By Lisa Rose-Mann

Hello again! I’m Lisa Rose-Mann and I’ve made it back on the R/V Point Sur for my second cruise with DEEPEND. YES! My research focuses on contaminants in the tissues of animals from the Gulf of Mexico. I am analyzing the stomach contents of Yellowfin Tuna (Thunnus albacares) and Blackfin Tuna (Thunnus atlanticus) and the fish themselves to discover if any persistent organic pollutants (POPs) like, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs), pesticides, and phthalates are present in their muscle or liver tissues. I use a method developed by Dr. Isabel Romero for the GC/MS/MS to detect these compounds in the tissues. The Gulf of Mexico has an enormous watershed which can bring many of these compounds to the ocean from runoff and PAHs occur both naturally and as a result of oil spills. It was especially striking for me on this trip out to see the marker on the navigation chart where the Deepwater Horizon oil platform once was. I couldn’t help but to take some time to reflect on what happened thirteen years ago and try to imagine what that must have been like out here on the water. The effects of the spill are still being studied by many scientists including myself.

Hi Everyone! Haley Glasmann here, and I am back on the R/V Point Sur for my second DEEPEND research cruise. I’m a PhD Student in the Marine Ecology and Acoustics Laboratory at Florida International University, and I’m here with my advisor, Dr. Kevin Boswell. Our role on this cruise is to set-up and monitor the scientific echosounders. It takes a lot of work upfront to prepare our acoustics for deployment in the field, but all the hard work is worth it!

Greetings, fellow deep-sea enthusiasts! I'm Pedro A. Peres, a postdoc at Florida International University, and I'm back with my second post on the blog. Today, I want to talk about an exciting new technique that is revolutionizing the way we study deep-sea environments: environmental DNA (eDNA).

Hi everyone!  DEEPEND science is so exciting that even the whales are following us!  Just wanted to share that some of our team were lucky enough to catch a glimpse of an Orca today!  Even though it was a bit far from the vessel, a few pictures and video were captured.