Finished successful RV Atlantis expedition in the Santa Barbara Basin

From October 29 through November 11 part of my group (including Sebastian Krause, DeMarcus Robinson, David Yousavich, myself), was onboard the RV Atlantis (AT42-19 Expedition) together with a team from UCSB (lead by chief scientist Dave Valentine) and a team from the MPI Bremen/AWI (Frank Wenzhoefer and Felix Janssen). Our goal was to study the seasonal dynamics of giant sulfur bacteria mats in the low- to no-oxygen zone of the Santa Barbara Basin and their coupling to sulfur, nitrogen, and other element cycling. We deployed benthic chambers and microprofilers and collected sediment pushcores with the ROV Jason. We further used the AUV Sentry to map 3D oxygen distribution and other parameters in the water column and to produce a photo mosaic of the mat distribution at the seafloor. We also deployed several casts of CTD/Rosettes and collected a gravity corer. More information about our NSF-funded research can be found here. This was the first of two planned expeditions. We are very grateful for all the support we received on board the Atlantis. The three science teams worked hard and with joy to achieve our project goals.

Science Team (UCSB, UCLA, MPI Bremen/AWI) with Santa Catalina in the Background (during our return to San Diego).
Halloween on board: Team UC Zissou honors Jaques Cousteau.
Team UCLA and MPI Bremen arriving back in San Diego. From left to right: DeMarcus Robinson (UCLA), David Yousavich (UCLA), Frank Wenzhoefer (MPI Bremen/AWI), Tina Treude (UCLA), Sebastian Krause (UCLA), Felix Janssen (MPI Bremen/AWI).
ROV Jason Deployment
Elevator deployment (with benthic chambers).
ROV Jason Control Room.
AUV Sentry deployment.
AUV Sentry deployment.
In-situ profiling of sulfur bacteria mat with a microprofiler (MPI Bremen/AWI).
Benthic Chamber (MPI Bremen/AWI) deployment.
Collecting water samples from syringes of Benthic Chambers after their incubation at the seafloor.
Sediment pushcore sampling of sulfur bacteria mat with the ROV Jason arm.
Collecting sulfur bacteria from sediments.
Slicing sediment pushcores in the cold room…brrrr….
Porewater processing in the Geochem Lab.
Water sampling from CTD/Rosette.
Gravity core sampling.
Some curious visitors.