This post by Steve Miles of Stony Brook University.

Today, we started the acoustic survey and the trawl survey. Despite incorrectly mounting the flow meter, the first trawl deployment was successful at a depth of 60 meters. Some of the more interesting animals included moray eel larvae, lobster larvae, flatfish larvae, mantis shrimp larvae, squid, deep-sea fish and a small fish with spines on its head with black and red spots that we could not yet identify.

Submitted by Carmen Lawrence of JASCO from the R/V Armstrong underway to the first research stop, Virginia Inter-Canyon (VAC).

And they’re off!  The R/V Neil Armstrong left the dock today at 11:30.  The ADEON team had their safety briefing prior to departure.  All the equipment, sampling nets, computers, and personal items were latched down tightly in anticipation of rough seas.  The ADEON bottom-landers got extra straps to secure them on the back deck for the wild ride to the first deployment and sampling site at Virginia Inter-Canyon. The vessel should arrive onsite at approximately midnight Tuesday evening, weather permitting.

The cruise departure was delayed one day due to weather. The R/V Neil Armstrong will now depart WHOI on Monday 20 November. The high winds and seas are forecasted to settle down Monday morning. It will still be a challenging first day on somewhat rough seas, but the weather should improve as the day wears on. 

Would you like to know more about the science taking place on the research vessel?  Read the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Cruise Planning Synopsis.