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Three Men and a Float

In May 2010 R/V Knorr sailed off the coast of Brazil near the mouth of the Amazon River, so that scientists could study how the river’s plume of nutrient-laden fresh water affects the ocean ecosystem. Knorr’s bosun Peter Liarikos (center) helped researchers Troy Gunderson (left, University of Southern California), and Joaquim Goes (Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences) launch an APEX profiling float to measure ocean conditions and chlorophyll. On the cruise, WHOI researcher Ellen Roosen also sampled ocean-bottom sediments with a device known as a multi-corer. (Photo by Ellen Roosen, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)