The holiday season in the United States has taken a bite out of my blogging, but I have finally found a moment to get back at it. Today’s photo won’t win any photography contests, or be considered appropriate to the topics of many of the communities on which I usually post, but it represents a significant icon of my history as a marine biologist and oceanographer.
While on a trip to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) on Cape Cod in Massachusetts to participate in a training course on communicating climate change, I had the chance to visit the town of Woods Hole and take in the sites connected to its rich maritime history. Among the significant parts of that history are the WHOI oceanographic research vessels. While it all started with the sailing research vessel (RV) Atlantis in 1931, WHOI’s history continues today with the RV Knorr. Powered by diesel engines instead of sails, the Knorr has traveled over a million miles since starting service in 1970. The Knorr may be best known as the platform used to discover the wreck of the Titanic in 1985.
Having spent much of the last 35 years of my life exploring the ocean, including several months of time on oceanographic cruises on vessels like the Knorr, it was a special moment to see it tied up at its berth at WHOI in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. While I’ve never been aboard the Knorr, I felt a kinship will all those who have been, and the scientific discoveries they have made.
This photo was taken with a Canon EF28-135 mm f/3.5-5.6 lens on a Canon EOS 10D. The exposure was set to 1/80 sec. at f/6.3 and ISO 100.