Dr. Shannon Cofield 🪨🗺️🌊

Sea spider specimen in a jar- collected with the HOV Alvin on Expedition AT50-38 (Aleutian Islands, AK). Photos (Shannon Cofield) courtesy of The Aleutian Arc: Integrated Exploration of Biodiversity at Priority Benthic Habitats and USGS/ BOEM/ NOAA/ ONR

Aleutian island volcanoes flanked by fog from the deck of the R/V Atlantis on Expedition AT50-38 (Aleutian Islands, AK). Photos (Shannon Cofield) courtesy of The Aleutian Arc: Integrated Exploration of Biodiversity at Priority Benthic Habitats and USGS/ BOEM/ NOAA/ ONR

Several deep-sea specimens in labelled bags on a tray- collected with the HOV Alvin on Expedition AT50-38 (Aleutian Islands, AK). Photos (Shannon Cofield) courtesy of The Aleutian Arc: Integrated Exploration of Biodiversity at Priority Benthic Habitats and USGS/ BOEM/ NOAA/ ONR

Off on my next adventure 🛫 👋

Hope everyone has a Happy Halloween! Enjoy this year’s edition of:

~ Deep-Sea Spooky Season ~

🌊🧪

Oooh la la!

White House East Wing colonnade and adjacent gardens. Image from Nov 5, 2024.

White House East Wing colonnade. Walkway with large white windows and a terracotta herringbone tile floor. Image from Nov 5, 2024.

Views of gardens through White House East Wing colonnade. Image from Nov 5, 2024.

White House family theater in East Wing. Theater is all maroon with theater seating, fabric covered walls, a front row of recliner chairs with navy blue Presidential blankets. Image from Nov 5, 2024.

I had the incredible privilege to visit the White House on Election Day (Nov 5) 2024.

Looking back through my pictures from the historic East Wing:

Coffee cup is black with "MIT" in red text.

After adding hot liquid, the cup turns orange with large text that reveals "CalTech"

After adding hot liquid, the cup turns orange with large text that reveals "CalTech" with white palm trees, and "The HOTTER Institute of Technology".

Excited to visit #MIT soon!

As a #CalTech (NASA-JPL) "extended-previous-associate-but-not-really-but-kinda", I'm looking forward to exploring (+ museums).

Fear not, CA friends: I have the CalTech cup 😉🦫

Shutdown Assistance

Civil Servants Coalition complied a spreadsheet of programs + assistance during the shutdown (i.e., food, health, mortgages, loans).

This week is the first pay period sans pay. Please reach out to your federal worker colleagues to make sure they’re ok. Even a quick “hello” helps 🌼

Escher for the blind and visually impaired - SOLD OUT Several times a year, Escher in The Palace organises special guided tours for those who are blind or visually impaired. Before regular opening hours, between 09

🔗 Additional Info- Escher in Het Paleis:

"Dewdrop" by M.C. Escher, mezzotint, ca. 1948. Raindrop on a leaf reflecting intricate details of a window.

Just discovered the M.C. Escher museum offers guided tours for blind & visually impaired visitors (sells out quickly!). What a lovely opportunity to experience his tessellations and mind-bending buildings.

*Math x Art = One of my fav artists 🧪

📍Escher in Het Paleis, Netherlands

Yessss!!!! Loved my [ancient] Frantz 🧲 I believe it still holds the record for the oldest piece of working equipment on my Alma mater campus.

When we finally reopen & I’m able to work on my full portfolio, I’ll poke around to see if I can find some additional info. Just out of pure curiosity.

👀 Did someone say UXO/ MEC on the OCS? 😁

Dang it! I was supposed to be there as a mentor, but I was advised to withdraw due to the shutdown 😔 Have a great time!!!

What Are the Best Schools to Study Marine Biology? In this edition of “Ask a Marine Biologist,” Dr. David Shiffman gives aspiring marine scientists things to consider when looking for in a college or university.

ICYMI: My longest article ever for Scuba Diving Magazine answers one of the most frequent career advice quesions I receive... and the answer probably isn't what you think!

