E/V Nautilus

The Path is Never Straight

June 04, 2024 in Ocean Exploration

Standing on the bow of Nautilus, I chat with Isabella Monaco and Gabriela Espino. As we gaze out over Honolulu Harbor, I breathe in the salt air and savor the familiarity of this view. I’ve joined a dozen expeditions with the Ocean Exploration Trust in the past few years, and today marks my tenth port call in Hawai’i. It feels wonderful to be back here, especially for the first expedition of the season.

For Isabella and Gabriela, boarding this ship and preparing to go out to sea is still a relatively new experience. They are both seafloor mappers returning to Nautilus for their second season, after sailing as interns last year. We watch the sun begin to set over the port and talk about our career paths.

**We out here**: Waving at the drone from the monkey of E/V *Nautilus*. The coastline of the Big Island of Hawai’i is visible in the background.

Ship to Shore

December 01, 2023 in Ocean Exploration

I rub the sleep out of my eyes and check my watch. It’s 2:57am. Too early for coffee. I take a sip of cold water, pretend I am fully awake, and click on the meeting link on the computer screen in front of me.

A Zoom window pops open, and I suddenly see 20 fifth grade students waving enthusiastically at me. I can’t help but smile. It’s the middle of the night and I’m very tired, but their enthusiasm is contagious.

I quickly confirm with the teacher that they are ready to get started, then I launch into my spiel.

“Hi everyone! My name is Marley and I’m the Communications Lead aboard the E/V Nautilus. I’m currently sitting in our studio, inside our Control Van. Right now we are 60 miles southwest of Hawai’i…”

**Ready to launch**: Lynette Davis maintains radio communication with the Data Lab while working on the aft deck of E/V *Nautilus*. During NA152, Lynette and I served as Expedition Leaders for the first time.

Learning to Lead

August 24, 2023 in Ocean Exploration

Sitting in the Data Lab aboard E/V Nautilus, I feel a flurry of emotions: excitement, exhaustion, nervousness, and a bit of disbelief.

My shipmates and I have been at sea for the past three weeks, conducting seafloor exploration and maintenance operations off the coast of British Columbia with Ocean Networks Canada. It has been a long, busy, and highly productive expedition, and everyone on board is tired and looking forward to wrapping up our work. In two days, we will return to port in Sidney and the entire science/engineering team will disembark — everyone except for myself and Lead Navigator Lynette Davis. We are staying on board for the next expedition.

And we just found out we’ll be leading it.

**Here we go again:** Setting sail out of Sidney, British Columbia for my 10th expedition aboard the E/V *Nautilus*.

Precious Time

July 15, 2023 in Ocean Exploration

“You are all so amazing and brilliant. I so wish I would have done something this unforgettable in my youth. I understand that you are working hard, but these memories will serve you well in your golden years. Please enjoy this precious time.”

— Nautilus Live viewer

These days, Nautilus feels like home away from home. I know where to find just about anything I might need on the ship. I know how to adjust my routines for eating, sleeping, bathing, and exercising at sea. I know how to balance my work tasks, watch schedules, and requests from shipmates or the Shoreside team. I know when I should ask a question and when I should try to figure something out for myself.

This familiarity brings a sense of comfort. But the exhilaration of going to sea and exploring the deep ocean has not faded. I don’t believe it ever will.

**Allow me to introduce a truly amazing colleague:** In September and October of this year, I had the pleasure of working (often underwater) with the talented Nova West. Here, we are diving with a team of maritime archeologists off the coast of Maui.

See Who They Can Become

October 22, 2022 in Ocean

Nova West is an award-winning filmmaker, artist, scuba diver, and conservationist. While Nova and I have both worked as video engineers and documentarians aboard E/V Nautilus for the past few years, this fall was the first time we had the opportunity to sail together.

Working alongside Nova every day for the past six weeks has been one of the best experiences I’ve ever had on a ship, both professionally and personally. Nova’s prolific creativity, tenacious work ethic, and buoyant spirit light up our little world on Nautilus every single day. The things Nova and I talk about – from pursuing full-time freelance careers to being a good shipmate to advocating for the queer community – fill my heart and stimulate my mind.

When I asked if they would be willing to do a Q&A interview for my blog, Nova’s response epitomized their radiant energy — an immediate, emphatic “yes!”

Working with a fully female crew and science team aboard the *Extended Horizons* dive boat, just off the coast of Maui on September 18, 2022.

