UPCOMING CRUISES:

 

RECENT CRUISES:

 

  • September 2006, Lau Basin, R/V Melville, ROV JASONII

       

    • This cruise was a follow-up expedition to the 2005 Lau Basin cruise during which we studied the ecology and physiology of the dominant symbiont-containing mega-fauna and their associated communities, vent chemistry, and population genetics of mussel symbionts. The chief scientist was Dr. Chuck Fisher and the science group included researchers from Dr. Fisher’s lab at Penn State (K. Zelnio, L. Podowski, E. Becker), the University of Delaware, Moss Landing Marine Laboratory (in California), Harvard University, Station Biologique Roscoff (in France), the University of the South Pacific, and the Fijian and Tongan Governments.

    The Fisher Lab’s role was to continue projects and sampling started during the 2005 cruise: photo-mosaics of diffuse-flow vent communities, quantitative collections of snail and mussel communities, collection of specimens for systematic and stable isotope food web studies, recovery of the previous year’s temperature data loggers and deployment of new data loggers, and seafloor reconnaissance. The goals of other research groups included continuing reproductive studies of vent fauna, further studies of biological communities peripheral to vents, characterizing a mussel's chemoautotrophic symbiont population and phylogenetic structure, continued sampling of vent water chemistry, in situ physico-chemical measurements of vent community microhabitats, seafloor bathymetric mapping, and systematic studies of polynoid and siboglinid polychaetes. Another very successful cruise!

 

  • April 2006, Gulf of Mexico, R/V Atlantis, DSV Alvin

 

  • September 2005, Gulf of Mexico, R/V Seward Johnson II, DSV Joohnson Sea-Link

 

  • June 2005 , Lau Basin, R/V Melville, JASON II

       

    • This cruise was the final segment of a 5-part multidisciplinary research expedition (conducted between 2004 and 2005) studying the geology, chemistry, and biology of hydrothermal vents along the Eastern Lau Spreading Center – a Ridge2000 Integrated Study Site. The cruise was led by chief scientist Dr. Chuck Fisher and consisted of scientists from Dr. Fisher’s Penn State Lab (K. Zelnio, L. Podowski, G. Telesnicki), the University of Delaware, the University of California at Santa Barbara, Moss Landing Marine Laboratory (in California), and Station Biologique Roscoff and Centre de Brest de l’Ifremer (both in France). The science party also welcomed an observer from the Kingdom of Tonga.

      Researchers from the Fisher Lab used high-resolution images of the seafloor in order to map diffuse-flow and chimney communities, collected quantitative samples of chemoautotrophic snail and mussel communities, sampled stable isotopes for a quantitative food web study, collected organisms for systematic studies, deployed long-term (1 year) temperature data loggers on the seafloor, and explored new vent sites for future study. The other researchers on the science team studied vent chemistry and the parameters of different species’ microhabitats using in-situ voltammetric, investigated the reproductive biology of vent fauna, studied the communities of organisms living on the periphery of the vent communities using photo-mosaics and selective sampling for stable isotope and systematic study, and conducted physiological experiments of vent fauna in pressure chambers. We managed to have a very successful cruise and get most everything done that each research group had hoped for.

     

  • September 2004, Gulf of Mexico, R/V Seward Johnson II, DSV Joohnson Sea-Link

 

  • November 2003, East Pacific Rise, R/V Atlantis, DSV Alvin
    • This cruise encompassed two different research programs. One research program was led by chief scientist Dr. Janet Voight of the Field Museum, whose primary goal was to make collections of the deep-sea fauna along the East Pacific Rise from 8-13 N. The other program continued time-critical studies at 9 50’ N. Dr. Karen Von Damm (University of New Hampshire) and graduate student Breea Govenar, from the Fisher lab, shared 6 Alvin dives to sample fluids from high-temperature chimneys (Von Damm’s group) and to recover an ecological experiment that was deployed in December 2002 (Fisher group).


EARLIER CRUISES:
  • October 2003, Gulf of Mexico, R/V Atlantis, DSV Alvin

 

  • November - December 2002, East Pacific Rise, R/V Atlantis, DSV Alvin

 

  • August 2002 , Juan du Fuca, CCGV John P.Tully, ROV ROPOS

 

  • June 2002, Gulf of Mexico, R/V Seward Johnson II, DSV Johnson Sea-Link

 

  • December 2001- January 2002, East Pacific Rise, R/V Atlantis, DSV Alvin

 

  • May 2001 , Juan du Fuca, CCGV John P.Tully, ROV ROPOS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Biology Department
208 Mueller Buildling
University Park, PA 16801
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