In early September, the very first Chief Scientist Training Cruise supported by the NSFC Shiptime Sharing Project was accomplished onboard RV TKK. Three senior chief scientists were invited to serve as mentors, including Hao Wei from Tianjin University, Xin Zhang from the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Zhimian Cao from XMU. Twenty young scientists were selected nationwide to participate in this milestone expedition.

During this expedition, RV TKK sailed in the periphery of Typhoon Yagi, with wind speed ranging from 15 to 45 knots and severe sea state. With the help of three mentors, they continuously revised the operational plans in response to the evolving super typhoon and eventually completed 10 scientific operations at three stations.

The extreme weather and sea conditions offered a perfect training scenario, allowing participants to have hands-on experiences and develop the responsibility, coordination, and decision-making skills essential for a chief scientist.

Photos: Weipeng Feng, Weifang Chen

Revised by MarOps