Expedition Report: iMAGE-CREATE trainees Quan Zhang and Taylor Tracey Kyryliuk report from the RV Tangaroa
At the end of November 2023, iMAGE-CREATE trainees Quan Zhang and Taylor Tracey Kyryliuk spent five days at sea on the R.V. Tangaroa off the east coast of New Zealand. This marine voyage was part of the research initiative ELVES: Earthquakes and Locking inVEstigation of Subduction. This international collaboration between Canada and New Zealand aimed to deploy 23 ocean-bottom seismometers to study the seismicity of the Hikurangi Subduction Zone. The ocean-bottom seismometers were provided by Canada’s National Facility for Seismological Investigations. The goal is to understand why the northern portion of the Hikurangi Subduction Zone is sliding freely while the northern portion is locked and not sliding.
The trainees were on watchkeeping duty, recording GPS locations, weather conditions and water depths. The seismometers were deployed at depths between 1,500-2,800 metres and it could take over an hour for them to reach the bottom. Transit time between deployment locations was around one to two hours. Both trainees also had time to interact with members of the crew and get a stronger sense of what it is like to work at sea. Despite poor weather, technical difficulties and bouts of seasickness all 23 ocean-bottom seismometers were deployed ahead of schedule. They will be left on the ocean floor to record seismic data for approximately one year and then redeployed.
Thankfully, both Quan and Taylor had some prior experience with sea conditions thanks to their STCW marine safety training provided by iMAGE-CREATE!
You can read more detailed blogs about their adventures here
