Joye expedition investigates hydrothermal systems

Supported by a National Science Foundation grant, marine sciences faculty member Samantha Joye led an interdisciplinary team in Spring 2024—composed of researchers from Montana State University, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Wisconsin—to the Gulf of California aboard the research vessel Atlantis, a U.S. Navy ship operated by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Our colleagues in UGA Research Communications share a terrific photo essay:

“When you’re on a ship, operations occur around the clock. When you’re the chief scientist, there is not much rest,” said Joye, Regents’ Professor and UGA Athletics Association Professor in the Franklin College of Arts & Sciences Department of Marine Sciences. “I would get about four hours of sleep each night, then I was back in the lab or preparing for a dive.”

Upon finally reaching the study area, they discovered drastic changes due to many earthquakes occurring over the past five years, as well as the recent El Niño climate pattern.

“We had to start from scratch. The area had changed so much, we didn’t even recognize it,” Joye said.

The team spent three weeks at sea, investigating how recent events had affected hydrothermal systems located along the gulf’s sea floor. The hydrothermal vents release high-temperature water that creates a black “smoke” when mixed with the cold seawater.

Enjoy the entire photo essay.

Image: Photo by Susan Casey