A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea

by Michelle Cusolito

Want a front-row seat to cutting-edge ocean twilight zone technology? Climb aboard for twenty-four days of photo-illustrated science at sea! A fascinating middle-grade STEM book.Join scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and international partner organizations on a research trip to study the ocean twilight zone using the newest technologies. Science writer Michelle Cusolito takes you along for the voyage of a lifetime. From moving onto the ship and unpacking equipment to facing massive storms while in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, this book details the fascinating equipment used to study the deep ocean as well as day-to-day details such as what you eat on a Spanish research ship. Meet people and animals and learn more at sea than you ever imagined!“From word one, Cusolito puts the reader smack into the action. Captivating creatures abound, coupled with important insights that impact our understanding of the ocean’s role in our planet’s sustainability. Perfectly titled, this book throws a window wide open, giving us an intimate look into the twilight zone.” —Tanya Lee Stone, Sibert Medalist & NAACP Image Award Winner“Michelle Cusolito captures the essence of high-seas research in A Window Into the Ocean Twilight Zone. She skillfully guides the reader through what it’s like to be a scientist at sea—the anticipation of departure, the challenges of heavy weather, and the thrill of discovery in one of the ocean’s most remote and mysterious regions. In the process, she underscores the urgency behind advancing knowledge of Earth’s last frontier—the ocean.”—Peter de Menocal, President and Director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution“This spellbinding, real-life adventure will whisk you away with a team of scientists as they explore the wonders of the twilight zone. Michelle is a perfect guide to this remote realm and brilliantly shows what it's like to be a scientist working in challenging conditions. You’ll learn about the importance of teamwork and patience, find out about the exciting technologies scientists use to study the deep sea, and see how discoveries about our living planet are made. This book will spark curiosity and is perfect for budding scientists.”—Dr. Helen Scales, marine biologist and author of books for kids and adults, including What a Shell Can Tell and The Brilliant Abyss

Genres: Nature, Middle Grade, Nonfiction

148 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 7, 2024

About the author

Author. Educator. Public Speaker. Science Communicator.
Michelle Cusolito is the award-winning author of Flying Deep: Climb Inside Deep-Sea Submersible ALVIN and Diving Deep: Using Machines to Explore the Ocean. She joined a three-week research expedition to the North Atlantic with Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to research for A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone: Twenty-Four Days of Science at Sea. That expedition fueled her love of science communication and being at sea. Jellyfish Scientist: Maude Delap and Her Mesmerizing Medusas and In the World of Whales publish in 2025. Michelle dreams of swimming with whale sharks one day. www.michellecusolito.com

Reviews

[Laetitia · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an absolute pleasure to dive back into this extraordinary journey I had the chance to partake in. This book is filled with scientific explanations and beautiful photos about this cruise that focused on the twilight zone, sprinkled with anecdotes that happened during our journey through North Atlantic waters amidst the Covid 19 pandemic. What I loved the most was the fact that Michelle not only described the scientific part of the cruise but also gives you a very good idea of what happened around the science through our daily lives before and during the scientific cruise aboard the Sarmiento de Gamboa. She also beautifully wrote about the ship’s crew who were incredible and kept us safe and fed through it all.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful journey with the world and giving us the best on board journal that we will cherish for years to come :’)

[Wren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teens interested in the ocean and robotics will find this book fascinating.

This book is marketed as a middle-grade nonfiction book; however, I find that readers 13 to 15 are the ideal audience. The book relays information about a 24 day research expedition in the Atlantic Ocean (launched from a port in Spain). The aim of the mission--simply stated by one of the lead investigators, Ken Buesseler--is this: "We are looking for poop and dead bodies" in the twilight level of the ocean (p. 26).

The twilight level exists between the sun level above (where people can swim recreationally) and the midnight zone (which is pitch black and mainly filled with marine snow: decomposing life matter. The twilight zone does have some debris (dead matter and poop); however, it also has a lot of living creatures that humans know very little about. It's also a place where carbon ends up being processed from living creatures and then stored in the ocean.

The scientists use technology (machines with technology to collect data) in order to get a view of what is in the twilight zone and how the various species interact with each other: who is food, who is prey?

There are a couple of diagrams that illustrate the twilight zone and illustrate how one of one particular piece of equipment (abbreviated MINION) collects data in the twilight zone.

The book is cast as a narrative to make it more accessible, but it still conveyed a lot of technical data. I had to concentrate in order to follow what was going on. Thankfully, there are photographs on every page of various pieces of equipment and the people who operate the equipment.

The team includes 19 scientists, engineers, graduate students/postdocs, and communications specialists (two writers and a photographer). The also depend 24 crew members and technicians to keep everything running (bodies, equipment, the ship). Additionally, their expedition included two other ships with their own teams.

The expedition was halted a few times due to weather that rocked the ship and all the contents in it. When they had good weather, they collected data about the twilight zone to analyze for weeks and months after returning to shore. The focus in the book is on the questions they are posing and the problems they had to solve while doing research on a ship. They often had to find MacGyver type solutions to problems with equipment.

