Pictured above are various members of the Scientific Party. All scientific efforts on board are made possible by this wonderful group of people. The technical crew, led by the Chief Science Officer Robert Steinhaus, is in charge of all seismic acquisition hardware and software, including deployment of seismic gear as well as handling the large amounts of data brought in from all instruments. The Chief and Co-Chief scientists are responsible for designing the project, creating a viable project proposal, applying for necessary grant funding, and successfully guiding the project into fruition. Data processors work day in and day out to process data as it is acquired, allowing the science party to view the preliminary images and discuss what we see as we continue with the project. Graduate students are brought on the cruise to learn about the types of data they work on through hands-on experience. Each are assigned a watchstander shift, during which they are in charge of logging navigational information and important mishaps that may occur during acquisition, along with observing and learning about the details of marine seismic acquisition by helping with deployment of instruments and monitoring of instrument software. Finally, Protected Species Observers (PSO’s) accompany the science party on the cruise in order to ensure the experiment does not negatively affect protected species such as pinnipeds, dolphins, sea turtles, and whales. These hardworking people provide the skills necessary to collect high-quality data which will help improve our understanding of earth systems. The collaboration of such minds ensures the efficiency and safety of the cruise, allowing science to take place and learning to continue!

— Compiled by Brooklyn Gose