Month: July 2013

As I count down the last few days of my summer vacation leading to my internship aboard the R/V Hugh R. Sharp, I find myself becoming increasingly anxious. I have spent the last weeks preparing for my adventure by going over the information sent to me by my mentor, gathering items to bring, and tying up some loose ends at home. No matter what I do to get ready, I still feel unprepared, although, in reality, I am most likely more prepared than I think I am! This opportunity means a lot to me and I have worked hard to get here. Hopefully I will be able to hit the ground running! 

 

July 17

 

Days at sea: 10 since leg three of NOAA scallop survey

Time: 0312

Weather:  clear, 65.69^oF with 90% humidity

Wind Speed 8.1 kts

Sea State: 0-1ft swell

Position: 41 24.68N x 069 53.71W

 

            Leg three to the northern edge of George’s bank began July 9^thfrom Woodshole MA. Let me begin by saying on the tech side of things, most of the wrinkles for this cruise seemed to have been ironed out. All systems have been running smoothly. I continue to do my daily checks on the CTD sensors, and clean the filter on the ship’s underway surface water sampling system. On our HabCam runs I have written a procedure guide for these daily checks to be added to the ship’s technician manual. 

            For two or three watches we had the HabCam in the water but since then we have been dredging almost non-stop. The most notable change to our dredging routine was the addition of the off-ship shoot. The dredges have been bringing up boulders and rocks. We have attached this large metal slide to the dredge table on the starboard side and we then use it to push/shove/roll/tumble the boulders down, right into the sea. Its times like these that I wish the Sharp had its own supply of ogres, these rocks are heavy. Our first tow of this leg pulled up 20-bags worth of scallops, but they were also a little on the old-side.            

Scallop productivity continued to be high on this part of the bank as we have pulled up more scallops in this past week during our dredges than we did for all of leg-one and leg-two combined. The grand total for all three legs has come to 192 dredges. It seemed for the past three days we were doing maybe 7-10 dredges an evening, with a CTD every three stations. I have barely had time to run into the galley for a midnight snack, or stay out-of my foul-weather overalls for more than half an hour at a time.

            While I cannot say that every station has brought up a bag full of rocks, those that do keep us plenty busy. Usually we have just been able to finish sorting the catch, and to get the deck hosed down before we arrive at the next station. To ease the trouble of boulders slightly  “rock-chains” are added to the mouth of the dredge. These are simply a grid of chain meant to keep the larger rocks from filling in our catch. From the rocks which do make it into the dredge, they do a hefty damage to the net-like liner (used to catch the small fish, crabs, sea stars, baby scallops, substrate, snails, hermit crabs, etc) inside of the dredge. During leg one I remember saying “science can’t possibly need three dredges and this huge pile of liners,” I now stand corrected. During the transit time we had to switch the dredges out multiple times so that the science crew could work on repairing them. We do this with the help of the engineer on duty who uses the crane move the dredge on and off the sorting table. While the weather (I still don’t want to say this for paranoia of a shift) has been more than pleasant, calm waters and comfortable air, we still use tag-lines to guide the dredge into position.

            The technician John, from Savanna, has stood in for Ted as my watch partner this leg. It has been a pleasure working with him and hearing about the ways in which his boat is different, both on deck and with tech-systems. It was an interesting feeling beginning a watch with someone who knew less about the Sharp’s set up and the dredging operations. I got to act in part as a teacher while simultaneously being a student.

            The other benefit of staying on all three legs of the trip is the continuing interaction with the science crew. As more people have left the ship and others have joined us, I have gotten to meet several sets of scientists. For example, on leg one I met the lead scallop researcher, on leg two the computer programmers and now on leg three on of the engineers who designed and built the HabCam. All involved on this leg have been really enjoyable to work with. We make sure to plug in our music during our sorting sessions, and everyone works really hard. A lot of hands, minds, and attention have been used from all sides, both volunteer and professional, to make the monetizing of scallop fishery possible.

            We are currently headed into port to Woodshole Oceanographic Institute as we have finished the dredging for the trip. It will be a quick turn-around. The plan is to offload all of science’s equipment including the sorting table, the rock slide, the three dredges, numerous buckets shovels and rakes, computers, and all of the organism measuring tables, leaving only the HabCam onboard. We will then HabCam all the way back to Lewes DE for the remaining two days of this cruise. After that, the summer sea portion of the NOAA scallop survey will be complete.

            I am so lucky to have been placed on this boat in particular for this survey. I have loved bringing up the dredges and watching what comes out of them. I still am the biggest fan of shucking and popping a raw scallop into my mouth for a quick snack. Being able to couple dredging with HabCam seems like a perfect balance. The camera allows the scientists to observe the scallops in their natural habitat while dredging keeps us from missing any essential details. In addition I have learned how operate the CTD and have peered into the world of data. Bravo overall!

 

I’m missing the family and my friends, I hope you are all doing fantastically! Thank you again everyone for all of your support- it’s been good-ol’-hard-work out here.

 

Until next time,

-MG

 

R/V Hugh R. Sharp

Leg two of scallop population survey

July 06 2013

 

 

Days at sea: 7 since leg two

Time: 0021

Weather:  Fog, 59.99^oF with 96% humidity

Wind Speed 13.7kts

Sea State: 1-2ft swell

Position: 41 10.08N x 066 38.81W

 

The Happenings

Leg two of the survey began June 24^thand left from the Sharp’s home port in Lewes Delaware. Coming into port cracks the crew’s smiles as they get to sleep in their own beds, reunite with those people and pets they miss, and of course unwind from their twenty-four-hour floating “office.” While I have not gotten too truly homesick, and continue to learn every day, I have gained a higher appreciation to those who spend at times up to two thirds of their year at sea. Seasons pass, children grow, and tomatoes ripen.

