For only the second time, a Coast Guard Academy cadet worked on board Robert Ballard's Exploration Vessel Nautilus, a 64-meter non-military research vessel operated by the Ocean Exploration Trust, a nonprofit founded in 2008 by Ballard.

OET's mission is to publicize the Nautilus and its missions as much as possible through a live feed.

For six weeks this summer, first-class cadet Jacquelyn Kubicko was the critical link between those commanding the vessel and the pilots of the remote-operated vehicles exploring the seafloor.

Kubicko, a Marine Environmental Sciences major, served as the navigator intern on board the Nautilus, a duty that meant calculating and communicating positioning data to make sure that the ROVs, named Hercules and Argus, reached their intended targets.

While Argus can be launched without Hercules, Hercules can't be launched without Argus, Kubicko explained Wednesday after recently returning to academy for her last year there.

A 4,000-meter fiber optic cable connects the boat to Argus, and from there a 30-meter-long tether connects Argus to Hercules.

Argus is there to take "the heave and the sway," she said, essentially serving as a buffer for Hercules, called "Herc," which takes samples, measures temperature and so on.

Kubicko was among 26 students selected from around the world to participate in the 2015 Nautilus Exploration Program, an internship on board the ocean-exploring vessel. 

She joined the vessel and its crew in Galveston, Texas, in mid-May, and spent time supporting research and seafloor mapping in the Gulf of Mexico, Panama Canal and Galápagos Rift.

OET has several internship programs, but the navigation internship is more geared for Coast Guard and Navy cadets, according to Professor Deanna Bergondo with the academy's science department. 

"The Coast Guard and Navy have a very specialized ability" to be in these very high-stress positions, she said.

While at sea, Kubicko worked with an array of different professionals including scientists, engineers, students, and educators.

The highlight, she said, was going to the Galápagos Rift, where hydrothermal vents were first discovered in 1977. Hydrothermal vents are essentially cracks or openings in the earth's surface that emit geothermal-heated water.

Ballard and Larry Meyer were the first to discover the vents. Kubicko said since 1977 all the vents had been covered over by volcanic activity.

"We had no idea it was that active," she said.

Editor's note: This paragraph is corrected from an earlier version. Kubicko hopes to apply for a Fulbright Scholarship and, upon graduating from the academy, to continue her studies at the University of Southampton in England, where she has been accepted.

j.bergman@theday.com

Twitter: @JuliaSBergman