June 21: First-time experience participating in a large-scale research expedition

Ania CZACHOR is a Géosciences Océan Master 1 intern at the Université de Bretagne Occidentale. She was invited to participate in the Haiti-TWiST campaign to assist the ocean-bottom seismometer team with the deployment and recovery of instrumentation.

Read on to learn more about her first-time experience participating in a large-scale research expedition and what it’s like to be part of the ocean-bottom seismometer team:

My participation in the mission has been as unexpected as it is fulfilling and interesting. With a sudden turn of events, I hopped in on the vessel with only two weeks’ notice, making it one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

My job is to assist in the deployment and recovery of the Ocean-Bottom Seismometers (OBS), which allow us to obtain a seismic image of deep structures beneath the seafloor, playing a crucial role in advancing our understanding of the tectonics in the Northern Caribbean Sea.

The whole process of deployment and recovery of the OBS is quite routine, yet it does not cease to keep you on your toes. I’ve never expected to feel so emotionally invested while letting the OBS disappear in the deep, unknown waters, only hoping for it to resurface when it’s time. The idea of retrieving instruments that stay for days at the insane depth of around 3-5 km does seem unrealistic at first, yet they do come up - and the suspense of trying to spot them on the surface can give you energy even during the 4 am shift.

While the relief of recovering the instrument is immense, the disappointment of not finding one is as overwhelming. And, unfortunately, we did lose a couple. This may happen for many different reasons, after all, the deep ocean presents many hazards in these extreme conditions.

Besides the work with the best OBS team, this mission has given me a great opportunity to learn more about how data is processed and interpreted. All the great experts on the vessel are more than willing to share their knowledge, experience, kindness, and sense of humor, giving me a source of constant inspiration. Not to mention the friendliest crew that adds up to the atmosphere.

As it is my first research expedition, and such a distant one at that, my mind still can’t really comprehend the scale of everything that is happening. I believe no classes can teach nor inspire you as much as hands-on experience of this kind. As we continue to gather the data, we hope the Caribbean Sea will be kind and doesn’t claim more seismometers for itself!