            After taking care of some cleaning and the morning projects, I was given the afternoon off in between leg one and two to explore onshore. I managed to stay on land long enough to get eaten alive by bugs, buy some new books, and order various beverages…an americano included. I walked away from the Sharp and onto the hot humid beaches of the bay. Beach umbrellas and horseshoe crabs put a different beach flare than what I am used to, just another reminder that I am on the east coast. Everyone seems very friendly in small town coastal Lewes and ready for their summer.

            The intention of the second leg is essentially the same, to dredge and film scallops, this time north off the southern side of Georges bank. While I expected all to be the same, the second leg has taken on a totally different character. The switch of crew both on deck and for science is partly responsible. I attest the rest of the change to weather and darkness. I now stand the night watch, 1730 to 0530 and so I begin my days with sunset and await the peek of dawn. Both night and day have been shadowed in cool fog which is different from leg one’s sunny days with “bathtub” swells.

            Those who became seasick for the first few days could affirm the rougher seas. The Sharp notoriously is a rocky ship. This is due to her small keel combined with the heavy high tower used as a marine mammal observation platform. Working on deck with in the darkness and the occasional wave crashing on deck was exciting. With weather getting worse, and the anticipated 12+ foot seas and 30 knot winds the bridge decided to dock in Woodshole Massachusetts.

            The unexpected three days in port so soon after leaving has made seemed to cut the trip nearly in half. We are already headed south and homeward and are currently re-tracing our dredge cruise track with the HabCam. I enjoyed my time in Woodshole and was not expecting so much onshore travel during my internship. I spent a day visiting a friend from school who is interning at WHOI for the summer. I also got to pay my respects to the tallship SSV C. Cramer of Sea Education Association (SEA). The last time I was in Woodshole was about three years ago when I was a student with SEA, I had nothing but good memories flooding back. The seas have continued to calm and we have been able to continue dredging as usual.

Marine Technician Meets Marine Critter

            The most notable marine technician related events of leg two have been the failures of two ADCPs, changing the batteries on the sound velocity probe, and training to run the multi-beam sonar.

            The ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) computer was failing to communicate with the instrument at the end of leg one. Technician from the R/V Blue Herron who was onboard helped Ted determine that the problem was a bad connection by looking at the system’s various com ports. So, once on land we pulled the ADCP out of the water where it is attached to the bottom of the keel. The keel on the Sharp it is attached to large air filled bladders which allow us to raise it. Once out of the water, large pipes on the keel where the instruments are mounted (and with cables connecting them to the ship) can be lifted out of the water using the crane.

            Upon detaching the ADCP it was apparent that the cable connection had failed, as white electrolysis goo surrounded the connection. We installed the second ADCP kept on board and during our short trip from Lewes to Woodshole this one failed as well. When we pulled out instrument for the second time, we could see the same problem beginning. After some investigation as to what may be causing the problem it appears a change in cable manufacturing may be to blame. The cable itself has male and female parts (pins and holes) so it is imperative that they fit together properly. It seems that the newly designed cables have an added piece of plastic for reinforcement. This ‘bump’ can lean on the cable connection causing the holes to become more oval and putting pressure on the pins. Alas, we have no ADCP running currently. One handy trick I learned was to mix cayenne powder with the grease that coats the instrument, this slows growth of barnacles and other bio-fouling.

            As far as a little midnight project goes working on the sound velocity probe was interesting. You would think changing batteries would be simple, not so. The only way Ted and I could see to get this task done was to cut the old battery free, use a wire stripper, and solder the new battery to the instrument’s wires. I watched as Ted did the real surgery and acted as his assistant. I am not sure if this was the correct way of changing the battery, but with no advise from the recent instrument servicer, it seems to have worked.

            This evening, now that the dredging for this leg is complete, Ted has been training me how to start the Multibeam Sonar program. Instead of a single sound beam used to sweep the ocean’s floor like most sonar instruments, the multi-beam sends out many separate sound signals. The sonar must ‘listen’ for all of these beams as the bounce back off of the ocean floor. We will be using this program in the future and I am sure I will write more about it. To help with my training, Ted and I just composed a program procedure which I can follow (as we will no longer be on the same watch) if the system becomes overwhelmed with data and crashes.

            Here is another snippet from my daily journal on my experience with dredging and deck life:

 

Journal Entry:

July 3^rd

Time: 0239

 

            Two pilot whales caught my eye’s with their big black fins. I had never seen a pilot whale and I considered it to be a shark at first, but the angle at which the fins disappeared under the surface, and their bearing right for our ship redirected my identification. A hop up to the bridge confirmed my sighting. Evan asked me “how did I see them?” I should have responded “I have good eyes.” Its amazing how trained the human eye can be. A person staring at the gray ocean for hours, the same in all directions, can pick out an anomaly within seconds. This trip so far I have seen numerous plastic bottles, floats or buoys, a large log, a bucket, and Ted has seen a wood pallet with a thresher shark alongside it.

            Earlier this evening we did about four dredges. Notable is what the scientists term “seed.” Two of the dredges turned up ‘seed,’ petite baby scallops, no larger than a thumbnail. While difficult to count and measure, noting these “next-generation” scallops gives the scientists a good feeling especially in open fishing areas. While the these droplets of new scallops are more than numerous, they also face a high mortality rate. Mixed in with the seed were also the smaller three inch scallops which will be ready to fish in a few years. The scientists sub sample to estimate actual numbers of the baby scallops by measuring about half a liter of them-a minuscule amount compared to the multiple five gallon buckets worth. I think the seed numbers reached 60,000 for this tow.

 

 

Ok, thanks again for reading, its about 3am so I think I’ll mug-up and snoop around for a snack in the galley. I’ll try and write again soon- so far so good!