Megan O’Hara placement – RRS James Cook

In February and March of 2025 I was fortunate enough to participate in the 275th scientific cruise onboard the RRS James Cook. The cruise took us to two locations in the Atlantic ocean, one station over the Basin and the other on a peak of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, at 16 degrees south. There were 22 scientists on board making up three teams: Oceanography, Plankton and Particle. As part of the Oceanography team I was responsible for filtering sea water captured at range of depths (the deepest was 4700m!) to remove particulate matter, and preparing samples for analysis on land to quantify dissolved organic carbon. The cruise was a total of 47 days at sea and was a fantastic experience! I soon found out sleeping can sometimes be elusive on a research ship, but the food and crew were excellent and there was always somebody around to play Bananagrams with!

I learnt so much during my time, including the requirements to plan for unforeseen circumstances, such as a container delivery delay of 6 days. Luckily, our Principal Scientific Officer, Jonathan Sharples from Liverpool University, was a pro at shuffling schedules and making the plan work despite a few setbacks. I particularly enjoyed understanding different disciplines in much more detail than I would normally be exposed to. For my own work, the time was invaluable as I got a first hand experience in how the data I use is collected, and I now understand limitations and practicalities of doing so. It was truly an invaluable experience and I am incredibly grateful for those that made it possible for me to take part, particularly ENVISION, my Supervisor Mattias Green, and Jonathan Sharples!