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    A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea
    A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea
    A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea
    Ebook193 pages1 hour

    A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea

    By Michelle Cusolito

    ()

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    About this ebook

    Want a front-row seat to cutting-edge ocean twilight zone technology? Climb aboard for twenty-four days of photo-illustrated science at sea! A fascinating middle-grade STEM book.

    Join scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and international partner organizations on a research trip to study the ocean twilight zone using the newest technologies. Science writer Michelle Cusolito takes you along for the voyage of a lifetime. 

    From moving onto the ship and unpacking equipment to facing massive storms while in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, this book details the fascinating equipment used to study the deep ocean as well as day-to-day details such as what you eat on a Spanish research ship. Meet people and animals and learn more at sea than you ever imagined!

    “From word one, Cusolito puts the reader smack into the action. Captivating creatures abound, coupled with important insights that impact our understanding of the ocean’s role in our planet’s sustainability. Perfectly titled, this book throws a window wide open, giving us an intimate look into the twilight zone.” 
    —Tanya Lee Stone, Sibert Medalist & NAACP Image Award Winner

    “Michelle Cusolito captures the essence of high-seas research in A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone. She skillfully guides the reader through what it’s like to be a scientist at sea—the anticipation of departure, the challenges of heavy weather, and the thrill of discovery in one of the ocean’s most remote and mysterious regions. In the process, she underscores the urgency behind advancing knowledge of Earth’s last frontier—the ocean.”
    —Peter de Menocal, President and Director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

    “This spellbinding, real-life adventure will whisk you away with a team of scientists as they explore the wonders of the twilight zone. Michelle is a perfect guide to this remote realm and brilliantly shows what it's like to be a scientist working in challenging conditions. You’ll learn about the importance of teamwork and patience, find out about the exciting technologies scientists use to study the deep sea, and see how discoveries about our living planet are made. This book will spark curiosity and is perfect for budding scientists.”
    —Dr. Helen Scales, marine biologist and author of books for kids and adults, including What a Shell Can Tell and The Brilliant Abyss
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCharlesbridge
    Release dateMay 7, 2024
    ISBN9781632899422
    A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea

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      Book preview

      A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone - Michelle Cusolito

      Cover for A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea, Author, Michelle CusolitoBook Title, A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea, Author, Michelle Cusolito, Imprint, Charlesbridge

      TZEX is tested in the harbor before departure.

      Text copyright © 2024 by Michelle Cusolito

      Photos © by individual copyright holders

      All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form. Charlesbridge and colophon are registered trademarks of Charlesbridge Publishing, Inc.

      At the time of publication, all URLs printed in this book were accurate and active. Charlesbridge, the author, and the photographers are not responsible for the content or accessibility of any website.

      Published by Charlesbridge

      9 Galen Street

      Watertown, MA 02472

      (617) 926-0329 • www.charlesbridge.com

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

      Names: Cusolito, Michelle, author.

      Title: A window into the ocean twilight zone: twenty-four days of science at sea / Michelle Cusolito.

      Other titles: 24 days of science at sea

      Description: Watertown, MA: Charlesbridge, [2024] | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Audience: Ages 10 and up | Audience: Grades 4–6 | Summary: Follow a ship full of scientists on a voyage to study the deepest part of the sea: the ocean twilight zone.—Provided by publisher.

      Identifiers: LCCN 2023013057 (print) | LCCN 2023013058 (ebook) | ISBN 9781623543020 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781632899422 (ebook)

      Subjects: LCSH: Underwater exploration—Juvenile literature. | Oceanographic research ships—Juvenile literature. | Oceanographers—Juvenile literature.

      Classification: LCC GC65 .C874 2024 (print) | LCC GC65 (ebook) | DDC 551.46072/3—dc23/eng20230824

      LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023013057

      LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023013058

      Ebook ISBN 9781632899422

      Production supervision by Jennifer Most Delaney

      Ebook design adapted from print design by Diane M. Earley

      a_prh_6.3_148365430_c0_r1

      For Mom and Dad, who raised me to be open to such adventures

      TABLE OF CONTENTS

      PROLOGUE

      CHAPTER 1 • DAYS 1–5: MOBILIZATION

      CHAPTER 2 • DAYS 5–7: OUT TO SEA

      CHAPTER 3 • DAY 8: THE LARGEST ANIMAL MIGRATION ON EARTH

      CHAPTER 4 • DAYS 8 & 9: CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY

      CHAPTER 5 • DAYS 9–12: THE FIRST STORM

      CHAPTER 6 • DAYS 13–16: SCIENCE FRENZY

      CHAPTER 7 • DAYS 17 & 18: THE SECOND STORM

      CHAPTER 8 • DAYS 19–21: UNDERWATER ROBOTS

      CHAPTER 9 • DAYS 22–24: THE HOMESTRETCH

      EPILOGUE

      MORE INFORMATION

      SOURCES

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      IMAGE CREDITS

      INDEX

      Stormy seas over the fantail, viewed from the bridge.