Give it a read and share

www.scubadiving.com/best-schools... 🦑🧪

Great advice! Thrilled to see the REU program mentioned, too. I wasn’t aware of it during undergrad, but I served as Program Coordinator for my dept during grad school. Highly recommend ⭐️

It’s definitely weathered and eroded. The entire base of the outcrop is a massive slope of column fragments.

haha cute. CTD rosette next please.

I was driving up Skyline a few weeks ago and a roadcut caught my eye. I thought... am I losing my mind, or are those columnar basalts??? Confirmed with @callanbentley.bsky.social and voila! Found 'em!

Intrusive (extrusive?) thought... "Hope these French fries don't start sliding down on top of me."

Columnar basalt outcrop in Shenandoah National Park (large lab the size of a small lab for scale). Viewpoint from below the outcrop. Columns were much larger than expected (column cross-section diameter ~50cm). Basalt is weathered with a greenish-tan weathering rind. 📍Outcrop: Compton Gap, Virginia (Mile 10).

Close-up of columnar basalt outcrop in Shenandoah National Park (scale: hiking pole- 65cm). Viewpoint from below the outcrop. Columns were much larger than expected (column cross-section diameter ~50cm). Basalt is weathered with a greenish-tan weathering rind. 📍Outcrop: Compton Gap, Virginia (Mile 10)

🍂 Fall Outings.

Finally hiked to the columnar basalt outcrops. Cooper-approved 🐾

Spectacular!

Bonus: Park was packed, so I had an opportunity to discuss this outcrop w/ a group of enthusiastic hikers.

📍Compton Gap- #ShenandoahNationalPark, Virginia 🪨🧪

This is the way!!! 🤜🤛

At some of my grocery stores, they are wrapping individual produce in plastic. Why!?!? So unnecessary.

[Correction: ROV *Little Hercules (with towsled Atalanta). ROV Hercules is rated to ~4,000m and ROV Little Hercules is rated to ~6,000m.]

Oh you know you’re in deep when the cabbage makes its first appearance! 😅 Cabbage and over-ripe apples… that’s an interesting timeframe.

Crushed plastic drink bottle among polymetallic nodules in the Cook Island abyssal plains. ROV Hercules dive depth = 5,198m Expedition NA176 Green lasers (scale): 10cm apart Image: Nautilus Live (OET)

Plastic is everywhere.

On today’s dive, the E/V Nautilus/ ROV Hercules encountered a crushed plastic bottle on the abyssal plain- in the remote Pacific (Cook Islands @ 5,198 meters).

♻️ I challenge everyone to swap at least one single-use plastic item. Small steps for more eco habits. 🌊🧪🌎

Hahaha ironically I always missed fresh salads on long expeditions! That wouldn’t make for good livestream banter… but I could tryyy 😆

Hahaha true!

Deep-sea diving pigs 🐷

Hahaha if a nodule exploration company doesn’t name their AUV/ ROV “the pig”, they’re missing a great opportunity.

Massive nodule fields!!! Crazy, huh? Not unexpected, of course, but the density is striking. Great dive selection by the NA176 Team(s).

Thanks @kbyip.bsky.social! @khagolnomy.space I often refer to polymetallic nodules as “forbidden truffles” 😉

I was supposed to be an Ashore Scientist/ SME, but I can’t work on it due to the government shutdown (although I was just reactivated for a different mineral tasker!).

Nautilus Live | Channel 1 Stream YouTube video by EVNautilus

E/V Nautilus Cook Islands (NA176)
🌊🧪

www.youtube.com/live/0lR6fx8...

Cook Islands abyssal plain nodule field (credit: Nautilus Live, expedition NA176)

Cook Islands close up of nodule field (credit: Nautilus Live, expedition NA176)

🔔 DIVE HAPPENING NOW

My colleagues (👋 Amanda!) are narrating this gorgeous dive in the Cook Islands abyssal plains.

Forbidden truffles 🪨🪨🪨

Link below to watch livestream 🧪🌊