended Ohio State and Columbus State, majoring in Hospitality Management.  He has been cooking up delicious meals aboard vessels since 1986, and only joined the Weatherbird II a month ago, but has graciously provided us with scrumptious meals all week long. When not cruising, he likes to work out at the gym and make his own beer.

Mike’s most memorable venture at sea was a 21 day cruise across the Atlantic to Italy in the roughest weather he has ever experienced, up to 20 foot seas.

Dr. David Hastings is a marine chemist and Professor at Eckerd College. Enjoy Hastings photo story as he shares his science contribution to the C-IMAGE project.

Following the oil spill, we are very interested in both the fate and transport of the oil. Where did it go? We think that some of it went into the ocean sediments, and we want to know  the eventual demise of the  oil. We collect sediments (aka mud) from the ocean bottom in order to try and answer these questions using an instrument called a multi-corer. Note that there are 8 separate core barrels since there are many different scientists who want the samples.

We first need to transfer the sediment from one core liner to another. We store the sediment for many analyses that are done later back in the lab on shore.

Even though there is no light in ocean sediments at the depths we are sampling, there is still some life at the ocean floor. What do you think these organisms are?

After the oil spill, there was a large pulse of sedimentation from the surface waters that has a different coloration from the sediments beneath. The rate of sedimentation following the oil spill is 100 times greater than before!

The water in the sediments is important to fully understand the chemical processes involved in the decomposition of oil and other organics. Here I am using a set of syringes to suck water out of the mud for later analysis.  I am eager to find out the results of this experiment!

Dean Dixon on deck Weatherbird II during first Leg of C-IMAGE August research cruise

You might wonder why a Dean would bother to go out on a cruise.  As Dean, my role is more about “managing” science rather than “doing” science.  It is difficult to find the time to participate in fieldwork.  One of my faculty, Robert Weisberg, likes to say that “you can’t manage a system you don’t understand.”   That applies equally to running an organization or managing an ecosystem like the Gulf of Mexico.  With respect to managing the college, I can’t make wise decisions unless I have a firm working knowledge of what the students, staff, and faculty are experiencing.  Though managed by the Florida Institute of Oceanography, cruises on our ships the R/V Weatherbird II and R/V Bellows are an important part of life for everyone at the College of Marine Science.  It is useful for me to experience life aboard the vessels.  With respect to the Gulf of Mexico, I was an active participant in the effort to get our C-IMAGE center funded, so it makes sense for me to participate in this cruise, as I certainly have “skin in the game”.

Being out here reminds me why I fell in love with this line of work in the first place – a community of people working together to solve important scientific questions that they are passionate about.   You get to focus on what you love, without the distractions of day-to-day life.  And it’s really nice to have someone do all the shopping and cooking for you!

What has been the most interesting part of the cruise for you?

Usually when I go to sea, I am either dredging for volcanic rocks or using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to collect rocks.  When rocks come on deck, they don’t wriggle, thrash, squirm or bite.  In particular, the sharks and king snake eels have been quite exciting!  At least I’m not doing the dissections!  That would be too much for any self-respecting geologist to do.

A shark (Smooth Hound Dogfish ) that will be weighed and measured before returning it to water

How did you get started in oceanography?

I didn’t plan to be an oceanographer, but I was prepared because I was taking basic science and math as an undergraduate, and I was willing to jump on an opportunity that became available.  It helps to be at the right place at the right time, but you have to be able to recognize an opportunity and be willing to take it.

I first went out to sea when I was an undergraduate at Stanford University.  It wasn’t a class or an organized undergraduate research experience.  Instead, I was given an opportunity to volunteer on a research cruise to the central Pacific at the exact moment I had decided to take a break from school.  I had no job, no place to live, and no clear plan for my major and someone offered me a two-month all-expenses paid trip (but no salary) to Hawaii and Panama.  It didn’t take me long to say yes.  During that cruise, I learned how to be a scientific navigator using transponder navigation.  This was before the days of GPS.   The excitement of “doing” science as part of a team, instead of memorizing information from a textbook, inspired me to change my major to geology once I returned to school in the fall.  As I finished my bachelor’s degree, I went on to work at the US Geological Survey as a scientific navigator on their ship the R/V S.P. Lee.   I was aboard the ship when hydrothermal vents were discovered on the Juan de Fuca Ridge in the NE Pacific.  That was a career-defining event for me and I stayed on for a master’s degree in geology and studied the volcanic rocks erupted on the seafloor along the Juan de Fuca Ridge.

