Lauren Roche standing in front of some anchors on the helideck of the IBRV Araon.
From January 21 - March 2, Lauren Roche from the PMEL Acoustics Program will be aboard the R/V Araon deploying six hydrophones (shown in the image below in the Ross Sea, Antarctica. The objective of this research cruise is to use various land- and ship-based research methods to gain a thorough understanding of the Terra Nova Bay region. The PMEL Acoustics Program has been collaborating with the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI) for several years on multiple projects in Antarctica. On this research cruise, Lauren will be replacing a hydrophone triad near the Drygalski Ice Tongue that was deployed last year as well as deploying a second triad in a new location further north. The data collected from these deployments will allow the Acoustics program to characterize the soundscape of the Terra Nova Bay polynya.
On February 8, Lauren successfully recovered hydrophones that likely recorded the Nansen glacier calving event. Read more about the event and the Nansen ice shelf here: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Observing_the_Earth/Copernicus/Sentinel-1/Nansen_gives_birth_to_two_icebergs
Lauren Roche is a new mooring technician with PMEL Acoustics Program through Oregon State University’s Cooperative Institute for Marine Resources Studies (CIMRS). Her background is in bioacoustics and fisheries and will be deploying, recovering, and building the hydrophones for the group. Learn more about the acoustics program here.