…and wrapping up operations!
Blog entry by Luis Skein & Luis Greiffenhagen
If you have ever wondered what life looks like on a research vessel, then this blog article is for you! Luis and I have both joined the JC237 expedition as volunteer early-career researchers. Neither of us had been on a cruise like this before, and so neither of us really knew what to expect. We had no idea of how the cabins would be, the food, the people, the work schedule, and everything else. Looking back now at the end of the cruise, I think it’s safe to say that our concerns were completely trivial. On a research expedition, it’s important to capitalise on all the ship time you have available. As a working vessel, all on board work in shifts around the clock, which means there is always someone on duty. Some operations, ROV dives in particular, can take around 14 hours or more to complete. This means that operations span consecutive shifts, and you’ll often only briefly see the other shift team as your own shift is coming to an end and theirs are starting, or vice versa.
As I was on the night shift team (16:00 – 04:00) and Luis on the day shift team (04:00 – 16:00), our days on board looked slightly different. We thought it would be a good idea to give a little insight into what each of our days looked like in the past month.
Part I – The night shift (Lisa)
13:00: Rise and shine!
I’ve tried to get up around 13:00 each day. Once awake, I’d go to the gym (yes, there is a gym on board complete with treadmill, rowing machine, weights, and even a sauna!).
15:00: Coffee and catching up
Following exercise and shower, I’d dash up to the galley to grab a coffee and some fruit. I tried to make a point of going to sit outside in the sun before the shift started. You’d often find some other night shift team members doing the same by the time you get outside! When my internet connection allowed, I’d try to catch up with those back home.
16:00: Science meeting
We have a daily science meeting at the same time every day. This is when the entire team would get together and cruise PI Veerle Huvenne (NOC) would bring everybody up to speed with what has happened in the past 24 hours, and run through the plan for the next 24 hours. Following the meeting we’d immediately get to work. This can mean finalising tasks that the day shift was busy with, for example to finish processing push cores brought up by the ROV earlier the morning.
17:30: Dinner time!
Being on shift doesn’t mean that you don’t have time to eat! Dinner time is generally attended by both shift teams, so it also gives us a chance to catch up with each other and (try) to have conversations about things other than science!

18:00 – 04:00: Continuing work
On most ROV dive days, the Isis ROV would be launched shortly after dinner, and from then on we’d take turns to be in the ROV van with the pilots. At the same time we may also be processing mega-core samples from the seabed – a muddy business! I found it really nice to be able to alternate between being quite stationary in the ROV van, and doing more physical work such as mega-core processing.
04:00: Time to relax
As the day shift comes in the lab, we’d sometimes head up to the lounge for a game of darts, cards, or a just a good chat before heading to bed.
Part II – The day shift (Luis)
3:45am:
Bright and early, I rise. Gareth and I will make sure neither of us has missed their alarm and then we head up to the science lab. Usually, we would get a quick introduction from James, the lead scientist of the night shift on what happened on the ROV dive so far, which waypoints and missions are still planned before the ROV goes up.
I would get a quick coffee and then head into the ROV van with Josh and Brian, while Tim is usually busy processing all the new bathymetry data from the day before. In the ROV van, we continue to pick up samples, sediment cores and do video transects. If it’s not super busy, some of us can sneak out to watch the sunrise with Michael, our pigeon.
Part II – The day shift (Luis)
3:45am:
Bright and early, I rise. Gareth and I will make sure neither of us has missed their alarm and then we head up to the science lab. Usually, we would get a quick introduction from James, the lead scientist of the night shift on what happened on the ROV dive so far, which waypoints and missions are still planned before the ROV goes up.
I would get a quick coffee and then head into the ROV van with Josh and Brian, while Tim is usually busy processing all the new bathymetry data from the day before. In the ROV van, we continue to pick up samples, sediment cores and do video transects. If it’s not super busy, some of us can sneak out to watch the sunrise with Michael, our pigeon.

When we reached the last waypoint, normally Veerle comes in and decides if we still have time to add some time to explore (depending on the schedule of the day). This can be just an unknown cliff on the map close by or going up a ridge a bit further. Between 07:30 and 08:00 we all get a quick, delicious breakfast. After 12-14hrs, the ROV leaves the seafloor and begins the ascent. Depending on the depth, hours of blue water on the screen follow. At the same time, we have to copy and transfer all the video files and make sure everything has been logged correctly. Going up the last hundred meters can be filled with surprises, as we reach the territory of shark etc. (see previous blogs).
As soon as the ROV comes up, we get on our PPE (personal protective equipment) and head out onto the deck. There will be lots of biological samples, water samples and push cores to process, which will keep us busy for the rest of the shift. I will usually process the cores, and, as they all go to different people with different research questions, we have to be careful which person the core is for. Some are for organic carbon analyses, some for eDNA, others for microplastics analyses. Depending on which, we may have to wear different work clothes and use different tools. The processed samples will then be taken to a freezer. While we do that, the AUV will be recovered or go on another mission. In between we fit a great lunch.



In the afternoon, after we finish our shift, I usually try to go to the gym and cycle a bit before dinner, as I heard that it is quite easy to put on weight, when you are on a ship for weeks… After dinner, I head up to the aft deck and relax a bit, look at the ocean, watch seabirds and the ROV go in again.
If I don’t want to be super tired on the next day, I then have to go to bed around 8pm and that’s it!


