Photo courtesy by: Jeff Janowski / UNCW

The morning of June 3rd is an early one for some crew members, but as this team of researchers waits for their fish trawl they are surrounded with a beautiful sunrise out at sea.

Photo courtesy by: Jeff Janowski / UNCW

Photo courtesy by: Gena Leib / UNCW

Hope you wanted some jelly with your morning toast! These morning trawls bring in fascinating critters that intrigue many, but the most abundant organisms collected and released were pounds of assorted jellyfish!

Photo courtesy by: Jeff Janowski / UNCW

As the day moves on, even with the continued issues from our water sampling rosette, our team continues to make do with their collections. Working under the microscope, Matt Bues and Dr. Christian Briseño-Avena observe a sample of Plankton.

Photo courtesy by: Jeff Janowski / UNCW

Photo courtesy by: Gena Leib / UNCW

Video courtesy by: Matt Bues / UNCW

Photo courtesy by: Gena Leib / UNCW

Through all of their hard work, the day is filled with great views, conversations, and a few ice-cream breaks here and there! Most everyone’s favorite part being a visit from a pod of dolphins that journeyed alongside to one of our stations, and a sighting of a Loggerhead Sea Turtle!