R/V Dawn
Expeditions and gallery
Every SSI mission produces science, stories, and images from the field. This page is the record of where R/V Dawn and our science partners have been, what we set out to learn, and what the work looks like at sea level.
Coming up
Next expeditions
November 14 to December 3, 2026
Baltic Sea microplastics sampling
Dr. Ulyana Horodyskyj Pena of Science in the Wild samples seawater aboard Le Commandant Charcot from Bergen, Norway, through the Danish straits and across the Baltic to Helsinki. Samples return to UNC Charlotte for analysis.
December 16 to December 30, 2026
R/V Dawn: BVI to the Dominican Republic
Fresh from her hurricane season refit, Dawn sails west from the British Virgin Islands to the Dominican Republic, collecting water samples at islands along the way.
Expedition log
Where Dawn has been
Newest first. Follow the links to read the field dispatch from each mission.
Jul to Oct
2026
Virgin Gorda, British Virgin Islands
Hurricane season haul out and refit
Dawn is on the hard in Virgin Gorda for maintenance, storage, and upgrades, including a new mainsail from Far East Sailmakers.
June
2026
St. Martin to the British Virgin Islands
Anegada Passage research leg
Starting in Marigot Bay, St. Martin, the crew crossed the Anegada Passage to Virgin Gorda, collecting water samples along the way for SSI’s PFAS and contaminant dataset.
March
2026
Leeward Islands
When the trade winds win
A planned research run from Guadeloupe through the Leeward Islands to St. Martin met sustained 20 to 30 knot winds, and the crew turned the week into a maintenance and resilience exercise.
Dec to Jan
2025 to 2026
Lesser Antilles
Ten-day multi-island sampling expedition
From December 30 to January 8, the team collected water samples from St. Lucia, Martinique, Dominica, Les Saintes, and Guadeloupe for a near-shore contaminant baseline.
September
2025
Arctic Ocean
Arctic PFAS expedition
Dr. Roger Tipton led a first-of-its-kind expedition to study forever chemicals in some of the planet’s most remote waters, connecting live with students back home.
June
2025
Martinique
Martinique water quality cruise
A ten-day research cruise aboard Dawn sampled key coastal areas around Martinique, including Le Marin and Grande Anse d’Arlet.
May
2025
Martinique
Major refit before the first season
Dawn underwent a major refit in Martinique to prepare for SSI’s first research season.
Photo gallery
Field photography
Organized by subject. All photographs are from SSI expeditions and programs.
The 2026 season
R/V Dawn: vessel and life at sea
Field science: research operations
Science team: people
Follow the next voyage
Track R/V Dawn in real time, explore the data our expeditions produce, or help support the next mission.