Twenty-six College of Charleston geology and marine biology students recently returned from two separate ocean research trips. The cruises were part of the College’s internationally recognized Transect Program and Seafloor Mapping Program. Currently, NOAA funds the Transect Program.

Watch a video from the Transect Program cruise.

Twelve students joined geology professor Leslie Sautter and biology professor Gorka Sancho on the 92-foot research vessel Savannah.  During their five days at sea, the students took samples from 20 stations across the continental shelf, between Charleston and the Gulf Stream. Students from the Transect Program operated several instruments in order to collect oceanographic samples such as seafloor sediments and organisms. The Savannah towed nets that were used to capture planktonic drifting organisms and larval fish. Water samples were collected and used to study the micro-organisms that live at different water depths. The students also measured physical characteristics of the seawater, such as temperature, salinity and oxygen content. Video footage of the seafloor was also filmed at four sites.

The Transect Program was first developed by Sautter and Sancho in 2003 with funding from the National Science Foundation. It is designed to immerse and engage undergraduate students in oceanographic research by taking them to sea to collect biological and geological samples. All 12 students in this year’s program will spend six hours each week during the spring semester in the oceanographic research course, working with Sancho and Sautter to analyze their data in the laboratory and document their research results in poster, oral presentation and manuscript formats.

Students were surveyed at the end of the cruise, and asked if participation in the cruise changed their interest in pursuing a career in oceanography. All students agreed that it enhanced their interest, and one student wrote, “I loved this experience and I now know that I would greatly consider pursuing a career in oceanographic research.”  Another commented, “The cruise showed me that science can be more than just sitting in a classroom studying. It’s about getting your hands dirty and actually applying knowledge learned in class.”

While some students participated in the Transect Program cruise, 14 geology students went to sea with geology professor Scott Harris on board the 183-foot NOAA Ship Nancy Foster. This group used multibeam sonar to map a section of the Charleston Harbor. The research conducted on this cruise will add to previous multibeam data collected by College of Charleston students aboard the Foster as part of Harris’ and Sautter’s Seafloor Mapping Program. The seafloor maps will be used to study critical areas of essential fish habitat and potential sand resources, as well as to create an understanding of shoreline changes and regional sediment management issues that are so critical to the region.

Both research programs are documented on the Dept. of Geology and Environmental Geosciences’ Project Oceanica website. For more information about the Transect Program, go to http://oceanica.cofc.edu/transects/home.htm.  You can learn more about the Seafloor Mapping Program website at http://oceanica.cofc.edu/multibeam