The book ends with them going to port. The author does share some of the results of the data. And the back matter is very robust! There are lists of the people on the ship, a set of numbers relating to the expedition (trivia type more than data results), lists of organizations, books, articles, websites, and podcasts related to the topic. Finally, the back matter ends with acknowledgements, image credits, and an index.

[Marta · Rating 5 out of 5]

In A Window into the Ocean Twilight Zone, the author, Michelle Cusolito takes the reader along on an expedition to study the ocean twilight zone on a Spanish research vessel. What is the twilight zone? It’s a part of the ocean circling the globe and running deep below the surface where very little light gets through. On the day-by-day account of the expedition, we, the readers, feel the crew’s excitement as they weave together a variety of cutting-edge technologies to gather information. Besides the detailed technology, we are even given a taste of the emotions experienced by the crew and staff, for example, the deflated energy before and anxiety during a heavy storm. In short, the author assures the readers that learning is taking place while also experiencing the expedition as if we are there. The twilight zone is a difficult place to experiment, so three vessels take 24 days to perform scientific experiments and better understand that part of the ocean. Readers might know the twilight zone as the place where some absurd-looking animals live, like the one with a lit-up appendage growing out of its head. But the author introduces us to other important facts. For example, the way the ocean moves carbon from the surface waters to the deep ocean, helping to keep the planet’s climate regulated. The twilight zone also has fish which can help feed humanity if we study how to make fishing there sustainable. It is a highly recommended for older readers interested in technology, marine biology, climate change, or for those who want to go on an exciting science expedition.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This middle-grade non-fiction book offers an intimate and interesting look at ocean science, sea life, and what it's like to research while onboard a ship. The author explains, in a conversational but not condescending tone, what the scientists on the Sarmiento de Gamboa were studying, why it's important, how they conducted experiments, and what challenges they faced in their remote, always-moving lab. She highlights the cool, high-tech machines used by the scientists as well as the way the team improvises, constantly adapting to their unique circumstances and unforeseen complications. Of special interest to me was her descriptions of what it's like to live aboard a research vessel for days on end. How do passengers deal with seasickness? How do they weather vicious storms? Do they ever feel homesick/claustrophobic/scared? How do you perform basic functions like eating and taking a shower in a roiling ship? Cusolito digs into all of these subjects and more.

Although I did find this book intriguing, I admit that it got tedious for me at times. I didn't have any trouble finishing it, but it definitely dragged in places. I'm not sure if middle grade readers, even those with a passion for science and sea life, would have the patience to read the whole thing. It's very informative, though, and I enjoyed it for the most part.

[Martha Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Did you know that the largest migration on earth happens daily when the creatures of the Ocean Twilight Zone move to the surface during the night to feed on phytoplankton and then return during the day to avoid predators? Thrilling! Did you know that these creatures and especially their dead bodies and poop are critical to understanding how the ocean stores carbon? Also thrilling! But that's not what this book is really about; it is about what it is like to study those creatures on a expedition off the coast of Spain in nitty gritty detail. You learn how to operate tried and true technologies (like the MOCNESS) as well as cutting edge technologies (like a MINION) including exactly how scientists got them launched in the ocean and recovered on board and how scientists processed and stored the results, but also what the scientists ate, how they coped during frequent violent storms and what they felt like after the trip. Great information for older kids really deciding about oceanography as a possible career, but not a "window into the ocean twilight zone." While the author (who was on the expedition) is able to share a few of the expedition's early results with readers, the reader is left wanting more about the Ocean Twilight Zone and less about who exactly operates the Imaging Flow Cytobot (IFCB) to pick up diatom pictures.

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I opened this book based on recommendations of people I respect, but not expecting to be as fascinated and informed as I was. Set up as a daily account of a team of oceanographers who are tasked with extending human/scientific knowledge of the mid-level life of the ocean- the spaces between the upper, sun-filled waters where photosynthesis can occur and the totally sunless deep waters beneath. That area, the "twilight zone", is not a life-space for largely unexplored creatures and organisms of many sizes, ones whose lives depend on moving up into the food-rich zone without becoming prey. It is also the transit zone for waste (dead lifeforms, including the photoplankton, microscopic elements, and macro creatures) with their carbon burdens destined for the ocean floor.
In addition, this scientific team has tasked itself with determining/measuring the amounts and ways carbon moves from the upper levels to the ultimate carbon-capture floor of the ocean, serving as a major tool for reducing (or holding the line) for global heating and ocean warming.
Whew!
No wonder I expected to be impressed, but not necessarily excited about it.
Was I wrong!
Through the accessible language and manageable text, the informative and engaging photography, the fascinating sidebars about everything from technology and massive equipment to the ship's chefs, this book took me along on a cover-to-cover journey that nearly left me seasick during their three major storms. It also informed me about things I generally ignore from the world in which I live, and impressed me with nits importance. I learned of the range of careers, specialties, and innovations of each person on board, as well as the uniquely demanding situation of isolation in on a ship with access only to the minds and materials around you to solve dramatic problems.
I can't say enough about how well-written, designed, and produced this book is and how surprised I was by its value and interest to young readers of all kinds.
In years and years of teaching, I've heard countless kids say they want to grow up to be an oceanographer and work with Manatees or dolphins. This is a book that will help those (and every kid) realize that "oceanographer" encompasses countless remarkable potential careers, and they are open to every gender, ethnicity, interest, and background.
What we DON'T KNOWand how to LEARN MORE is the essence of this book, and it urges everyone to get on board!

