Back on Deck

MIT-WHOI Joint Program student Bennett Lambert (left) and senior engineering assistant Sean Whelan return topside to the coastal research vessel Tioga after diving at the WHOI-operated Martha’s Vineyard Coastal Observatory (MVCO) to deploy underwater instruments, including a FlowCytobot that continuously samples seawater. The observatory consists of a small shore lab, a meteorological mast, an undersea node mounted in 12 meters (39 feet) of water, and the Air-Sea Interaction Tower (pictured in background at left) that allows access to instruments above and below the water. MVCO provides real-time and archived coastal oceanographic and meteorological data available online for researchers and the general public. (Photo courtesy of Sean P. Whelan, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)