Mana Wahine

October 01, 2022 in Ocean

The evening Hawaiian sun saturates the social deck of E/V Nautilus with golden light. Over 30 people crowd around the two long, wooden tables — some of them are Ocean Exploration Trust (OET) staff, some are contractors (like me) who have sailed on Nautilus before, and some are National Geographic explorers.

Lively conversations die down as everyone gathered here turns towards Samantha Wishnak, the expedition leader, and Allison Fundis, the Chief Operating Officer at OET. Together, they extend a warm welcome, and explain how this expedition partnership with the National Geographic Society has been years in the making.

When I first learned that a bunch of Nat Geo folks would be coming on board, I was excited — but also nervous (intimidated, frankly.) It’s only the first day, but my nerves have already dissipated.

My shipmates Jamie Zaccaria and Jonathan Fiely looking bright-eyed and beautiful, despite starting their work day aboard E/V *Nautilus* at 4am.

Conversations at Sea

May 31, 2022 in Ocean

Imagine spending all day every day with your co-workers. Imagine having breakfast, lunch, and dinner with them. Imagine working together at all hours of the night and day, whether it’s 10pm or 4am.

If you can picture yourself doing that, you ought to consider working on a research vessel. At sea, people get to know each other very well very quickly. We see our shipmates when they are happy and excited, as well as stressed, frustrated, or annoyed. We live together in all states of being: sleep deprived, highly caffeinated, completely exhausted, overjoyed.

We spend almost all our time together. And we spend much of that time talking.

Send in the Robots

November 01, 2021 in Ocean

Well, this is different.

I have just boarded the E/V Nautilus in San Pedro, California. While I immediately recognize the friendly faces of my shipmates (even obscured behind masks), the aft deck contains several changes: a new extension, a new crane, and some distinctive ocean robots. In place of ROV Hercules, there is a bright red and orange vehicle called HROV Nereid Under Ice (NUI) and an eye-catching yellow robot called Mesobot, both from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

On this expedition, our team, including several scientists and engineers from WHOI, will demonstrate the capabilities of these ocean robots, both individually and in tandem.

A wide variety of sponges create a stunning landscape at Footprint Reef, off the coast of central California.

Aboard E/V Nautilus III: Ocean Flair at Footprint Reef

October 25, 2020 in Ocean

As the ROVs descend through the water column, slivers of silver flash across the monitors. First just a few, then hundreds, then seemingly thousands of anchovies chase our bright lights towards the sea floor. Their presence is the first sign that we are diving in an area abundant with life.

When the ROVs arrive at the bottom 20 minutes later, it appears as though we are sitting in a garden — a really funky garden.

A cluster of brooding octopus linger in the cracks and crevices of Davidson Seamount.

Aboard E/V Nautilus Part II: Welcome to the Octocone

October 18, 2020 in Ocean

In the control van, we’re talking about collective nouns for groups of animals. A murder of crows. A parade of elephants. A conspiracy of lemurs.

“Anyone know what a group of octopus is called?” I ask the room. A quick Google search yields mixed results. One list refers to a group of octopus as “a consortium”, while another result states they are solitary animals that live alone in an underwater den for their entire lives… you won't find them in a pack/herd/group in real life.

Tonight, we will prove that statement to be quite wrong.

Lila Bellucci slices a new section from a sediment core taken from the floor of the Pacific Ocean.

Aboard E/V Nautilus Part I: The Marvels of Deep Sea Mud

October 03, 2020 in Ocean

Just after 2:00am in the E/V Nautilus Control Van, our team is conducting business as usual: the ROVs are stationed roughly 3,000 feet below the ship, gathering samples of methane-rich mud from the ocean floor. I zoom the camera out to a wide angle view as pilot Dan Cormany skillfully guides a sediment core back into the rack on the front of the ROV.

While Dan secures the tube, Chief Scientist Andrew Thurber provides a running commentary that is both informative and entertaining. He tells us one milliliter of mud contains a billion bacteria. He details the myriad interactions between microbes. And he gives a vivid description of his favorite one, which sounds like something straight out of a science fiction movie:

“Bacteriovorax finds other bacteria that it wants to eat. It rams it, then spins into the cell like drill. Once it gets inside, it eats everything, replicates, and then exits.”

Before this expedition, collecting mud might have sounded a bit mundane. Not anymore.