HISTORY

HOW It Started, 2022:

In Spring 2022, we participated in a research cruise that included three days of ship time in the Gulf of Mexico. Support came from the Florida Institute of Oceanography, and we sailed on the R/V Hogarth. The sea-going team consisted of a science party of nine that included two senior scientists, four graduate students, one post-baccalaureate student, and two undergraduate students. We learned about ship capabilities and infrastructure, developed protocols and tested instrumentation, and collected preliminary data. This cruise functioned as a “practice run” to develop what would become the new “Microbial Life in the Oceans” Immersion course in 2024.

Science team on the back deck of the R/V Hogarth, February 2022.
Pictured from left to right: Laurel Meke, Rebecca Key, Amelia Bunnell, Joshua Benjamin, Bradley Tolar, Bryndan Durham, Ashley Ohall, Emily Kracht, Priyanka Chandra

PCB4460, SPRING 2024:

In Spring 2024, we launched the first official “Microbial Life in the Oceans” Immersion course. We spent the first two weeks of the course learning the background & basics of microbial oceanography and practicing with instruments and protocols we would use at sea. We then participated in a research cruise that included five days of ship time in the Atlantic. Support came from the National Science Foundation, and we sailed on the R/V Walton Smith. The sea-going team consisted of a science party of 11 that included two senior scientists (course co-instructors Dr. Durham & Dr. Lynn-Bell), two graduate students (Laurel Meke & Lisa Coe), and eight undergraduate students. We returned from sea with loads of data and samples collected. The last week and half of the course was spent processing data and samples, and synthesizing what we had learned.