Comit Happenings
Stella and Sam: a pair of gliders on a mission
Earlier this month (laboring through Labor Day weekend), staff and students from the Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies (COMIT) at the USF College of Marine Science (CMS) sailed aboard the R/V WT Hogarth to collect data in support of a potpourri of...
Putting robots in the water: the trials and tribulations of marine engineering
Written by: Jaden Crute (B.S. Engineering Student)Marine engineering isn’t typically something you would think of when imagining an engineer's potential career path. Despite this, it makes a lot of sense that the fields of marine science and engineering overlap. I...
Forging a road through interdisciplinary applications of hydrography
As I step foot on board the Nancy Foster, it’s hard to believe I’m here. As we go around the lab making introductions, most people are in a field related to seafloor mapping, benthic habitats, geology, and sonar engineering. Once again, I am surrounded by marine scientists. As an archeologist I don’t quite fit that mold.
LIFE at sea
We are in a self-contained vessel and all around us is the greatest source of life on Earth — the balancing force of weather and what makes our planet livable — our Oceans. However, this situation is actually a great paradox.
Unforgettable Times aboard the NOAA ship, Nancy Foster
Dr. Nancy Foster was a pioneer and visionary for NOAA for many years. Her efforts to increase diversity and represent the marine science community were impactful and continue to be recognized for their importance throughout the years.
Hydrography: The Ship, The Storm, and the Grad Student
My thesis focuses on sound speed and sound speed inversions, which means I spend a lot of time on computers, but I love to get out on boats whenever possible! As such this was not my first research cruise, but it was my first time working with NOAA aboard the Nancy Foster.
The evolution of a scientist – a reflection on the importance of seizing opportunities
But I believe succeeding as a scientist also requires taking advantage of all the opportunities in front of you to obtain real life science experiences. My path is just one example, but below I recap how someone who started as a deep-sea ecologist ended up on one of the hydrographic cruises offered on the Nancy Foster this year.
Setting Sail into the World of Ocean Mapping and Hydrography
Aside from getting research experience in a different field, I also wanted to do something so out of my comfort zone and prove to myself that I am capable of such things. And when I say, “out of my comfort zone”, I mean it. This was my first research cruise ever in a topic I knew practically nothing about.
Charting off Charleston: Contributing to NOAA Marine Mapping on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf
I had not been to Charleston in some 10 years and was struck by the street flooding caused by a mere high tide from a near-full moon the night of our arrival. Though we would be mapping offshore, seeing this underpinned the importance of mapping, especially in the coastal environment which has been increasingly impacted by events such as regular flooding due to sea level rise.