Leticia Barbero, Bonnie Chang, Leah Chomiak, Andrew Collins, Charles Featherstone, James Hooper, Kristy McTaggart, Patrick Mears, Emily Norton, and Ian Smith
Science Team on the GO-SHIP A13.5 Cruise, comprised of members from the Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory, University of Miami Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Washington Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and the Ocean, and the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research.
GO-SHIP cruises provide the foundation for estimating carbon and heat uptake in the world's oceans. One such cruise, on NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown, was scheduled to depart from South Africa in mid-March, but was caught in the cross-hairs of the coronavirus outbreak. Much of the science crew was in South Africa as that country was closing its borders, and the vessel was ordered to return home immediately and develop new procedures to ensure that no one on the vessel was a carrier. Despite this adversity, with the outstanding assistance of the crew of the Ron Brown, the team was able to collect basin-wide underway samples and measurements and deploy floats and drifters. Their creativity and perseverance resulted in a cross-basin multi-disciplinary set of samples that will support critical NOAA research, and the deployment of long-term observing platforms that will provide data for years to come.