If you’ve been tracking the Oceanus, you may have noticed a familiar pattern in some of its movements. The first night at the Santa Cruz Basin, the Oceanus conducted spatial mapping of the region, surveying temperature, salinity and other variables relevant to the particle concentration in the water. Connect the dots and the star will appear.
“Basically, if you do research in one spot, we need to know if it is representative of the rest of the spots in the region,” said Jim Bishop. “A star pattern is an effective pattern if you want to cover the greatest area.”
Be sure to return to this site once the voyage ends (and more bandwidth is available) for more photos — and videos — from the research effort.
