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June                  26 to July 12, 2000

Track                  the Monterey Bay expedition on this page. To learn                  about planned education and research activities,                  plus other interesting facts, select a background                  essay of your choice. You can also follow                  expedition logs and updates.
Congressman                           Sam Farr with SSE Director Dr. Sylvia                           Earle.
**Welcome                  Log**Congressional Representative Sam Farr                  **welcomes                  the Sustainable Seas                  Expeditions**                  to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.                                    **June 26** The Monterey Bay National Marine                  Sanctuary welcomed the Sustainable Seas Expeditions                  (SSE) in an **evening                  celebration**                  at the National Geographic Theatre, located in the                  Hearst Castle State Park Visitor Center. More than                  100 local residents were treated to a presentation                  by Dr. Sylvia Earle and a special showing of "The                  Living Sea."                                    
Students                           involved in the expedition with their                           teacher.
**June                  28** Seven students, ranging from 6th graders to                  college sophomores, boarded the NOAA vessel                  *McArthur*today to **witness                  the Sustainable Seas Expeditions                  first-hand**.                  They received a full tour of the ship, learned                  about DeepWorker submersible operations as well as                  tracking and organization, and visited the video                  and photography editing studio. The research team                  reports that Dr. Steve Webster is getting some                  ribbing from the crew for being "Cleanup Man." He                  used the manipulator arm on the DeepWorker to bring                  up an old space heater (not a water heater) from                  100 ft deep. Though visibility was only 10 ft                  because of plankton blooms in the water, Dr.                  Webster saw many squid eggs, and also brittle                  stars, along the sandy bottom. **Read                  Dr. Webster's personal                  account.**
A                           student from the Boys & Girls Clubs                           checks out the plankton.
**June                  29** Teacher-in-the-Sea Mike Guardino is diving                  at Pt. Lobos today. Dr. Sylvia Earle reports that                  dive conditions are "picture perfect." The only                  communications problem with the DeepWorker is Mike                  having trouble wiping the smile off his face long                  enough to talk. His dive today is supporting                  research that he and his students have been                  conducting over the past two years, which involves                  studying the marine protected area at Pt. Lobos at                  scuba depths. Meanwhile, a group of 4th through 6th                  grade students are observing the mission from close                  proximity aboard the charter boat                  *Sanctuary,*as well as conducting hands-on                  science and monitoring activities. **Read                  their log.****June 30** The wonders of live uplink                  technology allowed Internet participants from                  around the nation to interview Dr. Sylvia Earle,                  and to chat with Teacher-in-the-Sea Mike Guardino                  about his student-assisted research to determine                  the effectiveness of "no-take" marine reserves.                  Mike explained the project and their preliminary                  findings of the presence of larger fish in the Pt.                  Lobos marine reserve, versus in the surrounding                  unprotected areas. Meanwhile, research operations                  on the *McArthur*are temporarily "on hold" for                  maintenance on the subs and the remotely operated                  vehicle.                                    
Mike                           Guardino                           descends in the DeepWorker                           submersible.
**July                  2** Our Teacher-in-the-Sea, Mike Guardino, dove                  to 150 ft for 3 hrs today. At times, thousands of                  squid surrounded him in the midwater column.                  Yesterday, the expedition located large patches of                  squid eggs on the bottom. Squid have become one of                  the most important fisheries off the coast of                  California, but little is known about the                  conditions necessary for spawning, or the migration                  patterns of adults. **Read                  his account of the last few                  days.**
The                           crew launches the Phantom ROV.
