Southern Miss Ocean Science and Engineering Student Returns from Successful Research Cruise Recovering Instruments Measuring Impact of Internal Waves
Wed, 01/15/2025 - 11:20am | By: Gabriela Shinskie
Mujeeb Abdulfatai (right) along with other scientists participate in a safety drill aboard the R/V Sally Ride.
Mujeeb Abdulfatai, a University of Southern Mississippi (USM) School of Ocean Science and Engineering (SOSE) doctoral candidate, recently returned from a research cruise funded by the Office of Naval Research and the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), where he successfully helped recover instruments designed to measure how remotely generated internal waves interact with the topography and circulation along the U.S. West Coast–critical for enhancing the U.S. Navy’s global and coastal ocean circulation models and understanding global climate impacts.
Abdulfatai boarded the R/V Sally Ride off the coast of San Diego, Calif., with a team of scientists, postdocs and students from research institutes nationwide. The mission of the cruise was to recover an internal-wave-resolving (IWR) array consisting of nine current-and-pressure-equipped inverted echo sounders (CPIES) and a high vertical-resolution mooring system used to measure the direction of internal waves. The IWR array was deployed to the seafloor in August 2023 at a depth of 4.5 kilometers to collect the data.
Dr. Maarten Buijsman, SOSE associate professor and Abdulfatai’s advisor who assisted in designing the CPIES antenna and mooring, is a strong advocate for students participating in hands-on research cruises to gain experience in blue economy careers. Buijsman stated that it’s crucial for students like Abdulfatai to see how the work is really done.
“Deploying instruments is challenging, and there’s always a risk of failure, whether from equipment malfunction or difficulties in retrieval,” said Buijsman. “It takes significant effort to collect these data. For students like Abdulfatai, these successful research cruises provide invaluable networking and real-world experiences that SOSE aims to offer through its programs."
Mujeeb Abdulfatai waits for results from one of the CPIES during a night-time recovery.
Internal waves are large-scale underwater waves that propagate along the ocean’s density layers, driven by wind and tidal forces. These waves can span hundreds of kilometers in length and rise up to tens of meters in height. They carry significant energy over vast distances. When they break, they cause water mixing that influences ocean heat, marine life, and nutrient distribution. In some areas, internal waves can also disrupt underwater navigation.
Abdulfatai expressed his passion for understanding the dynamics of internal waves and their impact on the climate system, and excitement for his involvement in the recovery.
“This cruise was an unforgettable experience for me. Watching the team work to ensure the instruments were safely recovered, as well as seeing dolphins, seals, and breathtaking sunrises and sunsets, were some of the highlights,” Abdulfatai said.
Click here for more information on Abdulfatai and Buijsman’s NOPP project. Click here to learn more about SOSE’s dynamic research opportunities for students and career preparedness in the blue economy.