Posted:
Alan Jamieson with one of his beloved deep-sea fish

Ahoy, everyone! Today, you are in for a treat. As you know already, we are deploying a whole range of instruments to get an idea about what type of creatures live at about 4,800 metres depth here at the PAP site.

One of these instruments is the Baited Camera Lander. It’s a large steel frame with two high-definition cameras attached to it and, most…

Posted:
Stuart, Dan, and Chrysula waiting for the megacore

Quite a few of the samples being brought up from the deep are being preserved in ethanol for DNA analysis when we’re back on land.

Chrysa is preserving the sea cucumbers and sea stars from the trawl samples and amphipods from the amphipod trap, Claire is keeping some of the animals from the mud cores, and I’m sampling all the fish and the other…

Posted:
Nina, Alex, Lenka, Colette and Zan being very excited about a bucket full of deep-sea creatures

The days when we take the trawl samples seem to be a somewhat confusing mixture of sleeplessness, excitement and a lot of hard work! For me, these trawls are really the reason I’ve been out here for the last two weeks as I gather samples of abyssal fish for my PhD.

Posted:
The box corer full of mud

The deep sea is a reservoir of unknown biodiversity, particularly among invertebrates living inside the mud with many species new to science and in many ways rivalling the discovery of new insect species in rainforests.

Posted:
The RRS James Cook leaving Cork, Ireland

An entry from Alexander Hart our Irish Foreign Vessel Observer.

It’s my responsibility to ensure that any research during JC062 that takes place in Irish waters (i.e., at Goban Spur) is done in an open way.

Posted:
OTSB (Otter Trawl Semi Balloon) deployment

It’s 6 o’clock in the morning and the entire science party is dressed in brightly coloured waterproofs, steel-capped boots, and hard hats, waiting impatiently in the hanger.

We are not allowed out onto the aft deck, since the crew is busy hauling in the trawl. Over the past few hours, the OTSB (Otter Trawl Semi Balloon) collected a representative…

Posted:
The megacore being brought back on deck

Having joined the research cruise in Cork a few days ago I’ve been settling into my cabin, the new routine and the realisation that I will be away at sea for the next four weeks. A bit daunting if you’re a first-timer like me, but everyone has gone out of their way to explain everything and make us welcome.

Posted:
Deployment of Bathysnap

Today, we have finally arrived on site, which meant it was time to deploy several exciting instruments. This might sound fairly straightforward but in reality it can be quite daunting to watch thousands of pounds worth of equipment being dropped over the side of the ship and the scientists rely on the experience and finesse of the technicians and the crew…

Posted:
James Cook leaving picturesque Cork on Tuesday 2 August

On Monday, eight of us made our way from Aberdeen, Bristol, and Southampton to Cork, Ireland, in order to join the second leg of JC062. When we arrived at the port on Tuesday morning, the James Cook already awaited us eager to head back out to sea.

Posted:
The megacorer

On Sunday morning we continued megacoring and recovered many samples. As soon as the cores were recovered on deck, the team got to work on their analysis.

Kate Larkin writes for the blog