By: Eden, Trevor, Hitomi, and Harper

We woke up, as usual, to our breakfast buffet set out by the breakfast crew. Everyone ate their various breakfasts and packed our lunches for the day. We rubbed our bleary eyes and got ready to work. Instead of going into the field, we started our day with a couple of hours of dedicated project time done from the comfort of our dorm rooms. People decided on specific research questions and began background research. Some even wrote out their specified methods, getting ready for the field data portion of our day. 

After planning out our projects in the morning, we split up into two topic-based groups. One of these groups went to help Sage with her eelgrass data collection, which is the one I decided to join! We spent about four hours at Fourth of July Beach, collecting statistics about eelgrass populations within 3-by-8 meter plots. These plots (approximately 8 in total) were divided into harvest and observation plots, with the harvesting plots requiring an additional step before completion. We would trample all the plots by crawling through each one on our hands and knees, but the harvesting plots had half of the flowering heads (those with seeds) taken for replanting. Once we were done helping Sage with her data, those of us with eelgrass-related projects got to start our own data collection! At the end of the session, we all (very tiredly) walked back to the van to get to our next activity.

Those who chose to spend their time clam digging headed over to Argyle Lagoon with Riley and Adam. We first enjoyed lunch on Jackson’s Beach with the beautiful sunny weather! After relaxing for a bit, we split into groups and dug up clams from first the high intertidal zone then low intertidal zone, all in search for Soft-shelled Clams, Little Neck Clams, Bent-nose Clams and Varnish Clams. After recording the data needed, we returned all but the Varnish Clams (as they are an invasive species), so instead we took them back to the lab for further research.

After fun clam digging, we returned the gear to the van to dry and in the meantime searched for sand dollars in the nearby waterway. Along with sand dollars we discovered a very rich ecosystem with HUGE (possibly ten year old) oysters, mussels, chitons and crabs! Upon returning from our clam adventures, Riley and Adam helped us finalize our project plans for the official start of our research tomorrow!

After we all returned to the dorms to eat dinner, we all settled down and joined a Zoom call with our guest for the evening: Ms. Megan Cook. Megan works as the Director of Education & Outreach at the Ocean Exploration Trust and she is currently serving as the Communications Lead aboard the Exploration Vessel (EV) Nautilus. Megan graduated from Oregon State University (SKO BEAVS!!) in 2009 with a focus in marine biology and chemistry, after which she worked various jobs before graduating from Duke University in 2020 with a master’s degree in Environmental Leadership. Currently, the EV Nautilus is stationed in the Solomon Islands mapping a deep sea region known as “Iron Bottom Sound” which has served as a graveyard for countless World War 2-era vessels. Though sonar has been essential in creating these maps, Megan and her crew also utilize several mechanical drones that allow them to visually survey the seafloor, these being the Uncrewed Service Vehicle (USV) DriX and the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Hercules. According to Megan, only around 26% of the ocean has been mapped with modern technology while less than 0.001% of the deep sea has ever been seen with human eyes!

After saying goodbye to Megan, we started to prepare for bed, wanting to get sleep for the day ahead in which some of us would begin conducting research for our independent projects…