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Retrieving a multi-core from the ocean
During a research cruise to the Arctic in September 2016, scientists onboard the R/V Sikuliaq retrieve a multi-core from the ocean. The multi-core is dropped down to the ocean bottom, where it drives four tubes into the sediment layers. Then, as it is lifted up, it snaps shut, giving scientists tubes with "cores" of sediment (mud) from the bottom of the sea.
More about this image
In September 2016, the National Science Foundation (NSF) funded an Arctic research cruise aboard the R/V Sikuliaq that included scientific teams from Oregon State University (OSU) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS).
The purpose of the expedition was to understand how a changing climate may be affecting the entire way of life in the Arctic. Oceanographers from OSU and VIMS took water samples from the Beaufort and Chukchi seas to observe how microscopic plants, called phytoplankton, are living and dying in the late summer, when there is less sea ice and more frequent storms. The scientists worked alongside the Sikuliaq crew to collect data, which they will continue to analyze and interpret in their labs back home.
The Sikuliaq is owned by NSF and operated by the University of Alaska Fairbanks.
Read more about the September 2016 cruise in the OSU news story Altered Arctic: As the ice recedes, scientists seek signs of life in warming seas.
Or view a video Here. (Date image taken: September 2016; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: Jan. 23, 2018)
Credit: Kim Kenny
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