**July                  3** Dr. Baldo Marinovic of the University of                  California, Santa Cruz, spent the night gathering                  **data                  on krill**,                  using standard net-tow techniques. He found the                  krill to be very abundant, and was planning to use                  the *DeepWorker* to view and describe their                  behavior. The wind picked up in the early morning,                  however, creating conditions unsafe for sub                  deployment. Instead, the crew launched a remotely                  operated vehicle (ROV), attached by cable, that                  filmed some krill behavior and jellyfish in the                  midwater. The Phantom ROV descended to a depth of                  350 ft.                                    **July 4** DeepWorker pilot and underwater                  photographer **Kip                  Evans was greeted to 4th of July underwater                  fireworks**                  as he turned off the submersible lights at 1,000                  ft. The krill used their own bioluminescence to                  create dazzling sparks of light. The plan was to                  locate krill with the ship's echosounder, sample                  them with nets, then observe their behavior with                  the DeepWorker. Kip accomplished all of these                  objectives, first making a 300-ft dive, followed by                  the 1,000-ft dive.                                    
A                           common species of krill found in the                           sanctuary: *Euphausia pacifica*(max.                           size 25 mm).
**July                  5** The DeepWorker explored the head of Monterey                  Bay Canyon today. Diving between 300 and 550 ft,                  the sub documented the vertical distribution                  pattern of krill. Monterey Bay Canyon, one of the                  largest underwater canyons on the West Coast of                  North America, is a dominant feature of the                  Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.                  **View                  a "fly-through" of the                  canyon**.                                    
Dr.                           Baldo Marinovic                           conducts                           krill research.
**July                  6** After completing the krill project early, the                  ship returned to Pt. Lobos to finish fish and                  invertebrate surveys for the marine protected area                  education project. **Read                  the log.**                  Both Mike Guardino, our Teacher-in-the Sea, and Dr.                  Steve Webster, Senior Marine Advisor of the                  Monterey Bay Aquarium, completed their DeepWorker                  dives. **Read                  Steve's log.****July 7** Today is a maintenance day for the                  submersible. Crew members are taking advantage of                  this break to spend some time onshore. While many                  are receiving special tours of the Monterey Bay                  Aquarium, others are shopping for the galley,                  getting haircuts, and taking care of other personal                  business.                                    
Dr.                           Sylvia Earle prepares to pilot the                           DeepWorker submersible.
**July                  8** Dr. Sylvia Earle took some good footage of                  krill in Monterey Canyon today, diving to a maximum                  depth of 1,013 feet. Meanwhile, the crew has been                  busy with maintenance on the sub. **Read                  an account of the last few days from Jennifer                  Makowka**,                  a research intern at the sanctuary.                                    **July 9** Rick Starr, marine advisor for the                  University of California Sea Grant Extension                  Program, made his DeepWorker checkout dives to 175                  ft at Sur Canyon today. He filmed an assortment of                  rockfish, including blue, black, yellowtail, olive,                  and gopher rockfish. We believe this is the first                  time that the Sur Canyon has been explored by a                  submersible.                                    
Rick                           Starr in the DeepWorker.
**July                  10**Rick Starr piloted the DeepWorker to 625 ft                  in Monterey Canyon today. He conducted a rockfish                  survey to determine the range of this species.                                    **July 11** Kim Reisenbichler, a scientist at                  the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, made                  a dive to 625 ft in the DeepWorker today. Kim                  continued the rockfish survey in Monterey Canyon                  and conducted some midwater exploration.                                    
The                           sun takes its nightly plunge as the                           Monterey mission comes to a                           close.
**July                  12** The Monterey mission came to a close today,                  but not before Rick Starr made one last dive, to                  750 ft, to conduct a rockfish survey at Big Creek                  Reserve along the Big Sur coast. He estimated 20                  different rockfish species in the area.                  **Read                  the Summary Log.**

The                  NOAA ship *McArthur*is now heading south, to                  the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, to                  continue the Sustainable Seas Expeditions.                  **Follow                  along . . .**
View                           the expedition dive maps.
**View                  a series of dive maps from the Monterey Bay                  expedition.**

 

 

**Welcome SSE**
**June 26****Hearst Castle Celebration**
**June 28****Students-at-Sea**
**June 29****Student Scientists**
**June 26-29****Personal Log: Webster**
**June 29 - July 2****Personal Log: Guardino**
**July 4****Underwater Fireworks**
**July 6****Another Success**
**July 6****Personal Log: Guardino**
**July 8****Personal Log: Makowka****June 28 - July 12****Dive Maps**
**July 12****Summary Log**

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