Laptop closed. 2 more days next week, then the laptop shuts until Jan 12. This year has been… intense. Some of the best + worst of times = bucket list opportunities contrasting w/ big life changes. 😮‍💨 Made it through- thanks to incredible support. Happy holidays, Everyone! 🎄2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣ 🥂

UPDATE: Moving on to field work planning for our current emerging tech study. Testing a [notoriously cranky] sub-bottom profiler on an AUV for shallow-water (<30m) OCS sand/ mineral geophys surveys. Fun project w/ Aptim + Terradepth! Aiming to deploy summer 2026 (1/2) 🌊🧪

Excellent 🧵 on a new Titan pub (thanks @markpanning.seismology.space)! Shout-out to my NASA-JPL PSSS colleague who coauthored this Nature paper @bjour.bsky.social 🧊 Congrats to the entire Team! 🧪 #planetaryscience

One year ago, I received a call that so many STEM folks dream about. It was a call that felt truly surreal. That call led me to a Houston, TX Waffle House (+ gelato) with some of the most incredibly talented humans on this planet. What / a / year 👩🏻‍🚀

NASA #ArtemisII boarding passes Send your name on a loop around the moon with the Artemis II crew 🔗⤵️ 🚀🧪 #planetarysci

🚨 New video drop: ⛴️ 2025 USGS Hawai'i expedition (R/V Kilo Moana) Love seeing my happy colleagues/ IA teammates in their element 🌊🧪 This sampling expedition builds upon our previous 2023 E/V Nautilus mapping expedition #NA157 (+ a following NOAA expedition- thank you!). Mahalo Team 🌺

Hey Wisconsin (et al.) Friends: Gale crater, Mars is warmer than your backyard today 😬 (SE) WI: -17°C/ ~1°F Gale crater, Mars: -4°C/ ~25°F 🧪 #WIwx #NASA

Dear Loosey-Goosey Rossby Waves, The polar bears called. It’s time to go home. xoxo, The 🥶 Mid-Latitudes. 🧪

🪨 Deep-sea mining news out of Norway: Hot off the press (12/03/2025) 🌊🧪

Rhythmites in lacustrine sediments @ Gale crater, Mars, and what they might mean… about… past… 🌖[s- plural!?] 👀 #AGU25 (Really bummed I’ll be missing so many exciting presentations this year!)

Hej! Deep-Sea Team: 📆 COBRA Events @ #AGU25 (🔗 below) 🔦All events are top notch, so I'd like to shine an extra spotlight on the 2025-2035 Decadal Survey NSF Town Hall (12/17 @ 1300). The Decadal will guide ocean research over the next 10 yrs- please stay involved!!! 🌊🧪 (1/2)

#AGU25 Jen is presenting✌️posters [at her very first major conference] about her #STEMSEAS experience on the R/V Atlantis. 📍San Diego, CA ➡️ Dutch Harbor, AK (AT50-37) Please stop by + ask her about our 25ft seas! Consider that your secret handshake. So proud of her & our entire STEMSEAS crew 🌊🧪

🚨 New #NOAA website documenting on our 2025 Aleutian Islands, Alaska Expedition aboard the R/V Atlantis #AT50-38 - Learn more about our science objectives, sampling operations, HOV Alvin dives, cruise track/ mapping efforts, expedition team/ partners, and additional resources. 🌊🧪 (1/2)

We had a visitor. 🌊🧪

Blue Ridge Mountains (Virginia, 🇺🇸) putting forth a solid effort to mimic an emoji. 🌄

So... about today. Dr. Sylvia Earle was in the chat 🌊🧪 If you missed the live debate, the recording will be posted shortly. Highly recommend if you're interested in current happenings with deep-sea mining.

🚨 Upcoming live debate Deep-Sea Mining 🌊🧪 • Free to attend (🔗 to register below) • Includes a public Q&A session

As we gear up for the first full week back, a colleague (Navy SEAL BUDS Instructor) reminded me: “99% of life boils down to one simple axiom… Never panic.” Whether it’s at your desk, getting tumbled by the ocean, or chased by a bear (wait- maybe that’s wrong?), you can control your reaction. 😎

Also- Check out their COBRA webinar 🌊🧪 “Ecology and ecosystem services of inactive hydrothermal vent deposits” Dr. Jason Sylvan (Texas A&M University) & Dr. Amanda Achberger (Louisiana State University) Watch recording here:

Excited to follow along w/ this novel approach. The 2-year window is always high-stress via constraints for Mars missions (i.e., launch/ deliverable delays 😮‍💨). @coreyspowell.bsky.social Will this trajectory also have implications for return missions [in the context of crewed Mars missions]?

In the past few days, we've experiencing the beauty of Earth's magnetic field (hello #aurora). But, what about Mars? Check out NASA's #ESCAPADE mission- launching *NOW* to study Mars magnetosphere! 3... 2... 1... LAUNCH! 🧪🚀 #PlanetarySci

REALLY hope the #ISS is able to capture some images of this storm. Bet the auroras are unbelievable from the Cupola!

UPDATE: Kp8 (EIGHT!)

The sun is doing things! Auroras are popping off… sadly, it’s cloudy in northern Virginia. 💡Hop outside tonight + tomorrow to see if you can catch them. Sometimes they’re only visible via your phone/ camera, so take those long-exposure photos! 🧪

Okay, I was just in Newport, RI and saw this in a window display. Confirmed- it’s ADORABLE!!! 🦞

Really, REALLY hope this does not happen. After exploring Unalaska and sailing the Aleutians this year, lack of (or absent) tsunami warnings would be devastating for the coastal communities. 🌊🧪

Happy Veterans Day to my entire military fam! Wishing everyone the *rarest* unicorn-gift from our active duty days… A solid night of sleep 💤🦄

🚨New Paper: "History of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet, MIS 11 to present" - Cofield & Darby (2025) Utilized ice rafted debris + Fe-grains from a deep-sea Arctic sediment core to reconstruct ice movement/ timing for Barents Sea Ice Sheet through MIS 11 (~440 ka). *Proxy explanation in🧵 (1/n) 🌊🧪

Cofield and Darby analyze a core located NW of Svalbard for ice rafted debris. They make the surprising finding that the Barents Sea Ice Sheet may not have formed during the MIS 10 and 8 glacial periods, and that if the Arctic ice shelf existed, it may have been early MIS 6. doi.org/10.1016/j.qu...

