Experiencing life at sea during VISIONS’24
During the VISIONS’24 research expedition, 23 students experienced life at sea as part of UW’s educational mission. Each year, UW Marine Biology students are part of the VISIONS student cohort that head out into the Pacific Ocean, learning valuable skills for their future education and careers, including seagoing research, ship operations, and life aboard an oceanographic research vessel.
In 2015, NSF’s Ocean Observatories Initiative Regional Cabled Array (RCA), operated by the University of Washington, became operational streaming real-time data to shore from a diverse array of 150 instruments. The network spans the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate, with two backbone cables extending from a Shore Station in Pacific City, Oregon.
It’s also a special chance for students to share their unique insights through daily blogging, practicing science communication skills with a variety of audiences. As of this year, over 250 students have participated in the discovery program.
The VISIONS cruise use a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Jason to descend to the ocean depths to look at environments rarely seen by humans, including the most active submarine volcano off our coast – the Axial Seamount.
In 2024, the 41-day cruise took place over four legs on board the global class research ship the R/V Atlantis, operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
