PUPCYCLE II Day 16 – Disembarkation

Monday, June 12, 2023 – Newport, Oregon The Knowledge We Take With Us PUPCYCLE II – 27MAY2023 – 12JUN2023 WOW! What a TEAM! PUPCYCLE II was such an amazing experience, working with this phenomenal group of scientists as they explored the chemistry and microbial life that sustains our ocean,...

PUPCYCLE II Day 15 – The Amazing Aquatic Food Web

Sunday, June 11, 2023 – Newport, Oregon The Ocean is Life! We gaze upon the ocean with solitude and awe, often during a beach stroll at sunrise or sunset, casting thoughts and reflections on our place in time. It behooves us to pause a moment and acknowledge the invisible...

PUPCYCLE II Day 14 – Incubation on Deck

Saturday, June 10, 2023 – Offshore North Pacific Coast (Latitude: 42.27.287 N, Longitude: 124.50.160 W) Incubation Jubilation The scientists are completing the data collection portion of their investigations. They have stored a multitude of samples from ten locations along the northwest coast of the United States. (See Figure 47...

PUPCYCLE II Day 13 – Express Yourself!

Friday, June 09, 2023 – Offshore North Pacific Coast (Latitude: 40.13.806 N, Longitude: 124.25.222 W) Gene Expressions Several of the PUPCYCLE II scientists are analyzing the RNA of the single-celled organisms they are sampling off the northwest coast of the US. Their goal is to gain a better understanding...

PUPCYCLE II Day 12 – Team Diatoms

Thursday, June 08, 2023 – Offshore North Pacific Coast (Latitude: 39.13.232 N, Longitude: 124.13.608 W) A Diatom Production We have been following upwelling currents between Oregon and California and collecting seawater samples with billions of microbes. The primary microbe of interest is the Diatom, which is a single-celled organism...

PUPCYCLE II Day 11 – Drifting on the Big Blue

Wednesday, June 07, 2023 – North Pacific Ocean (Latitude: 38.05.663 N, Longitude: 124.00.117 W) Using Physics to Find Life Challenging weather and ocean conditions resulted in the decision to leave our upwelling plume off the coast of Oregon and head southward near Point Arena, California. Yubeen Jeong (UNC-CH Graduate...

PUPCYCLE II Day 10 – Team Mixotrophs

Tuesday, June 06, 2023 – North Pacific Ocean (Latitude: 37.46.225 N, Longitude: 123.59.703 W) Mixed Up Microbes Food webs are characterized by a structure that includes producers and consumers. Producers use photosynthesis to convert energy from the Sun into food for the consumers. In the ocean, phytoplankton are the...

PUPCYCLE II Day 9 – The Ligand Team

Monday, June 05, 2023 – Offshore North Pacific Coast (Latitude: 39.03.103 N; Longitude: 123.53.768 W) The Ties That Bind Us The Ligands Team works closely with the Trace Metal Team in their secluded lab location. Laura Sofen (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences), Ben Frieberger, and Max Fenton from Scripps...

PUPCYCLE II Day 8 – Phytoplankton and the Iron Cycle

Sunday, June 04, 2023 – Offshore North Pacific Coast (Latitude: 41.30.335 N, Longitude: 124.57.022 W) Even Phytoplankton Need an Iron Boost Conducting research on a ship made of steel requires some unique protocols when your research team is monitoring concentrations of iron in the seawater during the upwelling event....

PUPCYCLE II Day 7 – Team UBC

Saturday, June 03, 2023 – Offshore North Pacific Coast (Latitude: 42.50.801 N, Longitude: 124.40.196 W) The Chemistry of Life Phytoplankton play a key role in our atmosphere providing half of the oxygen we need to sustain life. Like land plants, these ocean microbes rely on sunlight, water, and nutrients...