[Gail · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have an older child or teen that is interested in marine biology, or interested in it yourself, this is a great book for you or them. Cusolito describes an expedition she went on with international scientists to study the deep ocean, or the Twilight Zone of the sea. After reading this book, you'll feel that you have been on the expedition yourself. Favorite parts for me: descriptions of how to cope during the storms encountered while out at sea; how the staff and scientists cooperate to keep the work going and to keep spirits up; and descriptions of the various equipment used to gather samples. Detailed photographs enhance the experience. Highly recommended for STEM projects and for science-minded students.

[Nichole Charbonneau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Curious minds will dive into the challenges and triumphs of conducting science at sea. Science writer Cusolito presents exciting cutting-edge science and technology while the narrative arc of the investigative adventure propels the story forward. She captures the physical, mental, and emotional grit of spending days at sea in often stormy conditions. The chapter headings include longitude and latitude degrees, and the side bars, authentic photographs, and graphics add meaning and clarity to the complexities of marine science. Highly recommended for mid-upper grade school and middle school STEAM classrooms or for a young scientist's independent reading.

[Lindsay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cusolito transports readers onto a Spanish research vessel for 24 days as a team of scientists collect data in the ocean twilight zone. Readers will feel like they’re part of the crew as they conduct research, battle storms at sea, celebrate victories and commiserate the challenges. This is written in a journalistic style with illustrated diagrams and informative sidebars to enhance concepts noted throughout. This is a fascinating account of life aboard a research vessel - a rare glimpse of the happenings that take place, and essential read for future (or current!) researchers and oceanographers.

[Karen Romano Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

This fast-paced account of a big adventure -- a research expedition in the stormy Atlantic Ocean to a little-explored depth -- the Twilight Zone -- is fascinating as well as deeply respectful of its readers, who are likely to be inspired to get into the deep ocean themselves. Cusolito balances information with charming anecdotes and warm characterizations of her fellow travelers. Young readers will find this book an eye-opener in several ways at once -- and may well credit Cusolito with leading them into science or communication careers of their own.

[Laurie Thompson · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an exciting journey! Every page made me feel like I was on the research vessel with the scientists and crew, but without all the bruises, seasickness, and fatigue. Young readers will love this true account of a scientific mission to study the ocean twilight zone and the weird and wonderful things that live there. With spotlights on various different roles onboard and a call out regarding diversity, all kids will be able to imagine themselves as part of the team. And great color photos help bring it all to life.

[Molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

While the book might be aimed at middle school students, we read it to our four year old after reading other books by Michelle Cusolito. He absolutely loves it, to the point of wanting to read the whole thing in one sitting despite its length. His favorite part is how it has exposed him to a lot of technology for exploring under the sea, which we use to talk about how science is done, types of tools used, and the scientists themselves. The book contains a fantastic blend of humor and information, along with great insights from the scientists themselves and engaging photographs.

[Christine Zandt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids will love this book, it brings them right there with the crew. The twilight zone doesn't seem like one that's covered often so I was excited to see this topic. The ocean is fascinating and the information in this middle grade nonfiction book will appeal to kids in those grades. Not enough is known about the ocean, especially how it relates to carbon and helping to slow down climate change.

The full-color photos throughout the book add to the book's overall appeal.

[Helen Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book transported me right into the action aboard the Sarmiento de Gamboa (but without the seasickness)! If you've ever wondered what it's like to go on a scientific research trip, or how exactly scientists go about plumbing the mysteries of the Twilight Zone, this is the book for you. The author does a wonderful job of conveying details that make you feel like you're there AND the broader context of why it's important to understand what's happening in our oceans. Highly recommend!

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Young readers can share the experience of a real ocean research expedition alongside scientists from the Woods Hold Oceanographic Institution in this STEM, middle grade book. Well-illustrated with short chapters and lots of action! Truly a window into a science adventure.

[Kristy Acevedo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent to use in a classroom to supplement STEM initiatives and to demonstrate science in the field to students.

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Michelle Cusolito brings to life the triumphs and tribulations of a three-week scientific expedition at sea. Fascinating, informative and exciting. Highly recommended.

[Sarah Albee · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exciting, informative, and sometimes-harrowing account by the author of her weeks-long sea voyage with scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) as they study the ocean twilight zone. Middle grade science-and-adventure-loving readers will love this!