Dean Dixon with a King Snake Eel

If you study volcanoes, what can you possibly contribute to the study of the Deepwater Horizon disaster?

The beauty of oceanography is its interdisciplinary nature.  My specialty is the study of gases in magmas and volcanic rocks.  Volcanic eruptions are driven by the expansion of gas that exsolves from magma as the pressure drops during ascent from depth to the surface.  This is similar to what causes champagne to spew from the bottle when the cork is popped.  It turns out that the basic physics of the deep well blowouts are very similar to those for explosive volcanic eruptions or hydrothermal vent plumes.  They all involve rapid rise of a buoyant multi-phase plume that interacts with the medium through which it travels (seawater or atmosphere) and separates into different layers.  I like to describe the blowout as an eruption of petroleum and gas on the seafloor.   Some of the best estimates of the volume of oil spilled into the Gulf come from scientists at Woods Hole using technology developed to study hydrothermal vents at mid-ocean ridges.   Our C-IMAGE center combines research on the physics of an evolving oil-gas-dispersant plume into different parts (what floats, what dissolves into seawater, what gets suspended, and what sinks to the bottom), how these parts evolve with time (physical and biological degradation), and how each part impacts the surface, shallow, and deep ecosystems.

From geology to biology to chemistry -------it's all happening out here!

Journalist, David Levin aboard C-IMAGE August cruise observing sediment core N Gulof of Mexico

My job on this voyage is to help tell the story of C-IMAGE as it works to uncover the long-term environmental impact of the Deepwater Horizon spill. Over the course of the cruise, I’ve been wielding a microphone, conducting interviews on the fly, and collecting the sounds of the ship for a series of radio pieces that will be available on the C-IMAGE website in a few months. (The scientists, I should add, have been amazingly patient and gracious as I shove a mic in their face all day long).

The Weatherbird II is a radio guy’s dream: an environment full of rich sound. In the background is a constant hum of engines, the occasional clank of a winch, the thrashing of fish and sharks as they’re pulled aboard, and the     visceral crack and pop of fish skulls as they’re split open by Steve Murawski’s team of biologists during dissection. When I’m not recording these sounds, I’m pitching in with fieldwork.

The multicore tubes have been specially built to slice into the muck, and they need to be reused each time. To save each sample, the four of us need to transfer it to another thin plastic tube with a specially built extruder (essentially a rubber cap on top of a thin metal pole). Once it’s safely inside the new tubes, we wash the original tubes and set them back onto the multicore for its next trip to the bottom.

Releasing the core from holding rack can be a bit messy

Transferring the cores is a wet, muddy job, but it comes with moments of complete wonder. Half of each tube is filled with silt, and the other half, seawater. At the threshold between the two is an intact piece of the ocean floor, exactly as it looked more than 3,000 feet below. Occasionally, it shows evidence of tiny worms or other burrowing creatures.

close-up view sediment-water interface

Hollander and his team aren’t after these animals—they’re interested in the chemistry of the sediments, and how toxins from the Deepwater Horizon spill may have leached into the silt. Staring into the samples we bring up, however,

I find myself fixated on that tiny slice of the sea floor. Stuck in its clear plastic tube, it seems like a relic from another planet.

transferring core sample to storage liner

In its own way, I suppose, it is. Although the bottom is less than a mile away, it’s a completely alien world—harsh, inaccessible, and uninviting. But these core tubes offer us a window into that world, and place it at our fingertips for a few moments on the deck of the ship.

I can’t wait to see what tonight brings.