As part of Jessica’s acceptance to the NOAA Hollings Scholarship Program, she participated in a 10-day eco-monitoring cruise that started in Newport, RI and zigzagged down the coast to Newport, VA. In Jess’s words, this is what happened: “We hit approximatly 80 stations at which plankton tows were conducted, using bongo nets. There were also 15 or so stations that a CTD and niskin bottles were deployed at. From the bottles we gathered information about chlorophyll concentration, nutrients, dissolved CO₂, and optical properties. Also aboard the vessel, and constantly gathering data, was the Imaging Flow CytoBot (IFCB). I was trained on how to monitor and troubleshoot the device. It was attached to a flow-through water system and was gathering pictures of plankton! I also helped the Marine Observers, who were documenting any animal and marine debris sightings. We saw whales, turtles, dolphins, and lots of seabirds! And sadly, we also saw drifting plastics.”