      PROLOGUE

      MAY 7

      DAY 9 ON THE SHIP

      5:30

      PM

      The North Atlantic

      • latitude 48.7° N, longitude 14.7° W

      WE KNOW THE STORM IS COMING, but we’re still caught off guard by the suddenness of it. The ship lurches to the side. A stool skids across the lab. Another stool crashes to the floor. As the ship rolls in the other direction, we hold on tight to prevent ourselves from falling, too. A pair of sunglasses slides across the counter. A yellow hard hat flies off the top shelf, bounces off the lab table, and hits the linoleum.

      Erin yells, Does anyone have an extra ratchet strap?

      I do! I rush out of the lab.

      I grip the rails as I walk, my legs set wide apart to keep my balance. Still, I’m tossed side to side on my way up the stairs. I reach my room and brace myself to unlock the closet. I rummage through my belongings, find the bag of bungee cords and ratchet straps, and hurry back to the lab.

      I hand the bag to Erin, and she rushes to tie down the bottles and tubes she uses to sample water brought up from deep in the ocean.

      Everyone scrambles to secure their equipment. Heidi and John try different methods to protect a bank of computer screens. They finally lay them face down on a rubber mat and use straps to keep them in place. Justin runs extra bungees across a sensitive piece of equipment called a mass spectrometer. Marley and I lay stools on their sides. We gather up loose items such as water bottles, screwdrivers, and pens. We think everything is now well secured, but each new roll of the ship leads to more crashes and reveals additional items we need to strap down.

      Later Ken sends a message to the group: Do take care moving around in your cabin, halls, and common areas to have a hand or two (or three) free to hold railings. Be ready for unexpected rolls. We all want to get to the other side of this storm in good shape!

      We know the weather is going to get worse, but how much worse? And when will we be able to resume the science research we came here to do?

      CHAPTER 1

      DAYS 1–5

      MOBILIZATION

      MOVING ONTO THE SHIP

      April 29 (Day 1)

      Vigo, Spain

      • latitude 42.2° N, longitude 8.7° W

      THE BRIGHT RED-AND-WHITE HULL of the Spanish research vessel (R/V) Sarmiento de Gamboa stands out among the drabber-looking fishing vessels that crowd the docks. The smell of fish hangs heavy in the air. As members of the science team reach the top of the gangway, crew members wearing hard hats and steel-toed boots take everyone’s temperature and squirt a dollop of hand sanitizer into our palms. The team took extraordinary precautions so this research expedition can happen during the Covid-19 global pandemic.

      Here on the ship, my roommate is Marley Parker—photographer, videographer, and science communicator. We locate our cabin, drop our giant duffel bags, and claim our bunks. A sign over the toilet in our bathroom says Do not throw strange objects in the toilet. Only paper. Marley and I chuckle at the funny translation. We’re supposed to meet in the mess (dining room) for a safety briefing, but we don’t know how to get there. We wander back the way we came and meet a member of the crew who offers to give us a tour before the meeting. By the time he delivers us to the mess, I’m completely turned around and don’t know how I’ll get back to our room.

      Marley claims the upper bunk in our room.

      Once we finish the safety briefing, it’s time to practice what to do if we need to abandon ship. Crew members direct us to our rooms to each grab our red immersion suit (also called a gumby suit) and personal flotation device (also called a PFD or life jacket) and meet back in the designated area. We each lay our immersion suit out on the floor, take off our shoes, and squeeze ourselves into the suit. This can be a complicated process anytime, but keeping my Covid mask properly over my nose and mouth rather than over my eyes is an extra challenge. Postdoctoral Investigator Elena Ceballos Romero giggles as she struggles into her suit, and soon we’re all laughing, which only makes the process harder. Zipping up the suit is difficult because my small hands are enclosed in rubber gloves with fingers that are far too long. And I still need to put on my PFD. The whole process probably takes about five minutes, but I keep thinking that I’ll have to be faster in an actual emergency. I hope we never need to use this equipment for real.

      L–R: Laetitia, Ken, Helena, Elena, Marley, and me in our gumby suits.

      EXPEDITION GOALS

      The team has ambitious goals for this expedition: three ships will meet in the North Atlantic to conduct a variety of complex experiments focused on learning more about the ocean twilight zone. This part of the ocean circles the globe and runs from about 200 meters (656 feet) to 1,000 meters (3,280 feet, about a half mile) below the surface. It receives very little light and is a difficult place to study. It’s cold and dark. There’s enormous pressure and no clear boundaries, such as sides or a bottom. Everything there is moving. Scientists know more about the surface of the moon than they know about the twilight zone. This expedition seeks to build better estimates about the biomass (the amount of living things), biodiversity (the variety of living things), and food webs in the twilight zone. Scientists also want to understand how carbon moves from the atmosphere to the surface water and eventually down through the twilight zone to the seafloor.

      Covid-19 Precautions

      The expedition takes place during the global Covid-19 pandemic. Initially

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