Massive shoutout to our HOV #Alvin pilots! Absolute professionals on all levels and a pleasure to work with. Keep up the great work and let’s keep discovering secrets of the #DeepSea. 🌊🧪

READ: Off a small Danish island lies an underwater world of large mountains and deep river valleys, like an underwater version of the Grand Canyon. 🌊 Dive into this incredible place – and meet some species you likely haven't heard of before 👉 https://oceana.ly/4nITifN

The PERFECT collab just dropped: Margaritaville x ISS mission patch Proceeds support ISS National Lab R&D. Fun Fact: the ISS follows nautical schematics (i.e., port & starboard). Sailors in space 🌊🚀

It’s been a while since I shared these, so here we go! If you are new to BlueSky, here are a few 🌊 ocean starter packs 🌊 to help you find who to follow: Physical oceanography go.bsky.app/Eb6xX19 Polar oceans go.bsky.app/851nQgx Organisations go.bsky.app/U1Ei6XY

One of my oceanography expedition 🌊 traditions is a proper dance party before deploying equipment. Some of my colleagues were approved for our follow-up Hawai’i grab sample expedition (R/V Kilo Moana). They’re currently out-to-sea… running Dance Party Ops. Love you Guys!!!! Mahalo 🫶 🎥: Katlin

Friend sent me this w/ no context. Immediately recognize our grad school shenanigans 😆 Ahhh, grad school was a blast! Miss my sedimentology lab & random coffee runs across campus.

🚨 - Final - USGS 2025 Critical Minerals List • Posted to U.S. Fed Register 11/07/2025 • Notably adds: copper, silver, uranium, metallurgical coal, boron, + phosphate • Covers terrestrial + offshore 🌊🧪 [Links below]

Shout out to my NOAA + USAF Hurricane Hunter colleagues flying into #HurricaneMelissa. Watching Jamaica closely. Current stats via USAF-SFMR (10/28/2025 @ 0900): Cat 5; 180mph; 896mb Thank you for your public service- especially during the shutdown. Bravo Zulu! ✈️

I had the incredible privilege to visit the White House on Election Day (Nov 5) 2024. Looking back through my pictures from the historic East Wing:

Civil Servants Coalition complied a spreadsheet of programs + assistance during the shutdown (i.e., food, health, mortgages, loans). This week is the first pay period sans pay. Please reach out to your federal worker colleagues to make sure they’re ok. Even a quick “hello” helps 🌼

Just discovered the M.C. Escher museum offers guided tours for blind & visually impaired visitors (sells out quickly!). What a lovely opportunity to experience his tessellations and mind-bending buildings. *Math x Art = One of my fav artists 🧪 📍Escher in Het Paleis, Netherlands

ICYMI: My longest article ever for Scuba Diving Magazine answers one of the most frequent career advice quesions I receive... and the answer probably isn't what you think! Give it a read and share www.scubadiving.com/best-schools... 🦑🧪

🍂 Fall Outings. Finally hiked to the columnar basalt outcrops. Cooper-approved 🐾 Spectacular! Bonus: Park was packed, so I had an opportunity to discuss this outcrop w/ a group of enthusiastic hikers. 📍Compton Gap- #ShenandoahNationalPark, Virginia 🪨🧪

Plastic is everywhere. On today’s dive, the E/V Nautilus/ ROV Hercules encountered a crushed plastic bottle on the abyssal plain- in the remote Pacific (Cook Islands @ 5,198 meters). ♻️ I challenge everyone to swap at least one single-use plastic item. Small steps for more eco habits. 🌊🧪🌎

🔔 DIVE HAPPENING NOW My colleagues (👋 Amanda!) are narrating this gorgeous dive in the Cook Islands abyssal plains. Forbidden truffles 🪨🪨🪨 Link below to watch livestream 🧪🌊

Bit of good news this morning. Minor revision request for our new manuscript examining presence/ extent of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet during past glacial maxima 🧊🪨🌊 Unlocking Arctic paleoclimate! Grateful for thoughtful Reviewer feedback. (unrelated to current furl'd position- PhD continuation)

The news is starting to roll-in from today’s NASA-JPL terminations. Sending the biggest virtual hugs to my extended JPL Family 🩵🥺

Absolutely heartbroken for my NASA-JPL colleagues. Tomorrow is going to be a challenging day 💔 [JPL Peeps- y’all know how to directly reach me. PLEASE reach out if you need anything. Love you Guys!!!]

Tiny shoutout to my fellow grad student @ocnogrphr.bsky.social! He’s returning to our Alma mater as part of our dept’s lecture series- as a seasoned postdoc! Hey Ryan- don’t forget to swing by Borjo ☕️ Enjoy your visit to ODU!

Recently visited a farm that left me speechless. I walked around the property whispering, “this can’t be real.” It was magical- filled with animals and happiness! 📍High Meadow Manor, Flint Hill, VA

A paper in Nature Communications identifies 85 previously undocumented lakes beneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet. These subglacial lakes fill and drain with a variety of patterns, revealing interconnected hydrological pathways channeling large volumes of water under the ice sheet. ⚒️ 🧪