By Kelsey Archer Barnhill
The first leg of iMirabilis2 has come to a close. It was a successful cruise that mapped new areas and completed a ROV dive at the base of an unexplored seamount. It was sad to see our colleagues from EMEPC disembark the vessel as they have been great mentors and even better company.
One of my favourite parts of the cruise – which I already missed this evening – was listening to presentations in the evenings. During our transit to Las Palmas we heard presentations from the science team on topics ranging from the geological work carried out on leg 0 to someone’s opinion on deep-sea mining. It was really special to see the ship’s crew members joining us during the previous two evenings to listen in as well. As this is a Spanish research vessel the crew are Spanish-speaking. To make sure the presentations were accessible to everyone on board, the presentations were given in either Spanish or ‘Portuñol’ depending on the team member’s Spanish level.
Last night there were over 10 crew members who came to listen into the talks. It was great that everyone on board who was interested in listening to the talks could join and find a common language. It just goes to show what a truly inclusive cruise it was. We finished off our last night with a slideshow of the best photos taken on board and then listened to some music and drank sodas to celebrate the end of the cruise.
Here are some of the best photos showed at last night’s slideshow – they are all taken by Nuno Vasco Rodrigues, who is a professional photographer. You can check out his award-winning work at www.nunovascorodrigues.com and follow him on Instagram.
Thank you to everyone who has been following the expedition so far. We will be continuing to provide ship-to-shore updates during Leg 1.
In the meantime, here are some videos for you to enjoy: highlights from the ROV dive to Azores-Biscay dives, and some reflections from the scientific leaders of Leg 0: Pedro Madureira, Ines Tojeira and Luisa Ribeira from EMEPC.
Both videos © Kelsey Archer Barnhill / iAtlantic Project-UEDIN / iMirabilis2
