From the Field: Explore the California Current with Scripps Researchers

Scientists and students from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego are exploring the California Current system and analyzing details of its varied components from August 6 to September 4, 2014, aboard the research vessel Melville, a 279-foot ship owned by the U.S. Navy and operated by Scripps.

The research cruise, conducted by California Current Ecosystem – Long Term Ecological Research (CCE-LTER) Program and supported by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), will investigate ocean fronts and their effects on plankton production, midwater fish communities, and the vertical export of carbon and other elements from the sea surface to the deep sea.  The study area spans just north of Point Conception south to San Diego and approximately 300 kilometers (186 miles) offshore. The scientists will be using highly sophisticated equipment to measure specific ocean properties and ecosystem characteristics.

NSF-sponsored teacher-at-sea Carmina Ramirez, a science teacher from Calexico High School, will be regularly posting a blog covering R/V Melville’s research activities, life onboard the ship, and explaining details of the equipment and ongoing experiments, as well as her participation in the expedition. Stay tuned here for Carmina’s blog entries…