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Casting a Wide Net

September 27, 2016

In June 2016 R/V Neil Armstrong traveled to the edge and slope of the continental shelf south of Cape Cod. The cruise was part of a series of trips deisgned to have scientists test the new ship and it’s systems under actual research conditions. Here, scientists, technicians, and crew prepare to launch a large plankton net known as a MOCNESS-10 from the Armstrong for the first time. Scientists use the remote-controlled net to collect plankton and larval fish from multiple depths in order to assess how plankton abundance and diversity relate to the region’s physical and chemical properties. (Photo by Carin Ashjian, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)