With the POWOW2 cruise less than two months away, the Johnson Lab held a training session for several of the undergraduates that will be joining us on the trip as part of their independent study projects for the Spring 2013 semester. Tristan, Jennifer, Molly and Catherine spent two days in Beaufort learning techniques ranging from spectrophotometric pH to flow cytometry as well as helping out with some of the other cruise preparations including packing and bottle preparation. We dubbed the training ‘Oceanography School’ and we’re well on our way to having a productive (and fun) research cruise leaving in early January. Sam and Carrie, joined us remotely for a discussion of the major cruise goals as we made plans for our ~1 month trip north of Hawaii to study the effects of temperature on Prochlorococcus and the larger open ocean ecosystem.