The author braved stormy seas to learn new research methods.

UC students may also study in the UK.

Research on the High Seas
Seismic Waves and Storms in the South China Sea

by Robin Matoza, UC Santa Barbara / University of Leeds, UK

Arriving late at night in Kaoshiung was a feast for the eyes. A myriad of city lights in oranges, reds, blues, and yellows seemed to swell and sparkle hypnotically through the humid darkness. A never-ending supply of scooters tore around street corners, where a luminescent grid of neon signs pointed the way to an impossible number of restaurants, street snack carts, and market stands. Tiny shadows wandered about on the sidewalk, migrating in and out of the open doorways. An endless spread of concrete, glass, and metal was carefully sculpted into a dizzying dream world by the magical lights. I checked my watch to see if I had adjusted it properly. Despite this hive of activity, it was definitely night time.

Peering out of the 30-something-th floor of a very tall, expensive hotel looking at this city view, I couldn’t help thinking that this was all getting rather ridiculous. I’d just passed through the lobby where a grand piano was tinkling away to a few guests. This was the kind of hotel with saunas and hot tubs, executive-looking businessmen, nice buffet-style breakfasts, and expensive jewellery stores--all of the trimmings. Our hosts at National Taiwan University (NTU) had gone out of their way to spoil us, welcome us, and be exceptionally nice. We couldn’t believe it. This was our 'treat,' they said, before we were to brave it out in the South China Sea on Ocean Researcher 1, Taiwan’s primary research vessel.

This cruise was organised by Professor Lou Bartek of the University of North Carolina, whom I met on an Antarctica cruise. After Antarctica he invited me to go to Taiwan with him as one of the student research assistants. We were here to conduct another geophysics cruise, this time aiming to understand shallow sedimentation processes and submarine acoustic properties, as part of the ongoing ASIAEX project. The rest of the students were UNC grad students and one undergrad. There was one other student UCSB student besides myself.

The cruise took place at the end of winter quarter, during spring break, and a week into spring quarter. As for the field area, I’d heard the usual rumours about pirates and rough seas, so it’s fair to say that I was a little anxious.

A few days later, we were earning our keep as hard labourers–-slugging the heavy equipment into position on the ship in the sticky heat. Karma comes around, they say. Then, after the long build up, we finally set sail with great anticipation. Within five hours, we were all dreaming about the hotel we had just left and throwing up our breakfast over the side of the ship. I'm not exaggerating when I say that most of us spent the entire cruise in a state of perpetual seasickness. The combination of rough seas and unusual Taiwanese cuisine was an experience never to be forgotten.

It sounds like I am complaining here, but really I wouldn’t change any of the events of the cruise. The rough conditions left us with an enormous spirit of teamwork and camaraderie; and deep affection for our Taiwanese hosts, who made life enjoyable with jokes, endless karaoke, and extravagant sunset barbecues.

The huge swells made for fantastic fun during our spare time. The best place to stand on the ship is right at the bow, where you can watch the sea surface shoot away from your feet at dizzying speed, then hurtle back towards you before stopping with a sickening jolt--up and down, up and down. Standing there on the bow, we saw all manner of sharks and other weird sea creatures surface from the inky-blue sea.

The main aim of the cruise was to study the geology near the sea floor in the South China Sea by looking at structures in the sediment layers with seismic data. Seismic data works pretty much like echo-sounding, except the frequency of the waves are sub-audio. Water guns towed behind the ship produce the seismic waves, which are picked up on hydrophones (analogous to microphones but used for seismic frequencies). This geologic information helps us understand things like past climate history and global ocean current circulation.

We managed to collect a lot of good data that will hopefully make a first-class report when the University of North Carolina (UNC) students have finished processing it. I was there to learn how a geophysics survey is conducted, focussing more on the technical issues and the instrument set up.

Our grand finale was the arrival of an unexpected storm that forced us to head back to harbour a day early. This was a fairly scary experience. Our usually sedate looking laboratories and sleeping quarters were rapidly transformed into the scene of a dramatic-action disaster movie. If you’ve seen “Titanic,” you’ll know what I’m talking about.

Our story had a much happier ending. We made it back safe and sound; and before we knew it, we were dining on fantastic food at our farewell dinner. The Taiwanese guys were eager to convince us that Taiwanese cuisine really is excellent, especially if it isn’t prepared on a ship that’s being tossed about in 20-foot seas.

They did a good job convincing us. I left Taiwan with a full stomach and a stronger sense of adventure. The opportunity to go on this kind of trip really wouldn't have been available to me at home in the U.K. The U.S. seems to have great opportunities for keen undergrads to take part in real research in pretty far-flung places. I was just happy to take advantage of this opportunity.

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