The Multi-Tasking R/V E.O. Wilson

It’s been just over a year now that the R/V E. O. Wilson has been plying the waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico. And it’s been a busy year! Aside from the monthly sampling for the Compass Port project in coastal Alabama, the Wilson has been used to test a new benthic sampler for EPA in Florida and as a platform for divers doing fish assessments on artificial reefs off Alabama, by the Navy to help lay fiber optic cable off of Mississippi, and to assess hurricane effects on sediment in Mississippi Sound. She took a weekend off to serve as the finish line for the Dauphin Island Regatta, the largest point-to-point sailboat race in the United States, and she even went to the yard for some paint to fix up injuries sustained during Hurricane Katrina.
(Mike Dardeau)