Swift and Steady

Earlier this year, scientists and crewmembers aboard the R/V Tioga retrieved an underwater mooring from Nomans Land, a small island south of Martha’s Vineyard near the Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO). WHOI’s 60-foot coastal research vessel was built in Somerset, Mass., and arrived in Woods Hole in 2004. Tioga, named after the Iroquois term for “swift current,” travels at around 18 knots. In addition to making numerous trips to the MVCO over its thus-far 12-year career, the vessel has been used to collect samples during oil spills and to tag right whales in waters surrounding the Cape. Tioga also provides an introductory resource for students learning ocean sampling techniques.(Photo by Matthew Barton, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)