Vanadium Iodine Sulfur (VIS) ready for launch

At 1240 UTC (coordinated Universal Time) on March 29th, 2021, the third float of the newly NSF funded GO-BGC Array program was launched over the side after CTD Station #30. Huge thanks to the support of the US-GOSHIP program and the researchers onboard the A20 Expedition.

Vanadium Iodine Sulfur (VIS) was named by Visitation School in Mendota Heights, MN. The reasoning for the name:

“Three elements on the periodic table that spell our school abbreviation, VIS. It shows how our all-girls middle and high school, Visitation (VIS) fits into science and is representative of women in STEM. It is also a special shout-out to all of the women who have never been recognized for their work in the STEM fields. Our class of 8th grade explorers is very excited about the prospect of adopting a float! We are excited to include this into our curriculum for years to come and learn more about global ocean biogeochemistry and global warming. Thank you!“

Elizabeth Ricci was the shipboard technician in charge of this launch!