Blog

Some pictures of the amazing animals that we sampled between the surface and 750 m depth using our biggest net, the RMT25. A mix of sea beasties from your dreams and some from your nightmares…

Jon Short (NOC)

On every scientific research cruise there are three distinct groups of people who work together to ensure the successful outcome of the project: the scientific party – who design the experiments, work in the labs and write the scientific papers; the ship’s company – officers, engineers and crew who operate and maintain the deep ocean…

Anna Belcher (British Antarctic Survey)

Some of you may remember our trusty companion Dennis the penguin from the first COMICS research trip to South Georgia, Antarctica. Well, fortunately for us all, he’s back and is loving his time aboard the Discovery for COMICS II off Namibia.

After being packed away in a box aboard the ship for many months, Dennis was keen…

Dan Ashurst (BAS)

It was a Monday morning, the sun was shining and Taylor Swift’s latest album was playing out of a set of speakers perched on a step ladder and there was hot debate as to whether it had been one of the best albums of the year or whether it should be thrown overboard.

We were deploying the Bongo net – named such because of its…

Helge Winkelbauer (Heriot Watt University)

Sometimes you have to look a little silly to achieve your goals. Here, the ‘Pelagic Team’ of the COMICS2 cruise is in the trace metal lab of the RRS Discovery ready to produce water samples that are free from trace metal contamination.

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By Chelsey Baker (NOC)

The stereotypical view of scientists is white lab coats, safety goggles and working in laboratories that have a clinical feel. However, science on a research ship is, in reality, very different. Hardhats, waterproofs, steel toe-capped boots and old clothes are just as important as lab coats and safety goggles.

The first challenge for a…