I’m Lindsay Olson, an artist with a science-based practice and will spend time on board the RV Endeavor learning the basics of ocean acoustics. What makes this cruise unique for me is that I’ll also be participating in the science. I’ve had the opportunity to work with teams deploying and recovering the CTD (water sampling gear), marine mammal observation, and other duties as needed. 

Typically, I begin my projects by getting familiar with the basics of the research we are conducting. Everyone on the science team has been very helpful answering questions while I find my bearings. My crash course in ocean acoustics involves building a new vocabulary and figuring out what information will be useful for the art making process.

The next step is to use my training as an artist to experiment with how to mesh the science with the elements and principles of design: color, texture, shading, balance and unity. I’ve chosen a beautiful teal colored silk to stitch together for the background of the piece and will spend the next two weeks working out design ideas for expressing the rich ocean soundscape.

While traveling to our first lander site, those of us who are working on a ship for the first time were trained in the skills necessary to assist the scientists with their experiments. At our first lander site (BLE), I  experienced first-hand how both the ship’s crew and the science team mesh skills in a kind of marine choreography that powerfully supports the research we are conducting.

I feel very lucky to be working alongside such a skillful group of people. Many thanks to Dr. Jennifer Miksis-Olds for giving me the opportunity to create visual art that supports what her team is discovering about the complex and beautiful ocean soundscape.