View a slideshow of the action as the science party and Nereus team make final preparations for the mission before leaving Auckland on April 11, 2014.
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- WHOI engineer and Nereus co-team leader Casey Machado is literally surrounded by work as she readies the vehicle for a 40-day deployment to study the Kermadec Trench on board the research vessel Thomas G. Thompson. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Even at sea, meetings are an inescapable fact of life. Here the Nereus Team prepares for the final day of mobilization with WHOI biologist and cruise Chief Scientist Tim Shank (left). (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- WHOI engineer Chris Taylor (left) explains to Nereus co-team leader Phil Forte what is yet to be done to prepare the vehicle’s depressor, a weighted instrument package that also contains 40 kilometers (25 miles) of fiber-optic line. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- How many scientists does it take to assemble a chair? Members of the science party team up to ensure they have a place to sit. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- WHOI engineer and Nereus co-team leader Casey Machado (center) gives the science party an orientation on the vehicle while other members of the Nereus team prepare it for sea. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- University of Hawaii biologist Clif Nunnally attaches blocks of syntactic foam to a fish trap. The foam is capable of withstanding the high pressure of the deep ocean and will help the trap surface. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- WHOI engineer Mario Fernandez performs a pre-dive check prior to a dip test of Nereus in Auckland Harbor. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- A dip test of Nereus in Auckland Harbor enabled the team to perform an initial check of vehicle systems the night before leaving port. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- R/V Thomas G. Thompson left Auckland on April 11, bound for the Kermadec Trench just over 100 miles to the northeast. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
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- Even the most experienced sailor still stops to admire the sunset. (Photo by Ken Kostel, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
