Mid February 2023

Introduction

We can see much of the Port of San Juan from our balcony. I can see cruise ships, a variety of freighters, and the occassional warship enter and leave port.This week, a research vessel was tied up at Pier 14. Research vessels are rare visitors here, at least by my casual observations, so I thought I would find out more about this one.

The R/V Falkor (too)

If nothing else, the R/V Falkor (too) suggests oceanographers are equipped with whimsical senses of humor. You may recall that Falkor was a luckdragon in the 1984 movie The NeverEnding Story. He was large (43 feet long) and graceful. Falkor was covered by albino/light colored fur, with pinkish scales along his back. As far as his personality, he was wise, optimistic, dignified and friendly. Click here for more information about this luck dragon. And if you’re really excited about Falkor, be aware that stuffed versions of him are available at Amazon.

And why is the ship named Falkor (too)? Simple. She is the second research vessel so named. Why would a whimsical oceanographer do something common, like Falkor II?

The ship began life as the MV Polar Queen, which was used, among other things, to help construct off-shore wind turbines.

As you can see, the Polar Queen has a large open deck at the rear of the ship, and a substantial hoist mechanism. I suspect the hoist will be used to deploy instrument packages and the open deck will house various laboratories.

The Schmidt Ocean Institute purchased the Polar Queen from the Norwegian shipping company GC Rieber Shipping ASA in 2021. She was, during 2022, refitted into her research vessel configuration at Vigo, Spain. She sailed to San Juan in anticipation of her first research voyage next month.

The Falkor (too) is about 365 feet long with a beam of 66 feet. The rear deck has an area of about 10,000 square feet. She had, before her reconfiguration, 110 berths. Some of those have been converted to laboratory space.

The RV Falkor (too) in San Juan

The Falkor (too) is here preparing for her first research voyage, scheduled for next month. She’ll carry a team of investigators to study vents along the mid-Atlantic Ridge. More on that later.

I first noticed the R/V Falkor (too) in early February. In the image above, she is docked at Pier 14 and is taking on fuel from a fleet of tanker trucks. The box truck at the head of the queue, according to the signage on it, supplies oils and lubricants to industrial customers.

The ship left port for a few days and came back. She took on more supplies and left again. According to the website Marinetraffic, she is currently off the northwest coast of Puerto Rico, near Aguadilla. The website reports she is in a Restricted Manoeuvrability state. I wonder if she is testing some of her deployable instruments.

The R/V Falkor (too) leaving port on February 15. Note the prominent bulbous bow. I was curious about those and dedicated an earlier post to that arcane topic. Click here to refresh your memory.

The Schmidt Ocean Institute

The Schmidt Ocean Institute (SOI) owns the R/V Falkor (too). The SOI was established in 2009 as a 503(c) non-operating foundation. The founders, Eric Schmidt and Wendy Schmidt, met while in graduate school at the University of California, Berkley. Eric Schmidt later worked for Google, becoming CEO in 2001. I don’t know where the Schmidt’s gained their interest in oceanography.

The mission of the SOI is as follows:

We combine advanced science with state-of-the-art technology to achieve lasting results in ocean research, to catalyze sharing of the information, and to communicate this knowledge to audiences around the world.  We foster a deeper understanding of our environment.

See Notes and Sources

The SOI sponsors oceanographic expeditions on their vessel, with free ship time for investigators and expert technical help ranging from managing the instruments (including submersibles) and data management. Investigators commit to sharing their data, including raw data, to the oceanographic community.

First Research Voyage

As I noted above, the R/V Falkor (too) will begin its first research voage next month, in March 2023. Here is a map of the proposed trip, scheduled for March 3 – April 10, 2023.

As can be seen, the Falkor (too) will leave San Juan and head east south east to the mid-Atlantic Ridge complex. There it will investigate vents under the leadership of Principal Investigator  Dr. David Butterfield from the NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory – University of Washington.

There are, to my limited knowledge, two main types of vents. So called “black smokers” occur when hot magna meets cold sea water. The drop in temperature causes preciptitates to form, rich in sulfides, especially iron sulfide. Here is an image of one black smoker.

Black smokers, first discovered off the Galapogos Islands in 1977, create an environment rich in up to then unknown organisms, such as three foot tubeworms, shrimps, etc. Click here for more information on these life forms.

But the Falkor (too) is looking for a different type of vent, vents devoid of the life forms found around black smokers. The water from these vents runs clear through carbonate structures. It is thought their chemistry mimics conditions of the early Earth and could therefore provide insight into the evolution of life here, as well as on other planets.

Final Thoughts

I find it intriguing that the search for clues about early life are occurring at the ocean bottom as well as the surface of Mars. (Click here for a Mars exploration update). We sure live in exciting times.

Notes and Sources

The pictures of the R/V Falkor (too) are mine, taken with a digital camera and edited with Adobe Lightroom and/or Photoshop.

The image of the Polar Queen, the SOI mission statement, and the map of the upcoming expedition are from the SOI website. Check that out here.

I used Wikipedia to find information about the Schmidts.

I got the image of the black smoker from this site. Check there for more information on vents in general.

I got the image of the carbonate vents here. The R/V Falkor (too) will be exploring in the same general region, i.e., the so-called Lost City vent region.